Hong Kong needs rule of law, not rule of violence
Updated: 2014-12-03 07:49
By Wang Shengwei(HK Edition)
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Of the three areas currently held by the "Occupy Central" movement, Mong Kok has so far been the most difficult site to deal with. Around 11 pm on Nov 28, police had to use force to prevent crowds of protesters from re-occupying the site. When the situation gets out of control as it did in this case, the police will make every effort to restore public order.
On this same night in Admiralty, the protesters were mainly concentrated near the Harcourt Road area. The atmosphere between demonstrators and police officers had been peaceful until last week, but at the government headquarters in Admiralty on Nov 30, from around 7 pm, members of the Hong Kong Federation of Students and Scholarism, plus a few thousand protesters, launched a new wave of attacks. They ignored police warnings to desist and at one time barricaded Lung Wo Road. This serious clash lasted until the following morning, resulting in injuries to 11 police officers and the arrest of 40 protesters.
The organized attacks were in no way "peaceful" as had been promised, and the protesters sacrificed the interests of the public for their own unrealizable ideals.
The latest surveys show that over 80 percent of Hong Kong people oppose the "Occupy" sit-ins. They want protesters to completely withdraw from the occupied sites.
It is encouraging to note that the police clearance operations in Mong Kok and Admiralty have received a high level of support from mainstream society. However the police should not relax their efforts but retain the initiative by clearing all occupied areas soon to restore order and meet the expectations of the public.
Nonetheless, the results of a Nov 28 survey were disappointing. They indicated that over half of the respondents are worried that in future Hong Kong will often be subject to social conflict. Faced with the possibility of such a chaotic situation, the government must urgently find solutions to this and other pressing issues such as youth employment and the lack of affordable housing.
On the other hand, many developed countries have similar problems and these are only resolved over time and with appropriate policies.
Comparing our unemployment rate with other developed economies, it clearly shows how well-off Hong Kong is. Hong Kong has averaged an extraordinarily low 3.73 percent between 1981 and 2014, compared with Germany 5.98 percent between 1950 and 2014 and France 9.15 percent between 1996 and 2014. Fortunately Hong Kong doesn't have serious unemployment problems and slow growth in salaries can only be gradually alleviated by introducing more higher-value-added industries.
This leaves the remaining problem of the relatively low home ownership rate of 50.9 percent (2013) in Hong Kong because of unaffordable housing prices and inadequate housing supply. By comparison Germany has a home ownership rate of 53.3 percent (2012) while its rents are more reasonable and supply adequately meets demand. France had 63.7 percent home ownership in 2012, Britain 66.7 percent (2012) and the US 65.2 percent (2013).
Various solutions have been proposed for the housing issue, ranging from building more public housing in green belt areas to providing hostels for young people while they save for costly housing deposits. If opposition members in the Legislative Council stop their filibusters hopefully some progress will be made on this issue.
The relative economic strengths of the mainland and Hong Kong have gone through major changes. At the start of the mainland's reform and opening-up policy, Hong Kong accounted for more than 25 percent of the country's GDP, while this is now less than 3 percent and the SAR now depends more on the mainland than the mainland does on the SAR. Furthermore, throughput at Hong Kong's container port has remained virtually unchanged over the last five years as its expansion is constrained by limited land resources; whereas during the boom years of 1990 to 2005 volume grew at a brisk 10 percent annually. The leveling-out is a result of competition from Shenzhen and Guangzhou, now among the world's 10 largest ports.
Those who are dissatisfied with the Aug 31 decision of the National People's Congress Standing Committee should improve their understanding of the current political and economic situation in Hong Kong. They should seek other means to express their discontent instead of occupying public areas, disrupting daily life and damaging the economy.
The "Occupy" campaign has resulted in a drop in projected GDP growth from 3.4 to 2.2 percent. This is the price Hong Kong's economy is paying as a result of the ongoing tug of war between the rule of law and the rule of violence.
The author is an independent scholar and freelance writer. She is also the founder and president of the China-US Friendship Exchange, Inc.
(HK Edition 12/03/2014 page10)