After spending 27 years in prison, Nelson Mandela was released in 1990. Subsequently, when the Nobel Committee decided to award the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize to Mandela, they also included F W de Klerk, the person who took bold political initiative in freeing Mandela and carrying out radical political reforms. Prior to the 1989 and 1990 political reforms, a number of political parties, including the African National Congress(ANC), were banned. For over 20 years, even photographs of Mandela had not been allowed to be published. All these changed after De Klerk and Mandela discussed and agreed on legalizing banned political parties, which paved the way for a free and democratic South Africa. While the attention was drawn to the free Mandela, I think the role played by De Klerk was significant for this historical chain of events. There was a genuine sense of mercy that led to these changes.

However, these changes did not happen in a vacuum. The world was going through historical changes, including the end of the Cold War in 1989. More importantly, South Africa continued to suffer sanctions and be isolated. Activists in exile worked decades to create international awareness of what was going on in South Africa and apply pressure on the South African government. The international community supporting the ANC and struggle of black South Africans could not easily predict when the changes were going to happen. However, traditional political wisdom taught the world that changes were inevitable, and it would be a matter of time before that happened. So, for South Africa, it took decades of efforts to arrive there. But the most important thing is they arrived there in the end. Changes did happen.

When Mandela was released, much had to be done to steer South Africa towards the right direction. Mandela wanted change not through retribution or revenge but compassion and mercy. He wanted to try to reconcile two highly polarized groups of the population. Mandela’s approach was an inclusive one to involve every sector of the society and listen to everyone, and he wanted everyone in South Africa to feel they were part of this process. More importantly, he wanted all South Africans to feel confident of changes and feel secure. The subsequent 1997 Constitution of South Africa was a brave effort to guide the country towards democracy and the rule of law. I remember studying this constitution as a model constitution in 1997, especially Chapter 2 of it that details a wide range of rights for the people in South Africa. A Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established to seek the truth and heal the wounds rather than go for mass prosecutions against those who had committed atrocious acts during the apartheid. In doing all these, Mandela said, “you will achieve more in this world through acts of mercy than you will through acts of retribution.” Similar words were uttered over more than a hundred years ago in a different political context in America. In 1864 Joseph Gillespie told Abraham Lincoln the following, encouraging him to pardon a group of army deserters, “I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.”

Thus, the concept of justice and mercy is truly relevant especially to present-day Hong Kong. Hong Kong is gradually losing its life. There is fear in the air and people feel uncertain and insecure. One may say that such feelings are not new to Hong Kong where the people felt somewhat insecure after 1984 Joint Declaration and prior to Handover in 1997. However, the current situation is much more serious than that. The sense of insecurity and fear is at its historical peak. Many have left the city already and others are looking for opportunities to leave the city they loved and built. It is in this context the Hong Kong leadership need to look back at the history and learn from best practices. The spirit of Hong Kong has an intrinsic link to freedom and the rule of law. In the past, with institutions complying with the rule of law and democratic practices, there was a sense of security and predictability. When I talk to many people in Hong Kong, I see that sense of security and predictability slowly disappearing. To become a vibrant and stable financial market, you need that sense of security and predictability too. The foundation of the rule of law and its related institutions play an important role in making that happen. The Hong Kong Administration needs to be more sensitive to the aspirations of the people and wellbeing of all in this city. There is much for the Administration to learn from the approach of Mandela and De Klerk in South Africa, and their efforts to heal a nation. The Administration needs to protect the rule of law through impartial and independent institutions. Such an approach can help the authorities regain the confidence of the people of Hong Kong and make them feel more secure. Mercy and compassion bear better fruits than strict justice. Hong Kong desperately needs that healing through mercy and compassion.

(Yan Kei, Advocate for criminal justice reforms)

We invite you to join the conversation by submitting columns to our opinion section: [email protected]

Apple Daily reserves the right to refuse, abridge, alter or edit guest opinion columns for accuracy, length, clarity, and style, and the right to withdraw and withhold columns based on the discretion of our editorial page editors.

The opinions of the writers do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editorial board.

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play