Political leaders must steer the protests towards an achievable outcome
Andrew Leung says Hong Kong's political leaders must guide protesters to work within Beijing's reform framework to realise one man, one vote, however imperfect
In a city notable for law and order, a month's open disruption and challenge to authority, broadcast the world over, has been an intoxicating experience. Hong Kong's young protesters and their backers have surprised themselves. Some may have revelled in self-righteous heroism. The city has been thoroughly dazed. The genie is out of the bottle, and nothing, it seems, will ever be the same.
While protest crowds are thinning and blood is beginning to cool, there are still those who want to up the ante. "Be realistic, demand the impossible!", reads a protest slogan in French. Many protesters remain seized of Che Guevara-esque persistence. But as the protests have run out of effective control, divergence of opinions on the way forward has begun to manifest itself.
The eleventh-hour cancellation of a formal ballot on protest sites is a case in point. Protest fatigue is showing. Public patience and initial support are beginning to wear thin.
For the protest movement, it's time for some cool-headed calculations on the morning after.
There is no sign of Beijing wavering in its adherence to the Basic Law. Nothing less than safeguards for the "one country" of the "two systems" is at stake. If there is any doubt where its red lines are, the State Council's white paper made it abundantly clear.
Nor is there any hope of meaningful international pressure. With Beijing's sensitivities and suspicions over foreign intervention, doing business with what is now the largest economy in the world (in purchasing power parity terms) outweighs many other considerations.