8 | Wednesday, July 17, 2019 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY COMMENT HK TO THE POINT Hong Kong Watch’s views STAFF WRITER Keep HK as the world’s safest city are biased from the outset The man who bit o part of a police casual observers watching the drama o cer’s fi nger while resisting arrest at unfold on TV. The aim of the perpetra- Shat Tin New Town Plaza on Sunday was tors was to remind people of the “color one of the thugs who ambushed police revolutions” in various developing coun- o cers as they tried to disperse the mob tries that invariably led to political crises. and more blinkered now harassing shoppers and passersby. What happened here in Hong Kong in The incident showed that the violence the past few weeks obviously followed was part of a carefully planned and the same script. But Hong Kong is not Grenville Cross hits out at biased anti-China figures well-executed ambush bearing all the like any of those other places, thanks hallmarks of organized criminal activi- mainly to its loyal and outstanding for continuing to oppose the extradition bill and turning ties with military precision. And it was police force. no doubt aimed at hurting the police The Hong Kong police is well-known a blind eye to the violent behavior of protesters in HK o cers on duty and undermining their for its professional excellence and is held morale. Such premeditated violence in high regard by its peers around the poses a serious threat to the well-being world. That is why the organizers who lthough the former activists’ demand for an inquiry into of Hong Kong people who have every masterminded the recent riots and their governor, Chris Patten, “police brutality”, presumably because, reason to unite as one and support the supporters were obsessed with demoniz- invariably takes the lead after they were attacked, the police acted police as well as the special administra- ing the police by any means imaginable. in whipping up Sino- to control things. This was clearly a care- tive region government in upholding the Worse is that they have manipulated phobia in the United fully planned strategy by the activists, rule of law and maintaining public safety many passionate and unsuspecting Kingdom, he has aco- designed to create a situation in which the and social stability. young people as pawns to achieve their lytes in both Hong Kong Grenville Cross police were forced into having to respond Hong Kong’s reputation as one of the ignominious goals. and London. In Hong Kong, of course, The author is a senior counsel, law and then condemning them for doing safest cities in the world has been under Hong Kong citizens must support the Ahis proxy is former chief secretary Anson professor and criminal justice analyst, so. It is a tactic often used by activists, growing threat this summer from a police in doing their duty of maintain- Chan Fang On-sang, who loyally regurgi- and was previously director of public intended to weaken police morale and series of violent attacks on government ing public safety and social order or risk tates his prejudices. In London, however, prosecutions for Hong Kong. undermine their standing, and Rogers facilities and front-line police o cers. allowing evil forces to succeed in desta- one of his wackier disciples is a political should have called it out accordingly. These criminal acts were typically staged bilizing the SAR and taking it hostage for activist called Benedict Rogers. If the UK foreign office After salivating, moreover, over what he for propaganda purposes to mislead their own political gains. Rogers, a former parliamentary candi- has been listening to called the “most eye-catching moment” date from Patten’s own Conservative Party, of the invasion, when the old British lived in Hong Kong for several years after the likes of Patten, Chan colonial fl ag was raised in LegCo on July reunifi cation. On the back of this, he has (Fang On-sang) and 1, Rogers conveniently downplayed the held himself out ever since as an expert wanton destruction. Some estimates even in Hong Kong a airs, as well as in human (Benedict) Rogers, it may suggest the repair bill might run as high Boldness required from rights. Objectivity, however, has never as HK$50 million ($6.4 million). Rogers, been his forte. well help to explain why however, appears unfazed by the damage, Rogers fi rst registered on the public’s its recent comments on the thefts, and the injuries to the police radar in 2017, when he was denied entry o cers, and he certainly revealed none of SAR’s political leaders into Hong Kong. Although, as is custom- the situation in Hong this to his US readers. ary, no detailed reasons were provided by Having by now got the bit well and o some people, if the massive the immigration authorities, the foreign Kong have been not only truly between his teeth, Rogers also protest on June 9 and the riot on ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying, hostile, but