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SCMP Editorial
SCMP Editorial

Editorial | Valuable lessons to be learnt from U-turn on seat belt law in Hong Kong

The government and legislators must ensure the law can achieve its intended purpose of ensuring public safety before it is reintroduced

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A sign on a Hong Kong bus reminds passengers to buckle up. On January 30, the government said it would repeal the law on the seat belt requirement to address its deficiencies, five days after the law took effect. Photo: Dickson Lee
SCMP Editorial
It says something about Hong Kong governance when a simple and well-intentioned requirement for bus passengers to buckle up has become yet another embarrassing policy setback involving the executive branch and the revamped Legislative Council. The abrupt U-turn over the new law on seat belts, less than a week after it took effect, might have been one solution to a problematic law. But the blunder is a blow to the image of the government and of Legco, amid mounting public expectations for better governance.

Officials and lawmakers must learn their lesson and get it right when the law is ready for reintroduction following a public consultation.

That a straightforward and well-meaning legal amendment seeking to protect public safety has collapsed under the weight of its drafting flaws is to be regretted. Following a deadly bus crash that killed 19 passengers in 2018, the authorities cannot be faulted for wanting to extend the existing seat belt requirement in private vehicles, taxis and minibuses to all public buses. But the public backlash during the implementation last week showed many issues had not been well thought through. And when it emerged that the law actually only covers newly registered buses, there was no alternative but to repeal it.
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The public is entitled to ask what went wrong with the legislative process. The seat belt law was among other traffic amendments passed by the “all patriots” Legco last year. Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan only said it was “undesirable” when asked why the administration had apparently failed to identify the law’s deficiencies until it was questioned by a former lawmaker in a social media post last week. But the minister stopped short of apologising over the fiasco. Some lawmakers conceded that they had overlooked the technical issues.

Under the new governance approach, the revamped “all-patriots” legislature is required to cooperate with the government under the executive-led governance principle. But it does not mean efficiency can come at the expense of quality and integrity. Instead of passing laws hastily, lawmakers should exercise checks and balances conscientiously under the Basic Law and work closely with officials to ensure policies and laws have sufficiently tapped public views, can achieve the intended purposes and can be effectively enforced.

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The setback is not the government’s first. At stake is not just bus safety, but also public trust and the government’s credibility. Officials have pledged to study ways to improve the law’s implementation, take into account views from the public before approaching Legco to reintroduce the measures. Lessons must be learned.

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