Dangerous behaviour by protesters is unacceptable, as is the abuse of power by police officers. But most unacceptable of all would be for government officials to continue to wring their hands and do nothing.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor (centre) at a press conference with Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu (left) and Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan Fan on November 11. The government can announce an independent inquiry and restart political reforms. Doing the right thing is not a sign of weakness.
Hong Kong protests: government should hold dialogue with demonstrators without preconditions, international peacemaking experts say
Goodwill gestures will open space for dialogue, experts from overseas tell closed-door forum attended by about 400 prominent social and political figures.
After last week’s events, I do not think it is possible for any fair-minded person to view Hong Kong’s civil disturbances in unequivocal, black and white terms.
Back in June, it was relatively easy. The government was clearly wrong in pressing ahead with controversial legislation after only a cursory public consultation and ignoring widespread unease. The students were heroes preventing the bill’s passage by physically blocking access to the legislature. The police were heavy-handed in dispersing the crowd.
In the ensuing weeks, the government just appeared stubborn in refusing to use the word “withdrawal”. The police’s mysterious disappearance during the Yuen Long incident in July left their reputation in tatters. Protesters’ gratuitous vandalism and targeting of sovereignty symbols, while unnecessarily provocative, were, to an extent, understandable.
Since then, the situation has become more nuanced. Protesters’ recent escalation of violence and the disruption they inflict on the general public is alarming and unacceptable. Dropping heavy objects onto fast-moving traffic is not how to secure democracy. Slashing a policeman’s neck with a box cutter is a very long way from the peaceful protests with which the exercise began.
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