Opinion | Protesters who resort to violence betray the freedoms we hold dear

We're in the midst of World Cup fever and organisers have been slammed for ignoring the heat, literally, with the lack of timeouts deemed "absurd". We've also been afflicted with protest fever over new town development, although no one can say for sure whether the heat and humidity of the Hong Kong summer has impaired judgment.

The plight and anger of villagers at risk of losing their homes to make room for development isn't hard to understand. We live in a city where people have the right to protest, and that's a freedom we must hold dear. But there is no excuse for the violence, or the "war" two lawmakers have declared on new town development.

Do these two legislators really know what actual war entails? Loss of life and carnage. Most of us would not wish that on anyone. To declare war in this context is insulting.

Civic Passion founder Wong Yeung-tat has been really vocal about his desire for these acts of protest - or, let's call it what it is, violence - to "escalate". Passion is one thing; diminishing self-control in the "heat of the moment" is another; but to wish for the violent protests to "escalate"? Seriously?

And he hasn't been shy about spreading the blame either, saying that "what we do will depend on the will of those who are there". That sort of reasoning is befuddling. Declare your personal wish for things to heat up, and then, if things turn bad, it's everyone else's fault?

With a loose cannon around, how can the other opponents of the border town plans be taken seriously, and their "vow" to keep their cool at the Legislative Council rally be considered anything but lip service?