No excuse for bad behavior in LegCo

If you heard some news about a woman having her cellphone snatched from her, you would most probably imagine it had happened in a deserted back street in the dark of night. You would never imagine that it occurred during office hours on a weekday in the Legislative Council, teeming with lawmakers and LegCo staff, and that the perpetrator was a legislator.

Democratic Party legislator Hui Chi-fung grabbed a cellphone from a female staff member of the Security Bureau on Tuesday and ran into the men’s room to read the information recorded in the digital device. According to his own confession afterward, he was trying to find out whether the woman was recording the time legislators entered and left the LegCo building and legislative chamber.

He said he had long been concerned about the government’s alleged deployment of “paparazzi” to track their whereabouts in the LegCo building, which he described as an infringement of their privacy. He and his party apologized after his behavior caused an uproar. Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung and Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu both expressed outrage and said the victim had reported the incident to police.

After the disqualification of some legislators for disrespecting the oath-taking process and following recent amendments to house rules, one would imagine we could find some peace in LegCo. But it seems the opposition camp has not learned its lesson.

Hui’s excuse for his misdeed did not hold water at all. Legislators are public office holders paid with taxpayers’ money; their attendance in LegCo should be information anybody can check — including the government. When they are discharging their official duties, there is nothing private about their behavior.

And it is ironic for Hui to accuse the woman of infringing their privacy by collecting personal information when he himself took her cellphone without her consent and read the information on it. Is this woman’s privacy and personal information not worthy of protection?

Hui returned the cellphone via a colleague but the damage was done — she was reportedly shocked by Hui’s rude and aggressive action. According to former secretary for security Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, this could constitute a crime of common assault. Whether Hui has broken the law or not is up to the police and courts to decide. But his actions show again that opposition lawmakers are always prone to using violence and have no respect for the law — hence the illegal “Occupy Central” movement and other recent disturbances.

That they accuse the government of collecting their “private” information also reflects the opposition lawmakers’ inability to differentiate between public and private matters — a very basic requirement for public office holders. Anybody who thinks these legislators, who are capable of such stupid behavior, can help Hong Kong cope with its current serious challenges should think again.