According to the Council of the International Bar Association, the rule of law is the foundation of a civilized society. Recent research by the World Justice Project shows that the rule of law correlates to higher economic growth, greater peace, less inequality, improved health outcomes and more education around the globe. Undoubtedly, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government and the public regard the rule of law as an invaluable asset. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor regards the rule of law as the cornerstone of Hong Kong’s success.

In the past few years, some “yellow-camp” scholars have irresponsibly glorified “civil disobedience” and distorted the meaning of rule of law. In spite of the severe threat posed by the illegal “Occupy Central” and “Black Riot” movements, the rule of law returned from the cliff edge in early 2020. Since the promulgation of the National Security Law for Hong Kong, public order has been restored in Hong Kong. But the HKSAR government has had a tough time convincing some Western governments that our legal system is still weighing clearly in favor of the thick version of the rule of law.

In December 2014, Benny Tai Yiu-ting, Chu Yiu-ming and Chan Kin-man, the initiators of “Occupy Central”, turned themselves in to the police, admitting taking part in an illegal assembly to fight for an electoral system that was compatible with “international standards” of universal suffrage. According to the trio, they did so in order to bear legal responsibility and uphold the rule of law. What is at issue is not only the threat posed by the so-called civil disobedience to the maintenance of law and order but, just as importantly, the maintenance of reasonable and necessary statutory limitations on a controversial right to civil disobedience to allegedly pursue a “higher sense of justice”.

The injured rule of law has allowed the little seeds of anti-China disruptive forces to grow rapidly under the romantic guise of a civil disobedience movement to allegedly pursue a higher sense of justice

There is no doubt that “Occupy Central” caused a public nuisance and brought untold suffering to Hong Kong people. Worse still, the rule of law was scalded in the frying pan of the “Occupy Central” movement in 2014. The injured rule of law has allowed the little seeds of anti-China disruptive forces to grow rapidly under the romantic guise of a civil disobedience movement to allegedly pursue a higher sense of justice. But a “higher sense of justice” is an elusive concept. It is also a moot point whether universal suffrage will improve our electoral system and deliver good governance. Adding woes to the rule of law, the “Black Riot” broke out in mid-2019.

Unfortunately for Hong Kong, the violent protesters in 2019 turned the protest against the extradition bill into a violent anti-government movement beyond the proper and reasonable constraints imposed on civil disobedience by Mahatma Gandhi or John Rawls. The “Black Riot” took the rule of law from the frying pan of the “Occupy Central” movement into the fire of street violence, vandalism and large-scale anti-government confrontation. The rule of law was further threatened when the supporters of the “yellow camp” threatened some of the judges who correctly imprisoned the convicted rioters in accordance with relevant sentencing principles.

With that threat in mind, we believe that any failure to strengthen the rule of law in Hong Kong will open the door to injustice, social instability and bad governance. The Department of Justice deserves great credit for launching the Vision 2030 for Rule of Law (Vision 2030) to further promote the proper concept of rule of law in Hong Kong. In the 2019 Policy Address (Supplement), the chief executive supported the launch of Vision 2030. The secretary for justice has personally steered the 10-year Vision 2030 initiative, officially launched in November 2020.

Vision 2030 aims to advance the rule of law and achieve sustainable development goals in related fields through:(a) facilitating inclusive stakeholders’ collaboration; (b) encouraging academic and professional exchange and research; (c) enhancing capacity building and dissemination of proper information; and (d) organizing promotional activities and contributing to building a strong rule-of-law community within this region and beyond.

Various localized projects and promotion activities have been introduced to reach out to the local community at various levels to promote a better understanding of the rule of law. The 3E-project has attracted considerable attention from the public. Empowerment, which is one of the components of the 3E-project, has targeted our younger generation. Through the Empowerment projects, the DOJ has collaborated with various stakeholders to organize a range of legal-based educational activities such as interactive drama for primary school students, workshops for secondary school students, and setting up electronic resources and materials for teachers.

A booklet titled Vision 2030 — “Empowerment” has also been published recently to instill law-abiding awareness in our primary and secondary school students. Mention should also be made of the cooperation between the DOJ and the Education Bureau in organizing the Reinforcing the Rule of Law training courses for teachers. In October, Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah spoke to a training course given to more than 100 teachers on the proper concepts of the rule of law.

Engagement and enrichment are the remaining 2Es of the 3E-project. By engaging the general public, the DOJ hopes to raise the awareness of the importance of a law-abiding society. A series of animations, named “Studio DOJ”, have been launched to provide the general public with basic legal knowledge and to help them gain a better understanding of the legal system of Hong Kong. A video competition has also been launched to invite secondary students to share their thoughts on the rule of law.

Finally, the enrichment projects provide the legal communities with the opportunities to advance and broaden their knowledge and exposure to international legal development. Apart from the annual Legal Week events, the DOJ has launched the Young Professional Overseas Enrichment Program to enable young lawyers and dispute-resolution practitioners to participate in overseas international conferences related to law, mediation and arbitration. A Basic Law conference and a summit on the National Security Law will also be held in 2022.

Junius Ho Kwan-yiu is a Legislative Council member and a solicitor.

Kacee Ting Wong is a barrister, part-time researcher of Shenzhen University Hong Kong and Macao Basic Law Research Center, and co-founder of the Together We Can and Hong Kong Coalition.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.