Three years ago a crowd of protesters kept charging at police lines outside government headquarters at Tamar, demanding their version of universal suffrage to elect the chief executive in future. When fended off by police, protesters dispersed and occupied different thoroughfares across the city, setting off the infamous illegal "Occupy Central" movement that lasted for 79 days.

That disruptive movement, carefully planned by some opposition academics and politicians and secretly funded by foreign forces, threw the city into chaos and, more importantly, deeply divided society - even up to now. Considerable damage was done to the community, people's livelihoods and even the rule of law. Even worse, the organizers incited and recruited innocent and unsuspecting youngsters and even students and sowed the seeds for more radical movements - separatism in schools and on university campuses today.

In spite of the trauma "Occupy" inflicted on the SAR, some "Occupy" groups still celebrate the anniversary by holding a rally outside the Central Government Complex where they first attacked police. This clearly demonstrates the absence of remorse among the perpetrators three years on, even though the three masterminds - Benny Tai Yiu-ting, Chan Kin-man and Chu Yiu-ming - are now facing serious charges in court.

Given the jail sentences recently handed down to the three student activists - Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Nathan Law Kwun-chung and Alex Chow Yong-kang - one of the three engineers of the "Occupy", Chu, admitted he was now expecting a jail sentence for the charges but confessed he did not believe he would have to go behind bars when planning the "Occupy" movement. His confession has gone a long way to show that heavy sentences do have a deterrent effect on those planning to resort to radical or even violent activities to express their political beliefs.

As many international freedom surveys have repeatedly pointed out, Hong Kong is one of the freest cities in the world. All kinds of freedom are enshrined in the Basic Law as well as the common law practiced here. And there is no lack of channels for those who would like to put forward their political ideas. They did not have to occupy traffic arteries and paralyze the city in order to make a statement.

Society has learned the hard way that such radical activities are not to be condoned, or they will escalate into something more ugly - such as the Mong Kok riot. The latest jail sentences handed down by the court to violent protesters may have come a little late, but this will still help society and government reign in the increasingly violent activities by radical elements.

(HK Edition 09/29/2017 page11)