A lot of people said it was way too eventful than it should be on December 2 and 3, which was barely bearable. Firstly, Joshua Wong Chi-fung, among others, was imprisoned for unauthorized assembly. Is a one-year sentence for this crime involving no violence and less serious than “unlawful assembly” proportionate to its seriousness? The following day, Jimmy Lai and some others were indicted on a charge of fraud by the government, which accused them of breaching land-lease terms. A judge designated for cases relating to national security handed down a ruling to take Lai into custody till April next year. How does the crime he is allegedly involved relate to subversion of the government and secession of the state? Is the detention kind of abuse of power? Simultaneously, Hui Chi-fung declared himself in exile, presently followed by his and his family members’ bank accounts frozen by the government, which raised eyebrows in the society. All the said news was so mind-boggling as to draw everyone’s attention from Tam Tak-chi(aka fast beat) coming up for trial on the same day. Having been detained for 3 months for giving the government a good dressing-down, Tam was sentenced to another custody till May next year. Are the protection of freedom of expression enshrined in the Basic Law and presumption of innocence, a fundamental principle of the common law, gone already?

Not yet recovered from astonishment and irresolute in prioritizing application for immigration over transferring assets abroad, Hong Kongers saw on TV the day after Carrie Lam, gray-faced, criticized those with “ulterior motive” for smearing the National Security Law and spoiling “one country, two systems”, and reckoned it is necessary to attach importance to both the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China and Basic Law in order to ensure “smooth and long-term success” and so now it’s time to give it a thorough overhaul and right the wrong! As a matter of fact, December 4 is Constitution Day. China’s Constitution and the Basic Law in hands, some principals of patriotic schools presided over flag raising ceremonies at schools, issuing a rallying cry with students, “I am Chinese!” But the real intention of laying down a constitution is to protect basic rights of nationals, and regulate remits of various national authorities. Having witnessed what had happened the day before, no one deemed such an empty patriotic slogan able to put a gloss on the decay of the regime, did they?

Being politically incorrect, I was driven by my inquisitiveness to dig a book named Our Country’s Presidents out of a heap of used books of my daughter’s to take a look at how Americans teach their offspring to get to know their presidents and constitution. The book, pertaining to the scholastic series published by National Geographic, talks about presidents from the first elected one to Obama. It demythologizes the “honesty legend” of George Washington at the very beginning, pointing out the story about him admitting he hacked a cherry tree with a hatchet was fabricated.

While the US was abundant in great presidents in the history of America, there were a lot that were corrupt and scandal-ridden. Warren Harding and Richard Nixon were accused of grafting and rigging, illegally dealing blows to political opponents; outstanding presidents such as Thomas Jefferson, Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy and Bill Clinton were embroiled in sex scandals and impeached. In junior high schools, their children have to learn to come up against human weaknesses and realize that democracy does not guarantee the elected are perfect, but it is cherished for its checks and balances against powers. President James Madison said: “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”

The book introduces the advancement of US democracy, how the meritocratic Electoral College in the presidential election is predominated by popular votes, and how slaves, women and the black struggled to acquire their suffrage. It also presents the separation of powers in the US, the President and the Congress checking and balancing one another, and the power of the Supreme Court to review legislation and presidents’ executive orders. Woodrow Wilson was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for advocating establishment of the League of Nations after World War I, but ironically, he failed to persuade the Congress to make America one of the signatory states, which is beyond comprehension in China.

Even though the US is a superpower whose presidential elections play a decisive role, the operation of its power is contained by the constitution. To successfully roll out his/her policies, the President has to communicate well with the Congress, and reach a compromise with the opposition camp. In the history of America, the outstanding presidents were extraordinarily humble: George Washington was convinced that a lot of trifles could ultimately bring about great changes; Obama spent time in reading 10 letters from nationals every day; John Adams said it was the epoch that had chosen him, an ordinary person; William Taft said he had forgotten he used to be the US President but were proud of being the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Thomas Jefferson had his life achievements carved in his tombstone but taking up the post of US President is not on the list. The one at the top is his participation in drawing up the US Declaration of Independence, followed by the law with regard to separation of church and state successfully driven by him. What he was mindful of was to protect civilians’ lives gifted by the nature, their freedom and right to pursue happiness. The power of the President was seen by him primarily as a means to an end.

The longest term ever served was by Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was adored by the Americans; William Harrison spent the shortest time in office for he died of a flu after delivering a lengthy inauguration speech. Carrie Lam has not given a speech outdoors for a long time, and recent flag raising ceremonies have been held indoors. She has recently said she has regained her self-confidence. When will she publicly make a speech for us about how our natural rights are protected under the new constitutional order?

(Chan Kin Man is one of the founders of Occupy Central with Love and Peace Campaign.)

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