Hong Kong youth should seize the opportunities there for the taking

Walking past the Occupy Central site in Admiralty, one can easily find banners around the site decrying soaring property prices and a growing wealth gap, which reflect some of the grievances of the protesters.

Some believe a reconstruction of the political system will encourage public participation in policymaking. But I doubt the global phenomenon of the widening wealth gap can be solved by so-called "genuine" universal suffrage.

At the outset of the movement, protesters' disruption of social order in the guise of "civil disobedience" - not to mention their idealistic attitudes towards democracy - justified their illegal actions and won sympathy. However, recent public opinion polls show that more than 80 per cent of respondents want the protesters to leave the streets.

The two-month-long occupation has failed to earn support from the majority of Hong Kong people because we do not support action that breaks the law, and believe the current social and political situations do not warrant methods of change whereby everyone has to pay a high price. The protests resulted in inconveniences to residents and businesses, ongoing clashes between protesters and police, as well as a potential long-term economic impact.

In any movement, protesters have to shift tactics when the majority is not on their side. Political change cannot be achieved by occupying roads or blocking the entrances to government headquarters. Some are not happy with the National People's Congress Standing Committee decision, but any suggestion has to be in line with the Basic Law. In their attempt to solve our social problems, the protesters' radical plan to reconstruct the political system is not the right way.

Meanwhile, the government should think out of the box. For instance, it should co-operate with developers to build small and medium-sized flats for younger people to rent or buy. It should also rezone 2 to 3 per cent of green-belt areas for housing development.