Opinion | Protests will not solve Hong Kong’s problems; society must come together for dialogue and introspection
- There is always a deeper reality that feeds mass protests and it usually concerns socio-economic questions
- As seen with Occupy Wall Street in New York or the Arab spring in 2011, protest mobilisation does not produce solutions
In media reports from Hong Kong, more and more often references are made to the questions of economic opportunities of the young, the high prices of housing and other existential questions of socio-economic development.
Can protests be the way towards a solution? As witnessed in other situations of mass protest in the immediate past, such as the Occupy Wall Street in New York or the Arab spring, both in 2011, protest mobilisation itself does not produce solutions. In the time of social media, mobilisation of people can happen easily.
But the real question is: what next? Protesters usually have an insufficient understanding of the complexity of policymaking and no workable plan for change, let alone improvement. Therefore, protests in themselves are not a solution.
All this is relevant in any thinking about the situation in Hong Kong. So, what could be a viable way forward? It seems that the protests have reached a stage at which a deep introspection involving all segments of Hong Kong society is called for. The city has the highest level of economic freedom in the world and a large number of creative individuals.
One would expect from the Hong Kong business elite more than just concerns about their own profits and the economic damage of the protests. One would expect proposals for social improvement and a vision of future development.