Tsang Kin-chiu, a radical activist and member of the Civic Party, has been in the news a lot for physically provoking police officers doing their job of maintaining public safety and order during the illegal "Occupy Central" movement in 2014. Tsang was sentenced by a magistrate on Monday to five weeks' imprisonment for assaulting police officers and resisting arrest. The judge also allowed him bail while preparing to appeal the court decision. This is the first guilty ruling in quite a while since the Department of Justice began prosecuting suspects like Tsang. There is hope yet for Hong Kong's rule of law to remain effective for as long as possible.

The presiding magistrate said the charges against Tsang were serious enough to warrant imprisonment and he saw no grounds for leniency in this case. Indeed, in a society under rule of law no one should be able to get away with what Tsang did without being punished appropriately. The Hong Kong Police Force exercised proper restraint according to relevant protocol when they were violently challenged by hundreds of protesters who had been told by the organizers of the illegal campaign they had to break the laws to achieve their political objectives.

The "Occupy" masterminds practically told their followers laws were made to be broken. But they never explained why Hong Kong's justice system does not consider political motives when a law is violated, or why "Occupy" would be deemed illegal in any common law society. The reality is hundreds of young "occupiers" are now on the police department's list of offenders and that record will follow them forever if they are charged with any crime and found guilty. This is a lesson for everyone who shares Tsang's idea of law and order.

The country's top legislator Zhang Dejiang put it very well during his recent visit here. He stressed the importance of the rule of law for Hong Kong's future stability. Emphasizing that no one is above the law and no one who breaks the law could escape punishment, he urged the judiciary to faithfully fulfill their legal responsibilities and not to condone actions which break the law.

It is also necessary to let the public know that Hong Kong law works the way it does today because the common law system took centuries to evolve. It is much more developed than some politicians would like us to believe. It is as real and relevant as capitalism is and no one can deny it.

(HK Edition 05/31/2016 page12)