香港示威者不能凌驾于法律之上

Editor's Note:Tom Fowdy is a British political and international relations analyst and a graduate of Durham and Oxford universities. He writes on topics pertaining to China, the DPRK, Britain, and the United States. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

作者介绍：汤姆•福迪（Tom Fowdy）是英国政治和国际关系分析人士，先后毕业于杜伦大学和牛津大学。他常就与中国、朝鲜、英国和美国相关的话题撰写评论。本文仅代表作者观点，并不一定代表CGTN的观点。

On Saturday night Hong Kong once again descended into chronic violence and disorder. Increasingly radical activists sought to target what they deemed "Chinese mainland" businesses, smashing up, vandalizing and starting fires in a number of stores and retail units.

11月2日晚，香港再度陷入暴力和混乱。示威者变得越来越激进，试图瞄准他们认为是“中国内地”的企业，肆意打砸商铺并放火焚烧。

Amongst the casualties was China's leading news agency Xinhua, which was attacked with petrol bombs. In response, perpetrators and their enablers once again attempted to blame the city's police force, refusing to acknowledge the scale of destruction.

位于港岛的新华社亚太总分社大楼也遭到暴徒汽油弹袭击。事后，肇事者及其指使者拒绝承认其暴行规模，并再次试图抹黑香港警署。

In doing so, the protesters have ironically demonstrated that they have no respect for freedom of the press, despite claiming to advocate liberty. On their behalf this constitutes a major double standard and illustrates how there is no rationale or principles behind their movement, but simply a pure and explicit hatred of all things China. The reality is far from what the Western media will be honest to acknowledge.

示威者声称要争取自由，但打砸新华社之举完全无视新闻自由，实在是太讽刺了。这是典型的双重标准，充分说明暴徒的行为完全不讲任何理由或原则，而仅仅是出于对一切大陆事物的仇恨。面对这样的事实，西方媒体并不愿意实事求是地承认和报道。

Those who continue to support activists in the city need to wake up. This is not a benevolent, forward-thinking, or righteous movement; it is a reactionary one that is driven by mass hysteria and pure hatred. For a long time now, activists are increasingly set upon destroying, harming and attacking everything and everyone who is perceived to get in their way or questions their methods. It is void of reason, ethic and civilized thinking. Those who are responsible for this ferocious "black terror" should be, rightfully in accordance with the law, brought to justice.

那些继续支持香港示威者的人们该醒醒了。这场运动完全没有所谓的仁义、前瞻性或正义，而是一场在群体歇斯底里和纯粹的仇恨驱动下的反动运动。近几个月来，示威者越来越多地集中于伤害和攻击任何被认为挡他们的路或质疑他们的做法的人和事物。暴徒行径完全没有任何理性、道德和文明思维可言。造成这次残暴的“黑色恐怖”的人应被绳之以法。

Violent protesters set up road barricades in downtown Hong Kong, China, November 2, 2019. /Reuters Photo

For a long time now, some Western mainstream media and commentariat have sought to portray activists in Hong Kong as righteous, heroic and courageous. Blinded by sheer ideological bias, they have, in every instance, continually sought to make excuses for and disregard the increasingly violent and utterly fanatical behavior amongst them. These demonstrators are not implementing an optimistic or praiseworthy dream for what they believe Hong Kong should be but are in fact, destroying the city, fuelled by pure, venomous hatred of the Chinese mainland.

长期以来，一些西方主流媒体和评论人士一直在试图把香港的这群示威者粉饰成正义、英勇之士。这些媒体和评论家完全被其意识形态偏见蒙蔽了双眼，对示威者日益暴力和完全疯狂的行为视而不见，还不断为其找借口开脱。这群示威者完全不是在为所谓让香港更美好的光辉高尚的梦想而战，而恰恰是在摧毁香港，其暴行在对中国内地的恶意和仇恨中不断升级。

This hatred exceeds all justifiable reason, nuance and restraint. How can such people be claimed to favor the rule of law in the city? Anyone who questions them on the public scene is subject to brutal assaults, yet we keep receiving the one-sided narrative that the police are somehow the ones to blame and that these people are innocent victims merely defending their rights of assembly. Only on Saturday did activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung claim on Twitter that the city's economic deterioration somehow stemmed from the presence of law enforcement.

暴徒的这种赤裸裸的肆意仇恨没有任何正当理由可言。这样一群人怎么能被认为是在维护香港的法治呢？暴徒们残忍攻击任何在公共场合质疑他们的人，但我们却不断在媒体上看到片面的说法指责香港警员是罪魁祸首，而示威者只是捍卫集会权利的无辜受害者。就在11月2日，乱港分子黄之锋还在推特上宣称，是执法部门的存在造成了香港经济的下滑。

But this is truly ridiculous, the police are not the ones burning, smashing up and brutalizing up businesses en masse out of political grievances. These graphic images do not lie to us; these targeted attacks, such as on Xinhua, are not synonymous with freedom of assembly at all, but can only be described as sheer criminality and hooliganism, of which would not be tolerated in any other society on this planet. Time and time again, legitimate actions by law enforcement to stop this kind of behavior are being falsely passed off as police brutality.

黄之锋此言实在可笑之极：那些出于政治怨气去打砸、焚烧商铺的人并不是香港警员啊。新闻图片不会欺骗我们；图片中的这些有针对性的攻击，比如对新华社的攻击，根本不是为了捍卫集会自由，而只能被描述为纯粹的犯罪和流氓行为。这种暴行在地球上的任何其他社会都是不能容忍的。然而，一次又一次，执法部门制止这种暴行的合法行动却被蓄意抹黑成警察暴力。

A large group of protesters blocked carriageways in the vicinity of Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, October 20, 2019. /CGTN Photo

In this case, we have to look at things for how they truly are and not for what we imagine or hope for them to be. What the activists are doing is completely illegal, disgraceful and alien to any concept of civilization or basic human ethic. To call for these perpetrators to be brought to justice is a legitimate and necessary procedure of the rule of law.

在这种情况下，我们必须看到事物的真实面貌，而不是我们想象或希望它们成为的样子。这群示威者的行径完全是非法的、可耻的，与任何文明或基本的人类伦理观念都是背道而驰的。呼吁将这些肇事者绳之以法是一个合法的、必要的法治程序。

Thus, it is time people were more honest with themselves about what is going on here. The activists demand that the authorities be held accountable to them, but a fundamental principle of social organization is that those responsible are also accountable to society as a whole; order, stability, security, prosperity and well-being cannot exist without this principle.

因此，现在是人们对这里正在发生的事情更加清醒和坦诚的时候了。示威者要求当局对他们负责，但社会组织的一个基本原则是，责任者也要对整个社会负责；没有这个原则，秩序、稳定、安全、繁荣和福祉就无从谈起。

Thus as a whole, there can be no society without personal responsibility. What is happening in Hong Kong is mindless, without merit and inherently void of all rationale. The activists do not have the mandate to pursue unlimited destruction in the name of "resistance" and are not above the law. If they cannot be brought to justice, then the city will continue to suffer.

因此，就作为一个整体的社会而言，没有个人责任的社会是不可能存在的。当下香港示威者的行径是盲目的，毫无价值和理性可言。示威者无权以“抵抗”的名义进行无底线的破坏，更不能凌驾于法律之上。如果暴徒之流不被绳之以法，那么香港将继续深受其害。​​​