also com- lamented the lack of political reform in June 12 were due to the special said at the time that China exercised sov- Hong Kong, pointing out that the chief administrative region government’s ereignty over Hong Kong, and that Rogers pletely wide of the mark. executive was elected by a 1,200 member Tinsistence on passing the amendments to the “must have been very clear as to whether electoral college, while the legislature extradition laws before the Legislative Coun- he intended to interfere with the a airs was full of placemen. What he ignored, cil’s summer recess, the opposition should Zhou Bajun of a special administrative region and the for the world’s criminals. however, is that the present mechanism have stopped their demonstrations when the The author is a senior research fellow of independence of Hong Kong’s judiciary”. In particular, one searches in vain for electing the chief executive is infi nitely government announced the bill would be China Everbright Holdings. Reading between the lines, therefore, for anything which explains how Hong more democratic than the one used to indefi nitely suspended on June 15. However, It is not possible for the in- there must have been concerns that Rog- Kong needs to discharge its interna- appoint colonial governors before 1997, this concession could not meet the insatiable ers, who said he was coming here on a pri- tional responsibilities, to have extradition and that it allows representatives of many demands of the opposition camp, which cumbent SAR government vate visit, was planning to stir things up. mechanisms in place with 177 jurisdic- sectors to participate. unexpectedly escalated their aggression in Prior to his exclusion, he had taken to tions around the world, so that fugitive Indeed, if Patten’s allies had not blocked ensuing protests. to normalize the political hosting various political agitators when o enders can be returned to face justice the constitutional reform package in Admittedly, Chief Executive Carrie Lam landscape on its own; the they visited London. Indeed, he appears in appropriate cases. Still less is there any 2015, the chief executive could, for the Cheng Yuet-ngor overestimated her politi- to have been dazzled by them, seemingly explanation of why, although it is perfectly fi rst time, have been elected by universal cal achievements in the past year and a half. chief executive must take oblivious to their excesses. He even went acceptable for nine European Union su rage in 2017. This, moreover, would Even though the separatist forces were so far as to describe two of them, Joshua states, including Belgium, France, Italy, have ushered in greater democracy in severely battered in the previous year, the the initiative and ask the Wong Chi-fung and Nathan Law Kwun- Portugal and Spain, to sign extradition the legislature itself. However, even now, two opposing camps wield a similar degree central government for as- chung, as his “heroes”. This must have agreements with China, it is thought that with 50 percent of its 70 members directly of political strength. Caught up in such an struck a raw nerve with the 10 security Hong Kong should not do the same, even elected and 50 percent elected by func- irreconcilable political struggle, a serious sistance. guards who, in 2014, were injured outside though it is one of its special administra- tional constituencies, the legislature is misjudgment and misstep by the SAR gov- government headquarters when they tive regions. Far from being “indepen- still more democratic than it ever was in ernment has tilted the balance toward the with violent assaults. Peaceful protests staged what the Court of Appeal subse- dent”, this website is a humbug, reeking Patten’s time. opposition camp. provide a cover and protection for violent quently described as “a large-scale, unlaw- of bias. Rogers signed o with a call not to When rioters stormed the LegCo Complex assaults, while the latter clears the path for ful assembly, involving violence”. Notwith- In June, moreover, after political vio- prosecute those responsible for the to commit vandalism on July 1, former edi- the former. The two tactics are used alterna- standing the violence, Rogers continued lence erupted in Hong Kong, with armed political violence. This, of course, would tor-in-chief of the University of Hong Kong tively or simultaneously. Their ultimate strat- to rub shoulders with them. rioters fi rstly attacking the police lines, subvert the rule of law, and place violent (HKU) Students’ Union journal Undergrad egy is to stir up fears of, and hatred against, Shortly after his exclusion, Rogers using sharpened metal rods and bricks, lawbreakers beyond its reach, which must Brian Leung Kai-ping, who is also one of the the Communist Party of China among the founded Hong Kong Watch, a London- and later smashing their way into the have been music to their ears.