Arrested Development

Wong (top left) causing chaos, and Leung (inset) holds up a piece of glass

It's a sign of desperation when you start throwing things, and in the case of independent lawmaker Wong Yuk-man, hurling a drinking glass at Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying was totally uncalled for.

Wong did this yesterday when pan-democrats staged an unprecedented walkout when Leung entered the Legislative Council chamber for a question-and-answer session.

About 20 pan-democrats marched towards the chief executive and shouted, "Genuine universal suffrage without screening... Listen to the people's voice, 689," in mocking reference to the number of votes he received from the 1,193 Election Committee two years ago.

The protesting pan-democrats either left voluntarily or were forced out by security.

Wong was unapologetic about throwing the glass. "I don't have to be polite to a dictatorship," he said.

And for his actions, Wong was arrested tonight (Friday) by the police and was seen entering the Central police station with his lawyers around 10.30pm.

How does throwing an object that can cause dangerous harm help the cause of universal suffrage? It just plays into the hands of Beijing that accuses anyone of supporting the democratic movement as being "radicals".

He makes fellow lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung's throwing eggs, bananas, "hell notes" and cloud-shaped cushions look like child's play.

Legco has been descending into unproductive chaos in the last few years and the last thing we need are fist fights a la Taiwan in the 1990s.

We need to take the higher road with China and prove we are intelligent, rational and civilized people who deserve the chance for political reform.

But then again who are we dealing with?

An authoritarian government that does not respect rule of law, human rights or even its own constitution.

We want to have a dialogue with Beijing -- not around ideology, about who is superior, but a pragmatic one about the future of Hong Kong.

How that's going to happen is anyone's guess, but throwing glass is definitely not going to work...