Threats to judges in Hong Kong intolerable

On Friday, hours after Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying was found guilty of organizing and knowingly participating in a 2019 illegal assembly and given 14 more months in custody, the judge in charge, Amanda Jane Woodcock, received a  threatening call.

It should be noted that a similar situation happened before. On Dec 3, 2020, hours after Lai's trial, the judge, Victor So Wai-tak, also received a death threat in a call to his office. The caller threatened to kill him, his wife and child with a bomb.

That "coincidence" shows, in a naked way, what kind of people Lai's followers are. They lack the most basic respect of rule of law in this modern society and trample upon all legal systems as soon as the systems do not serve them.

It is ironic that some of the rioters called for "rule of law" in the chaos in 2019. Now we know all they want is their rule, but without any law; actually, the riots themselves are the best evidence of them disrespecting the law.

The threats to judges So and Woodcock also show that the root of violence among rioters in Hong Kong has not been plucked out yet. They will still resort to violence whenever there is a chance. It's time to strengthen the rule of law and legal enforcement to prevent the dark days in 2019 from coming back.

None of the suspects involved in threats to judges have been caught, but the law is the law and the day will come when they receive their deserved penalties.