Between June 2019 and September 2020, over 10,000 people were arrested over their involvement in protest-related crimes. The trials of those prosecuted, often students, have now concluded, and many have been convicted. Given the severity of their crimes, sentences of detention, of one sort or another, have often been unavoidable.
In 2020, the Hong Kong Association of the Heads of Secondary Schools, the largest grouping of secondary school principals, called for students arrested during the protests to be treated leniently. It said it was important for young people who had got into trouble to know that society had not given up on them. Even after conviction, they still had to be educated and cared for, and the Association told the government that leniency facilitates rehabilitation.
However, the sentencing of young offenders is entirely a matter for the courts, not the government, and they exercise their own independent discretion when it comes to penalties. If crimes are grave, the Judiciary may have no choice but to impose condign punishment, youth notwithstanding. As the Court of Appeal has explained, if young offenders are convicted of serious crimes, it means that “the courts must steel themselves, unless there are particularly powerful and peculiar contrary reasons attaching to the circumstances of the offender and his involvement in the offense, to the imposition of substantial prison terms” (CACC 97/2001).
Although the criminal justice system invariably tries to be as merciful as possible to young offenders, there is always a risk that undue leniency sends out the wrong message. If an offender has, for example, thrown petrol bombs at police officers, torched MTR stations or engaged in violent rioting, they cannot expect to get away with a rap across the knuckles. Although alternatives to imprisonment, like detention centers, rehabilitation centers and training centers, can sometimes be deployed, in many cases imprisonment will be necessary, although it may not be as grim as it sounds.
As the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance (Cap.383) indicates, young offenders “shall be segregated from adults and be accorded treatment appropriate to their age and legal status” (Art.6). This means they are kept away from the hardened criminals, and are provided with appropriate training. In other words, they do not face the full impact of incarceration, and as much emphasis as possible is placed upon rehabilitation, with skills being taught that will hopefully assist them in their future lives.
On Dec 7, the secretary for security, Chris Tang Ping-keung, told the Legislative Council that up to 1,315 people are currently incarcerated because of their involvement in the “black-clad violence cases” of 2019-20, with 345 of them being aged 21 years or under. When asked what was being done to help young persons in custody, he said the Correctional Services Department (CSD) was providing halfway education for young people.
Although, given security concerns, detainees could not conduct online searches directly, Tang said e-learning corners had been available since 2015, and this enables them to access materials for distance learning courses. The CSD was also planning to introduce an online learning platform for people in custody, and they would be given a tablet to access learning materials through its intranet.
He also indicated that the CSD was helping inmates to enter various public examinations, and that, through liaison with local educational institutions, it was seeking to help them to complete their interrupted studies.
As regards vocational training, Tang said the 13 courses currently available cover business practices, image design, beauty care, coffee shop operation and other industries, and these would be reviewed based on such things as the background of the detainee and the requirements of prospective employers. He assured legislators that the CSD would “continue to actively promote diversified and appropriate services in facilitating the rehabilitation of persons in custody, and their reintegration into society.”
By the end of October, moreover, Tang disclosed that 677 detainees, of whom 474 had been convicted of protest-related crimes, had participated in the Project PATH program, launched in November 2021, and designed to help “rebuild positive values” (this is achieved through the holistic development of young adults). He advised that the program was producing a “satisfactory outcome”, that participants found it useful and were remorseful for past misdeeds, and that none of them had reoffended after release, at least so far.
Earlier, in April, the Security Bureau had also briefed the Legislative Council’s finance committee about the CSD’s voluntary “deradicalization” program for those convicted of involvement in the protests. As of February, 250 people had, it said, participated in the program, which is designed to help inmates to “disengage from radical thoughts, and re-establish correct values”, through lessons about Chinese history, the Basic Law and the National Security Law for Hong Kong. The program, moreover, is allied to related initiatives to help detainees to enhance their sense of national identity and their appreciation of what it means to be law-abiding. Therapy is also available to help those with extreme anti-social and violent mindsets, and, during the sessions, demons will hopefully have been purged.
The CSD says a “core mission” is the successful reintegration of inmates into society, and, after release, the private sector, with job opportunities, then steps up to the plate, and the trends are encouraging. Whereas, between 2009 and 2018, the overall recidivism rate fell from 33 percent to 22.5 percent, the rate for young offenders aged below 21 more than halved, from 23.2 percent to 10.2 percent, and there is every reason to suppose that, once available, future statistics will be equally positive, if not more so.
Tang disagreed with suggestions that local employers are reluctant to offer opportunities to former inmates, and insisted there were numerous openings available. Whereas around 470 corporations had agreed to provide up to 800 job opportunities to released persons, three were also offering employment in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. He also pointed out that, apart from promoting diversified vocational training for those in custody, the CSD also monitored the employment status of people after their release with a view to constructive guidance.
What is clear, therefore, is that everything possible is being done by the CSD to rehabilitate young offenders detained because of protest-related crimes, and to assist them once released. It is going the extra mile to correct perverted attitudes, and to provide inmates with rational perspectives. Although there were initially concerns that extremists might try to radicalize them yet further, this has not been a significant problem, and, with the support of business, rehabilitative measures are bearing fruit.
It seems clear that most of those involved in the insurrection are genuinely trying to reform themselves, with many now wanting to help society. The CSD, with Tang’s encouragement, is clearly doing great work, but the community as a whole must also rally round. When sinners repent, it is in everybody’s interest, but they still need maximum support in carving out decent futures for themselves.
The author is a senior counsel and law professor, and was previously the director of public prosecutions of the Hong Kong SAR.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.