In the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s District Court on Oct 19, five current and former undergraduate students of the Chinese University of Hong Kong were convicted of rioting and other related offenses after a trial and got prison sentences ranging from 57 to 59 months.
Among the five defendants, the only female — a 23-year-old nursing student, who was 21 and was a Year 4 student in 2019 — was given the stiffest sentence.
The rioting happened on the CUHK campus and in its vicinity on Nov 11, 2019, at the height of the city’s social unrest, which broke out in June that year and lasted several months. The anti-government protests had severely disrupted residents’ daily lives, with many of the city’s main roads, highways and cross-harbor tunnels blockaded. The university’s campus, which is adjacent to the Tolo Highway — a major carriageway linking Kowloon and the New Territories — was occupied by thousands of black-clad rioters, including students of the university. They threw objects, like stones, furniture, rubbish and metal bars, and hurled petrol bombs from a bridge onto the highway to disrupt traffic. Anti-riot police were deployed to disperse the mobs but encountered fierce resistance. The campus was turned into a war zone as the rioters used improvised weapons, including bows and arrows, catapults and petrol bombs, and charged at police defense lines. The officers responded by firing tear gas and rubber bullets, but avoided forcing their way into the campus. After a five-day confrontation, the rioters fled from various exits of the campus. The police later found more than 3,900 petrol bombs in a makeshift arsenal on the badly vandalized university grounds. Residents were startled by what they saw.
Since its inception in 1963, the CUHK has been highly regarded as a tertiary education institution that excels in inspiring students with traditional Chinese virtues, augmented by international perspectives. As a graduate, I had always been proud of the outstanding achievements of our alumni and the university’s passion for the motherland. But after witnessing the ugly scenes in 2019, I’ve found it hard to hold such pride again. Ironically, some CUHK students even prided themselves on calling the institution the “University of Riots”. This is absolutely outrageous and beyond common sense. Indeed, there have also been too many recent incidents in which CUHK students’ behavior has been degraded to an unthinkable extent. I could easily write a lengthy report listing the countless cases of shameful acts committed by these youngsters.
In my mind, something must have gone terribly wrong on the campus, with some students having been instilled with toxic ideology. The damage is so severe that they simply disregard law and order, not to mention the virtues of respect, courtesy and conscience. Some critics have blamed biased media publications, such as the now-defunct Apple Daily, and the flood of online gossip chatrooms. But this is only partly true. As university students, they should be mature and intelligent enough to distinguish between what’s right and wrong. To love or, at least, to respect one’s motherland, and to obey the law are two fundamental duties every rational person should have.
Perhaps we could get some hints as to what has actually gone wrong if we look at how the CUHK vice-chancellor, Professor Rocky Tuan Sung-chi, and some members of the university’s teaching staff reacted to the campus riot. They just blamed the police for entering the campus without the university’s consent and using tear gas on the student protesters. No single person from the university management explained why the students had the right to turn the campus into a war zone, as well as the right to paralyze the Tolo Highway and the East Rail. These supposedly esteemed academics even issued a joint statement publicly demanding an apology from the police.
With such a patronizing and, indeed, pampering university management, no wonder some students have gone against basic humanity. No wonder some students have booed the national anthem at graduation ceremonies. No wonder some students have openly insulted students from the Chinese mainland, using the sort of language that even a triad member would be ashamed of.
The female defendant in the riot case, surnamed Foo, made an astonishing written submission in court when the judge asked her if she had any mitigation to make. Instead of pleading for leniency, she said she didn’t regret what she had done and called the verdict “unreasonable”. She described the offense of a “riot” under the Public Order Ordinance which, in fact, was enacted several decades ago by the British colonial government, as a political tool to suppress dissent. The words used in her submission were highly provocative — to the effect that “if the court, upon hearing my submission, takes the view that a hefty sentence can make me regret and reflect, then suit yourself”.
In my 30 years of legal practice, I’ve never seen such a submission from a person who has been convicted in court. No qualified and sane criminal practice lawyer would advise his or her client to make such a defiant and silly submission before the judge. Foo had shown no remorse, but hostility to the judicial system, forcing the judge to hand down a heavier prison term.
I have utmost sympathy for her parents, who must be heartbroken as a result of what happened at the CUHK two years ago. Their young daughter, who had performed better than most of her peers in public examinations and got into one of Hong Kong’s top universities, should have been preparing herself for a prospective career after completing her final year of studies.
Now, everything is ruined. The poor parents have a right to know why their daughter, after spending three years at the university, has become an unrepentant criminal.
The author is a practicing solicitor in Hong Kong, specializing in criminal law, wills and probate, as well as cross-border legal matters between the Chinese mainland and the SAR.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.