01 perspective
Written by: Comment Editor
2019-11-27 21:36
Last updated: 2019-11-27 21:39The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, on Tuesday (November 26) mentioned "preparing for the establishment of an Independent Review Committee to explore the causes and recommendations of this long-term social turmoil" and stated that the committee will refer to 2011 The Riots Communities and Victims Panel, which was established after the riots in the UK in August, conducts a review of "doing things right but not others", and is currently "looking for social leaders, experts and scholars. jobs". Taking a holistic view of the cause of social turmoil is a matter of course, but the British team can draw lessons from Hong Kong, and it goes beyond just conducting a review.
Candidates should consider different spectrums
As a reference for the review committee, a major feature of the British "riots, communities and victims groups" is that the range of members has deliberately taken care of different political spectrums. Ten days after the riot ended, the group was jointly proposed by British Prime Minister Tory Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Opposition Leader Edward Miliband. The chair of the panel is Darra Singh, Deputy Secretary of Labor of the Ministry of Labour, who has extensive experience in dealing with community relations, youth violence and unemployment. Other members include Simon Marcus, a conservative, Maeve Sherlock of the Labor Party, and Heather Rabbatts of the business community. It can be seen that from the establishment to the implementation of the group, people from different parties and fields have been involved.
The credibility of the Independent Police Monitoring Complaints Committee (IPCC), which is also investigating recent incidents, has been questioned by all sectors of the Hong Kong community. One reason is that the members of the IPCC have a clear political tendency. Monopolized by institutionalists, individual commissioners even ignored the neutral role of the IPCC and issued statements in support of the police and donated to a fund supporting the police to support police officers convicted for using illegal force. " If Lin Zhengyue really intends to follow the British experience to set up an independent review committee, she must pay attention not to let it repeat the shortcomings of the IPCC too relying on the reconstructionist system. When looking for candidates, you should take into account people from different political spectrums so that all voices can enter the committee. This will help investigate the cause of the incident and make recommendations.
Lin Zhengyue stated on Facebook that she is preparing to establish an independent review committee.
Review recommendations need to be implemented exactly
Moreover, the "riot, community and victim group" is not without any defects. For example, it is not an investigative agency with legal status. Therefore, it does not have the right to call witnesses or hold trials. It can only rely on the public to submit information voluntarily. ; As for the various recommendations made in the report of the group, which are also non-binding, the government can decide whether to accept them or not, so one year after the group's final report was released, Labour MP David Lammy found that only 63 of the 63 recommendations in the report were only 11 The items were adopted by the government, the remaining 35 items were rejected or not implemented, 4 items were under review, and 13 items had unknown progress; the approved items were mainly about finding potential problem families and helping young people cope with material pressure, while those that were rejected included those Measures to improve school education, rehabilitation and employment training.
The lack of legal status of the "riot, community and victim group" will undoubtedly limit the scope of its investigation, which will affect the credibility and comprehensiveness of its conclusions and recommendations. The British government's selective response to the group's recommendations afterwards is even more contrary to the group The original intention was established. Under such circumstances, the Hong Kong Government cannot naturally repeat the same mistakes. When setting up an independent review committee, it should also give it sufficient legal status and power so that it can fully investigate the cause of the incident and return it after the work report is completed. It is necessary to implement the recommended measures exactly, and even consider setting up a mechanism to track progress to avoid situations where the committee's recommendations are not implemented.
One of the experts of the IPCC pointed out earlier that the IPCC's investigative powers are inadequate and must be investigated in depth by independent agencies. (Profile picture)
Can't do it alone
Last but not least, the Riot, Community and Victims Group is not the only agency or organization to review British harassment in August 2011, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, House of Commons affairs The House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, the Metropolitan Police Service, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and the Guardian have all conducted similar investigations from different perspectives, showing that It is absolutely impossible to rely on a single committee for this work.
As early as August of this year, "Hong Kong 01" has proposed that the government set up a "Conflict Review Committee", "Deep Reform Committee" and "Amnesty and Reconciliation Committee" to resolve the conflict; in addition, the member of the Executive Council and the convener of democratic ideas, Tang Jiazheng It has also called on the government to set up a "Truth and Reconciliation Commission" with reference to the South African case, and to investigate the truth of the incident and amnesty the relevant prisoners in order to restore social trust. After more than three months of long-delayed preparation of this independent review committee by Lin Zhengyue, at most, he could barely touch the scope of the investigation and review work. The reconciliation and amnesty sections are still missing, such as the "dialogue" There is no more information after the operation in September.
In any case, Lin Zhengyue's decision to start the preparations for the Independent Review Committee is in part a response to the appeals of various circles of society for an independent investigation committee; although the operating modes of the two are still quite different, it may provide a solution to the conflict. starting point. We sincerely hope that this committee will not be reduced to a political cover-up like any other government ’s previous measures, but we want it to truly achieve what Lin Zhengyue once said “by finding causes to avoid repeating mistakes and strengthen social cohesion”, Candidates can no longer rely on pro-established figures alone. The committee itself must have sufficient legal status and power to support its work, and must cooperate with other measures in a multi-pronged manner. These are all left by the British experience she said she should refer to. Lessons.
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01 depth
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