It is both embarrassing and annoying to Washington that the World Justice Project reconfirmed Hong Kong’s good performance in its implementation of the rule of law on Wednesday — the same day the US State Department accused the city of “significant human rights issues” in its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.
That Hong Kong has moved one notch higher in both of the WJP global rankings of “civil justice” and “criminal justice” sub-indexes is nothing short of a big slap in the face for Washington.The World Justice Project, a leading source for data on the rule of law, maintains Hong Kong’s ranking as No 5 in the East Asia and Pacific region and No 16 globally in its Rule of Law Index 2020 — well ahead of the US (21, down from 20 in the previous year).
That Hong Kong has moved one notch higher in both of the WJP global rankings of “civil justice” and “criminal justice” sub-indexes is nothing short of a big slap in the face for Washington.
The annual WJP Rule of Law Index surveys more than 130,000 households and 4,000 legal practitioners and experts around the world. But the US State Department’s narrative about Hong Kong’s human rights situation has been mainly based on lies told by members of the city’s opposition camp, who have frequented Washington to beg for US interference in Hong Kong’s affairs.
It takes no more than common sense for fair-minded people to see the folly of Washington’s “police brutality” accusation against Hong Kong police, when a myriad of TV footage and online videos attest to their professionalism and restraint as they confronted the cruelty and lawlessness of the rioters they were duty-bound to bring to justice.
The sheer irony of Washington’s taking issue with Hong Kong’s “human rights issues” is also highlighted by the fact that it trails well behind Hong Kong in terms of implementing the rule of law — the very foundation for human rights protection.
And nothing compares in absurdity to Washington’s accusing Hong Kong police of brutality when it’s no secret that US police have maintained, for years if not decades, their notoriety as being among the most brutal law enforcers in the world. In 2019 alone, more than 1,000 people were shot and killed by American police, according to The Washington Post.
In sharp contrast, the Hong Kong Police Force has inflicted no fatalities in defending the city for eight months against sustained mob violence and terrorist activities, including arson, gasoline-bomb attacks, and attempts to snatch police pistols.
As Washington politicians’ hypocrisy keeps repeating itself, people can’t help but deplore that history is fond of producing such ironies.