If Hong Kong is to have a future as a plural society, both sides must say no to violence


In four months, the Hong Kong protests have spiralled into some of the city's worst civil unrest on record. The city has become the scene of regular clashes between tear gas- and gun-wielding police and civilians armed with Molotov cocktails and projectiles. A violent, radical minority of protesters have smashed storefronts, destroyed public infrastructure and made arson attacks on political targets - only to have pro-establishment vigilantes entering the fray and retaliating.


[A ban on face masks, which was imposed with the ostensible purpose of de-escalating the crisis, has led to heightened paranoia and resentment among the moderate and the apathetic members of the public, as evidenced by the storm of protests that erupted the day after the law took effect. It suffices to say that the next few weeks will be critical for the future of Hong Kong.

Our actions today - as a city, as a collective of individuals with different political beliefs and moral values - will decide where we are headed in the next 28 years, before Deng Xiaoping's promise to preserve Hong Kong's way of life for 50 years expires. Choosing the option of mutual violence - both by and towards civilians - would only put us on the path of no return.


The pursuit of violence has already taken its toll on our economy. As tourist figures collapse, business revenues dwindle, and the livelihoods of the most vulnerable workers are threatened by rampant police and protest violence, an economic downturn is likely imminent. Should such violence continue, the large-scale flight of capital and investors might undermine Hong Kong's status as a global financial hub, further weakening our ability to make a case for democracy as far as Beijing is concerned.

Many in the protest movement have argued that they turn to violence because non-violent methods do not work. They see violence as the only efficacious tactic for compelling Beijing to make concessions.

But this argument neglects several core issues: the central government's political interests lie within Zhongnanhai and the military-supported maintenance of stability in the mainland; its economic interests are distributed among its various rising metropolises and economic hubs. It is indubitably true that Beijing is unwilling to see Hong Kong descend into absolute violence - there is some credence to the claim that Hong Kong matters vastly to China's currency regime, financial markets and legal infrastructure.

Yet, amid a trade war and with a strength-based vision of foreign policy, the last thing Beijing would want is to come across as weak or capitulatory to what it perceives to be insurgency backed by foreign forces. Beijing could withstand this war of attrition, and Hong Kong would just slip further into uncompetitiveness.

Many of the protesters' goals are understandable, even reasonable - from demanding genuine political accountability for this summer's events and at large and reforming police protocol to ensure that brutality and abuse are redressed, to mitigating socioeconomic inequalities and instilling transparency in government. I do not dispute the value of these demands.

However, if we choose to construct Hong Kong's future through indiscriminate and unrestrained violence, we must prepare ourselves for long-term consequences to political discourse and activism in this city. The moment we view violence as a permissible means of addressing individuals with different political orientations - whether it is thugs in white shirts targeting train passengers in Yuen Long, or gangs beating up protesters in North Point - is the moment we begin heading down a slippery slope towards widespread lawlessness.

Although there are apparent inadequacies of both law enforcement and the judiciary system, this is no excuse for vengeful assault or economic destruction; this holds true regardless of one's political orientation. There is a saying among protesters: "Yellow or blue is a question of politics, black or white is a matter of conscience." Presumably, the implication is that vigilantism is justifiable if it is motivated by moral considerations.

This may be true in exceptional circumstances; but when the targets of violence are infrastructure or merely shops associated with the pro-establishment camp, the line between morally driven resistance and plain vandalism becomes dangerously blurred. The law exists for a reason: it is a system of adjudicating moral differences in a pluralistic society.

Conversely, the argument that police officers defying protocol and the law should be let off scot-free because of worries about their morale is ludicrous; just because they technically enforce the law does not exempt them from the law. That some individuals view protesters as "cockroaches" does not legitimise the doxxing, stalking and harassment of peaceful youths trying to make their voices heard.

If our government is to do nothing, if we are to do nothing, what is left of our rule of law will only be further eroded. If pro- and anti-establishment camps alike turn a blind eye to violence deployed by those who are politically aligned with them, Hong Kong will cease to be a global city renowned for its cultural and political pluralism.

There are two paths ahead of us right now. The first is along the lines of the Irish Troubles, as violence becomes routine and drives this city deeper into despair. The second is to make a difficult but necessary pitch to Beijing, to persuade the central government that granting Hong Kong greater autonomy will undermine neither national security nor the prospect of economic gains from Hong Kong.

The second path is distinctly harder, given the political polarisation - yet it is a necessary path some must proceed along, for the sake of the future of a city we all love.

Brian YS Wong is a Master of Philosophy student of politics (political theory) at Wolfson College, Oxford University

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