LettersDon’t take peaceful days in Hong Kong as a given

There is a security guard at the entrance of my housing estate. He has worked there for more than a decade, knows every resident by sight and remembers when each child finishes school and which elderly resident takes evening walks.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, he had one more task: reminding everyone entering the lobby to check their temperature. No one ever found him annoying. Everyone understood he was simply doing his job, and that job allowed the entire building to sleep soundly.

Curiously, no one has ever suggested, “There has been no break-in for five years, so let’s fire security.” No one has proposed, “CCTV is a waste of electricity, let’s remove it.” On the contrary, the more upscale the building, the more sophisticated its security systems: double-access gates, floor-specific lift cards, 24-hour guards and full CCTV coverage. Residents in such buildings do not complain that there are too many security measures – they only worry they are not professional enough.

The same logic should apply to the security of our city. What happened in 2019 was like someone storming into our lobby, smashing things and creating chaos. Now the protests have stopped, door locks have been installed and guards put in place. That does not mean the locks can be removed.

Risks don’t disappear; they evolve. Just as estate security knows burglars do not only enter through the main entrance but also through the car park and back staircases, Hong Kong must secure not only its streets but also its cyberspace, schools, media and legal system.