A judgment in December overturning the conviction of an activist highlighted the Hong Kong authorities’ duty to facilitate peaceful assemblies. Police action during recent protests in France shows how this can be done even when the threat of violence is present.
Since the 1980s alone, the city has grappled with stock and property market crashes, financial crises, protests and pandemics. The city is uniquely defined by its challenging history, where people have always managed to pick themselves up and carve out a better future.
The content and tone of communications from Hong Kong officials have become vaguer yet more strident in recent years. The use of poorly defined terms and slogan-like phrases is muddling the government’s messaging and eroding its standing with the public.
Resuming travel to the mainland has proven a dangerous distraction from important priorities such as getting the elderly vaccinated. Moreover, Hong Kong’s value to the country rests on its international gateway role for capital, goods and people, which also requires open borders with the wider world.
‘Zero-Covid’ has always been more of a short-term objective than a long-term plan. As Omicron pokes holes in Hong Kong’s defences, the government must adapt to the reality of a Covid-19 world.
Sealing off the city helped save lives early on and bought people time to get vaccinated, but it also made us complacent. Now, the arrival of the Omicron variant means compulsory testing and quarantines are no longer practical, and it may be time to rejoin the world.
It is understandable that people are sceptical and worried about how they will be governed. While the election was flawed, the promise of better political discourse and a sense of normalcy at least provide a silver lining.
The fundamental dynamic that made it successful is still operating: its free economy and minimal state intervention continues to attract a spirited group of ambitious, risk-taking talent – including, as shown in recent years, those from the mainland.
Many people understand the rage of the protesters, even if they don’t support the violence. Such empathy is further coloured by mistrust of the Carrie Lam administration. The government must take positive action to realign public opinion.
Housing, education, medical care and social welfare: the issues addressed by the British governor in the wake of the 1967 unrest are again front and centre in Hong Kong’s latest summer of discontent. Will the government take a leaf out of MacLehose’s book?