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8 | Tuesday, June 25, 2019 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY COMMENT HK TO THE POINT The core values of HK STAFF WRITER that we all hold dear Those who challenge the city’s After suspension of extradition law amendments, rule of law must face justice some students are continuing to make demands. Ongoing extradition law amendments- delayed during the blockage was to be inves- related protests that are blocking entrances tigated. But police’s restraint over this chal- Ho Lok-sang explains why these demands are not to key government buildings in Admiralty lenge to avoid injuries is commendable. and Wan Chai are posing an outrageous chal- Hong Kong’s police force, which is some- reasonable and undermine the SAR’s rule of law lenge to the authority of the special adminis- times called Asia’s fi nest, has always been trative region government and the city’s most a key element of the city’s rule of law. Its t is sad to see young people ers were rioters. It is a fact that 99 cherished rule of law, and must be stringently professionalism has helped make Hong Kong taking other people to task percent or more of the protesters were condemned. one of the safest cities in the world. Hong and acting dangerously to peaceful. As far as I know, only a total Hong Kong residents are entitled to free- Kong ranked sixth in the global law-and- undermine Hong Kong’s of 32 protesters have been arrested, dom of speech and the right to demonstra- order index in 2018, according to a report by core values. Six student fi ve of whom being charged with riot- tion, which are enshrined in the Basic Law. US-based consulting fi rm Gallup. Attempts to unions threatened to esca- ing o enses. Eight protesters have But such rights and freedoms must be exer- tarnish Hong Kong police’s image and under- late protest actions if the Ho Lok-sang been released. And these numbers are cised within the confi nes of law and order. mine their morale would only be made by government did not respond to their The author is the dean of business at extremely tiny relative to the hundreds Most of the recent rallies expressing oppos- those who do not really love Hong Kong and Chu Hai College of Higher Educa- demands over the controversial extra- of thousands of protesters who had ing views to the proposal to amend the SAR’s who would like to see the city in chaos. I tion. dition law by 5 pm on June 20. They taken to the streets. existing rendition laws were held in a peace- The ultimate victim of such mob activities asked for “a complete withdrawal of Our university stu- The student unions that asked for ful manner — a refl ection of the city’s rule of would be the city’s rule of law. Hong Kong the extradition bill; investigation of the release of everyone who had been law and the police force’s professionalism. is ranked 16th out of 126 jurisdicitions in the police force for police brutality; dents will be our arrested must either have chosen to But the one on Friday, which signaled the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index total recall of the June 12 ‘riot’ claim; be blind to the riotous behavior of the start of the latest siege strategy, saw 2019, four places above the United States, freeing and dropping charges against future leaders. It is some of their fellow protesters, or protesters sealing o the entrances to the which was the most active in interfering in arrested protesters”. On Friday, their important that they have genuinely missed the footage of Central Government Complex, the Legisla- the recent rendition-law amendment exer- followers assembled and blocked violence that had been captured in tive Council Complex, the Hong Kong Police cise among Western governments. This high roads, besieged the police headquar- treasure the core val- videos. Either way, issuing a statement Headquarters, and some other government level of rule of law is not easy to come by. It ters, and occupied the lobby of some ues that have allowed demanding that the police release buildings in the vicinity. The protests para- is the result of decades of hard work by the government buildings, including the those charged with crimes through lyzed the operation of scores of government SAR government with the help of the central Revenue Tower and Immigration Hong Kong to rise to more protests or “non-cooperation departments and disrupted the public ser- government. It is one of the cornerstones of Tower. The police headquarters were action” goes against the core values of vices they provide, some of an emergency Hong Kong’s success and one of the core val- forced to e ectively shut down. As a become a global fi- Hong Kong and is highly irresponsible. nature. ues Hong Kong residents hold dear. result, police’s response to emergency nancial center and an The six student unions are from Most intolerable was the so-called siege It is not surprising to see some opposition calls to 999 was disrupted. the Chinese University of Hong Kong, of the police headquarters, which lasted 16 politicians fi guring in Friday’s protest activi- Let us look at these demands in turn international commer- the Hong Kong University of Sci- hours, during which the main building’s ties and provoking the young participants to see if they are reasonable. ence and Technology, the Education facade and the police emblem were vandal- into besieging one government building after The SAR government has already cial center. We want University of Hong Kong, the City ized. The police 999 emergency service was another. Those who led or participated in suspended the second reading of the them to be indepen- University of Hong Kong, the Hong suspended as a result. Whether criminal such lawless activities must be brought to Extradition Law Amendment Bill, and Kong Academy for Performing Arts, activities on Hong Kong Island increased or justice as Hong Kong’s rule of law is not to be has already indicated that it will not dent critical thinkers and the Hang Seng University of Hong any response to urgent calls for help were compromised. revisit the issue anytime soon. Accord- Kong, which issued the demand along ing to the convener of the Executive so that they can make with the Federation of Students. As Council, Bernard Charnwut Chan, this unbiased judgments much as I appreciate their sense of is equivalent to shelving the bill alto- social awareness, I cannot endorse Peter Liang gether. We know that students wanted based on their con- the irresponsible call for the release of “a complete withdrawal”. But what science. people charged with crimes. As Tsang does “a complete withdrawal” mean? says, if political pressures work and Can Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng wrongdoers can walk away scot-free, Expectation of interest Yuet-ngor speak for the next admin- necessary under the circumstances. In Hong Kong will decline as its rule of istration? Can circumstances change particular, he said that tear gas was no law crumbles. In Hong Kong, our law so that Hong Kong people, upon longer su cient to check the advance enforcers and our judiciary need to rethinking and upon further revisions of the crowds and to protect them- work independently free of political rate cuts lifts up investors of the bill, agree that they want the selves from harm from the bricks and pressures. Do our students appreciate bill passed after all? They appear to other objects hurled at them. He asked the importance of this? rule out such possibilities, but just as the reporters to put themselves in the Our university students will be our fter several stressful weeks of social Any progress toward detente they want the government to be open- position of the police o cers on the future leaders. It is important that and political tension, Hong Kong inves- minded and receptive to other people’s scene. Finally, he asked if Hong Kong they treasure the core values that have tors have fi nally found something to is good news for Hong Kong’s ideas, why can’t they be open-minded people would rather have a police allowed Hong Kong to rise to become cheer them up. investors. And they need it to too? force that performs its duty to serve a global fi nancial center and an inter- ATheir uplifting mood late last week was The call to investigate the police and to protect, or to run away at the national commercial center. We want refl ected by a surge in share prices and daily find relief from the noise of force for police brutality has totally advance of a mob. them to be independent critical think- turnover on the stock exchange. The benchmark ignored the violence on the part of As to the third demand, “total recall ers so that they can make unbiased index, although faltering slightly on Friday, shot constant protests and con- some of the protesters. Just as former of the June 12 ‘riot’ claim”, Senior judgments based on their conscience. up an aggregate of nearly 1,000 points. Most frontations. police commissioner Andy Tsang Wai- Counsel and Executive Council mem- We want them to respect dissent. Just encouraging was that the rally was led by the hung said over the weekend, the police ber Ronny Tong Ka-wah said that, in as Lam was wrong at trying to rush technology and property sectors, which are wide- force has the duty to maintain order Hong Kong, any reference to “riot” through a bill because she thought she ly seen as the barometer of investors’ confi dence growth.

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