Lawmakers from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong and other supporters join hands to say no to violence and condemn the Mong Kok riot during an anti-violence signature campaign in Central on Tuesday. Roy Liu / China Daily

Rao Geping urges the city to reflect on the problems of radicalism and violence

The Mong Kok riot showed Hong Kong was in urgent need of national security legislation, Rao Geping, law professor at Peking University and a senior adviser on Hong Kong's Basic Law, said on Tuesday.

Speaking in Beijing, the member in the HKSAR Basic Law Committee warned of the great danger that nativist ideology could bring to Hong Kong. He urged the city to reflect on the continuation of violence and radical activities after the illegal "Occupy Central" movement in 2014.

Rao said he respected the natural tendency for people to develop special feelings toward their city, but cautioned that once this sense of local identity is aligned with a separatist agenda, the sentiments might give rise to a political force that threatens social order.

Security of the SAR is also security of the country, he said. Last week's street violence should serve as a wake-up call for Hong Kong people to realize the urgent and long overdue responsibility to enact national security legislation. He urged those who are "rational and with a conscience" to stand out and defend the rule of law in Hong Kong.

Speaking separately, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said the investigation by the Hong Kong police and upcoming court hearings would reveal all the details behind last week's Mong Kok riot.

The remarks came after the government rejected a call by some academics to set up an independent committee to look into the matter.

Leung urged the public not to generalize the acts of rioters as a problem for the whole of society as they "do not represent Hong Kong society or the city's young people".

No one in society, regardless of whatever difficulties they encounter, should ever resort to illegal and violent means, Leung added.

Meanwhile, the Legislative Council's Security Panel on Tuesday passed a motion to condemn the Mong Kok riot. The motion also suggested increasing police manpower and equipment to support law enforcement.

Legislator Elizabeth Quat Pui-fan urged the government to follow Germany, Austria and the US in banning protesters from wearing masks.

Security Bureau statistics show more than 700 rioters participated in the riot on at least 14 streets in Mong Kok from the night of Feb 8 to Feb 9. Fires were set in 22 different locations, and 2,000 bricks were dug out of 110 square meters of pavement.

So far, at least 67 people have been arrested, and 41 of them have been charged with rioting or taking part in an unlawful assembly.

luisliu@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 02/17/2016 page7)