Hong Kong’s protesters have tried war, now it’s time for them to try dialogue and politics
- If war is the continuation of politics by other means, the opposition should ask whether it can achieve its goals through violence. Clearly, dialogue and reaching political solutions is the way forward
I agree with the many on all sides who criticise Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s performance. Her response to an extradition request from Taiwan was grossly mishandled, showing a lack of foresight and a failure to listen to contrary opinions. Policy mistakes were compounded by tactlessness and reluctance to lead from the front, hiding behind the police force and occasionally emerging to engage with the public at arms’ length.
But the opposition is also open to criticism. Having focused on a single demand – withdrawal of the extradition bill – it refused to acknowledge Lam’s eventual surrender on this issue.
Instead of ignoring her invitation to dialogue simply because she had not caved in on the four demands they had added in the meantime, those calling for more democracy should have announced that they had succeeded in obtaining their first objective, then begun serious talks with the government on further demands.
Had they the maturity and organisational capability to do that, much of the subsequent violence could have been avoided. The opposition could have pointed to the peaceful nature of the huge demonstrations in June and July as the cause of its triumph. They would thus bring with them a huge portion – maybe a majority – of the population of Hong Kong, who want political reform but do not want mayhem.