Several years ago, Premier Wen Jiabao raised serious concerns about some deep-rooted conflicts embedded in our society. And because he did not elaborate, many have tried to guess since then what he meant.
Wen came forward recently to analyse the conflicts he had in mind and explain how they can be resolved. Three are economic, tied to Hong Kong's failure since the handover to maximise its advantages as an international financial centre and a logistics and trading hub, and to develop its first-class service industry.
It has also neglected to nurture its ties with the mainland - to make a breakthrough in this old relationship. Another issue is the perennial political conflict over constitutional reform, and the final one is the widening wealth gap, which has stirred public resentment.
Wen raised these issues because he wanted various sectors in the community to cast aside their political differences and vested interests, for the long-term stability and prosperity of Hong Kong and the entire nation.
Unfortunately, Wen's advice seems to have fallen on deaf ears. Many failed to appreciate the underlying message; what's more, some self-important members of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference even acted against his advice. During the recent NPC and CPPCC annual meetings, they deliberately highlighted the city's internal political conflict over democratic reform. This added fuel to the debate, inadvertently raising the public's interest in the de facto referendum triggered by the resignation of pro-democracy lawmakers.
These delegates played into the hands of their opposition by exaggerating the so-called referendum - turning it into an 'uprising' or a 'liberation movement' to overturn the Hong Kong and central governments. They even called on the government to block the by-elections by denying funding.