Why the SAR urgently needs to restore order

For a start, the ongoing illegal campaign is significantly different from the “Occupy Central” movement in 2014, which was largely peaceful with only a few outbursts of violence, and the Mong Kok riot which followed “Occupy Central”. The latter was very violent but ended quickly; whereas the current illegal campaign has turned into waves of violent clashes with the police almost throughout the HKSAR.

Another big difference is that “Occupy Central” and the Mong Kok riot did not affect the normal operations of the fourth-term SAR government; while the current illegal campaign has created an unprecedented political crisis for the fifth-term SAR government.

Yet another difference is that the Hong Kong Police Force was challenged by only a few violent clashes in the beginning and end of “Occupy Central”, while the Mong Kok riot was merely a brief demonstration of what the radical extremist wing of the opposition camp is capable of. Now we know the protesters have an abundant supply of lethal weapons to attack police officers with and are capable of blockading police stations and police headquarters, thanks to thousands of young people hoodwinked into the illegal campaign.

The opposition camp in Hong Kong, controlled by the US government and supported by many Western powers, particularly the UK government, is going all out with an illegal campaign that bears all the hallmarks of a “color revolution” in an attempt to seize the governing power of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. Their claim that they are fighting against the extradition law amendment bill is just an excuse. Although it is no doubt doomed, the illegal campaign has dragged Hong Kong into an unprecedented political crisis.

The fourth difference is that neither “Occupy Central” nor the Mong Kok riot was close to damaging SAR government offices or the central government’s liaison office building, but the current campaign has not only caused extensive damage to the Legislative Council Complex but also defaced the facade of the liaison office building.

The fifth difference is that rioters have gone so far as to desecrate the national flag, national emblem, the HKSAR flag and HKSAR emblem to show their hatred toward “one country, two systems”; whereas none of this happened during the “Occupy Central” movement or the Mong Kok riot.

Last but not least, separatism has become a main feature of the current illegal campaign. Pro-independence groups are now without question a force to be reckoned with. Most of them emerged after the “Occupy Central” campaign.

Clearly, “Occupy Central” and the Mong Kok riot only disrupted public order on limited scales; whereas the current illegal campaign has deeply divided Hong Kong society and is apparently trying to completely destroy the rule of law. The social order of the HKSAR hinges on four aspects: the relationship between Hong Kong and the main body of the nation and that between the HKSAR and the central government; the relationship between Hong Kong residents and the SAR government; the relationship between different sectors of the establishment; and the relationship between various political camps.

The patriotic forces were already at loggerheads with the radical opposition camp over “Occupy Central” and the Mong Kok riot, and the latter has made compromise a luxury which the patriotic camp can ill afford. However, the representatives of the patriotic camp in Legislative Council were still able to sit in the same room and keep LegCo business going after “Occupy Central” and the Mong Kok riot. Now the LegCo Complex is under repair after rioters completely trashed its most important parts strategically, forcing an early summer recess on LegCo. Moreover, there is no guarantee the legislature will be able to resume normal operations after repair work is done by the end of next month at the earliest, because the opposition camp will not stop the illegal campaign until it cannot keep it going any longer.

Civil servants in general remained politically neutral during “Occupy Central” and were not affected by the Mong Kok riot at all. This time, however, their faith in the apolitical principle of political neutrality has been seriously shaken by the illegal campaign but especially after an anonymous “open letter” urging Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to satisfy all “five non-negotiable demands” made by the opposition camp was published. That “open letter” was echoed by more unidentified officials, including a few who claimed they represent the Information Services Department employees. The authenticity of the photos of government employee ID cards used as “signatures” in those “open letters” remains unverifiable.

While the government officials who allegedly “signed” those anonymous “open letters” may never be identified, one of the non-permanent judges with the High Court has admitted he signed an open letter urging the CE to practically betray the trust of not only Hong Kong society as a whole but also the central government authorities as well as the nation. The judge knew he could not remain anonymous because he is the only one to have betrayed the political neutrality of the judiciary.

As violence keeps happening everywhere, the number of Hong Kong residents worried about their safety increases. Much worse is that many people have lost the ability to tell right from wrong.

There is no denying the opposition camp, controlled by foreign powers hell-bent on obstructing China’s peaceful development, has succeeded in hoodwinking a large number of Hong Kong residents, particularly the younger generation, into mindlessly harming the overall interests of Hong Kong society by demonizing one piece of legislation designed to plug loopholes in the existing laws that concern judicial cooperation between Hong Kong and the mainland, Macao and Taiwan. The masterminds behind the illegal campaign simply made up an anti-Beijing slogan to brainwash many people, particularly underinformed young people. That is why so many of them have completely embraced separatism and are trying to “save” Hong Kong by killing it first. The patriotic camp must regroup and support the SAR government and especially the police in restoring social order by all means as soon as possible.

The author is a senior research fellow of China Everbright Holdings.