Pulcheria Chung, 18 St Mary's Canossian College
To overreact is to respond with unnecessary or inappropriate behaviour. It is a subjective and negative term.
I don't think Hong Kong people usually overreact to things. By this I mean the general public, not people like (legislator) 'Long Hair' Leung Kwok-hung or Lo Siu-lan (the woman who launched a legal challenge to the Link Reit listing).
Why did Hong Kong people react in such a way to Sars? It was a new, mysterious disease that claimed the lives of nearly 300 people and ruined our tourism industry.
I don't think the 500,000 people who took part in the July 1, 2003 demonstration were overreacting. They waited patiently for more than five years before organising a large-scale demonstration to protest against the government's inadequacies.
Why do locals hold strong opinions about the proposed education reforms? Because they are concerned about our younger generation.
Besides, they are compassionate, which was evident when they raised millions of dollars for the Asian tsunami victims.
