* My column in BusinessWorld on August 15, 2019.
See also:
“… the rules must apply to those who lay them down and
those who apply — that is, to the government as well as the governed — and that
nobody has the power to grant exceptions.”
— Friedrich Hayek, Chapter 10, The Constitution of
Liberty (1960)
This is the essence of the “rule of law” — that the law
applies equally to unequal people, no one is exempted and no one can grant an
exemption. Once exemptions are made, this automatically leads to the rule of
men. The powerful and the mob are exempted from penalties for violating certain
laws.
The nearly three months of protests and discontent in
Hong Kong is centered over a subject related to the rule of law — the proposed
Extradition bill, where suspected criminals and dissidents in Hong Kong can be
extradited to China. And China, being a one-party communist government, is
known for having little respect for the rule of law, little respect for the
rights of suspects. It sends shivers down the spines of the people of Hong Kong
to contemplate what would happen if some or many of them are extradited to
China when Hong Kong has its own courts already.
There is proof behind the statement that China has little
respect for the rule of law. In the World Justice Project’s annual “Rule of Law
Index” (RoLI), countries and jurisdictions are scored and ranked based on their
performance on eight factors and 44 sub-factors. The RoLI 2019 Report involved
more than 120,000 household surveys and 3,800 expert surveys in 126 countries
and jurisdictions.
China ranks low overall on RoLI, 82nd out of 126
countries; in contrast, Hong Kong ranked 16th. China scored particularly low on
Factor 4: Fundamental Rights, like Freedom of opinion and expression, Freedom
of belief and religion, Freedom of assembly and association, are effectively
guaranteed. It is also low on Factor 8: Criminal Justice, like Criminal system
is impartial, is free of improper government influence.
In property rights protection, both physical and
intellectual property, again Hong Kong ranked high. We consider the annual
study International Property Rights Index (IPRI) by the Property Rights
Alliance (PRA), based in Washington, DC. The IPRI 2018 Report showed that Hong
Kong ranked 17th while China ranked 52nd out of 126 countries and
jurisdictions. In intellectual property rights (IPR) protection, the same
pattern is observed (see Table).
The United Kingdom and its former colonies in Asia — Hong
Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia — rank high in both RoLI and IPRI. The great
minds of British classical liberal thinking like John Locke, Adam Smith, and
John Stuart Mill, successfully influenced the legal and economic philosophy and
practice of these countries.
Communist China in contrast, is still reeling from the
influence and heavy-handed dictatorship of its founder Mao Zedong. Its
tolerance for citizens’ freedom of expression is very low. Extended in foreign
relations, its tolerance for international rule of law like respect of
international waters at the South China Sea/west Philippine Sea is also very
low.
I have great respect and admiration for the brave people
of Hong Kong, especially its youth. You are fighting the lackey of the biggest
dictatorial government for a noble cause.
On a related note, the UK-based Geneva Network and
Minimal Government Thinkers (MGT) will launch a report on the “Importance of
IPR for ASEAN” in Manila on Sept. 24. This joint report will be co-signed by
the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs in Kuala Lumpur, Paramadina
Public Policy Institute in Jakarta, Siam Intelligence Unit in Bangkok, MGT in
Manila, and the Viet Nam Economic Policy Research Centre in Hanoi. The Geneva
Network is coordinating the study.
The keynote speaker for the event will be Trade and
Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez. Mr. Lopez is very explicit in his support for
IPR protection being among the cornerstones of technological innovation and
economic competitiveness for any country.
IPRI 2019 will also be launched in Manila later this
year. MGT and the Foundation for Economic Freedom will be the local partners of
PRA in launching this big event.
---------------
See also:
BWorld 357, We need further FDI liberalization, August 10, 2019
BWorld 358, How government restricts energy development, August 13, 2019
BWorld 359, Why is Philippines’ GDP growth decelerating? August 18, 2019
Wonderful blog post!
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