Plunge in law and order ranking does not bode well for HKSAR
While the months-long violent campaign making the extradition law amendment bill an excuse has been quelled, its consequences continue to play out, with Hong Kong’s hard-earned reputation as one of the safest cities in the world being the new casualty. In the recently released Gallup 2020 Global Law and Order Index, which reflects situations in 2019, Hong Kong’s overall ranking took a nosedive, falling from fifth place to 82nd, which is on a par with those of much less-developed economies such as Burkina Faso in Africa. Unimaginable as it may seem to many locals and foreign nationals living in Hong Kong, it reflects a true but harsh reality of what Hong Kong residents faced during the “black revolution”.
The lawlessness that gripped Hong Kong with claws of terror for months on end was a heavy blow to civilization by barbarism. Many people who do not share the rioters’ political ambition feared for their lives almost constantly. Rioters resorted to unlawful and violent means to silence those who disagreed with them; they threatened to kill police officers in blatant attempts to intimidate the city’s law enforcement force.
Meanwhile, the opposition camp and its media allies, including anti-China propaganda machines from the West, spared no effort in vilifying the police with groundless accusations and outright lies for carrying out their duties faithfully. Not surprisingly, such an all-out smear campaign has negatively affected public perceptions of policing and weakened faith in police, contributing to Hong Kong’s plunge in the law and order ranking.
When the “black revolution” was wreaking havoc on a daily basis, the police had to contain street riots as its top priority. The overstretched police force had to reduce routine street patrols and sometimes could not respond in time to far-flung stress calls. The result is that criminal cases perpetrated by criminals other than rioters rose sharply in the second half of 2019, contributing to Hong Kong’s drop on the chart.
The plunge in law and order ranking is not merely a stain on Hong Kong’s reputation. It has a much more profound implication for the city’s future as an international commerce hub. The situation weighs heavily with businesses and investors when they are considering where to invest. The city’s attraction as a destination for investment and business operation, as well as a base for regional headquarters, will diminish unless its plunge in law and order ranking proves to be a temporary aberration, and is rectified soon.