In the riot in Mong Kok, Hong Kong, on Chinese New Year in 2016, hundreds of people rushed into the streets and used sticks and tiles to "fight" with police. They burned cars, assaulted people and damaged public property. For two years, Hong Kong has been paying the bill for the riot.

On Monday, Hong Kong's High Court sentenced local "independence" activist leader Edward Leung Tinkei, 27, to six years in prison for his part in the riot, and Leung's co-defendant Lo Kinman, 31, to seven years in jail, after a jury trial that lasted 54 days. From the pursuit of the criminals to their detention, prosecution, conviction, sentencing and imprisonment, the special administrative region's authorities have from the very beginning followed due legal procedure.

After Leung's conviction, an opposition lawyer said the court's ruling did not take into account his political motives and ideals and thus the sentence is inhuman and irrational. Chris Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong when it was a British colony, was even quoted as saying that, "It is disappointing to see that the legislation is now being used politically to place extreme sentences on 'pan-democrats' and other activists."

Some ultra-right media outlets in Hong Kong have also gone to great lengths to defend Leung and his followers, likening them to "heroes" and denouncing the law as "evil".

It is such kind of talk that has pushed some youths in Hong Kong off a steep cliff. Violence deviates from the principle of rational discussion in a civilized society. As the judge said, to the law the only distinction is between law-abiding and law-breaking, and the court could not allow people to resort to violence.

It is time young people in the region realized they are not exempt from the law.

The Mong Kok riot reminds us that maintaining Hong Kong's prosperity and stability is a priority task and any attempt to do the opposite crosses the bottom line of society. Hong Kong needs builders not saboteurs.

--People's Daily Overseas Edition