Real radicals in constitutional debate are those who want to cast aside Hong Kong's core values
Stephen Vines says, by contrast, protesters seek to preserve the city's uniqueness
In all the noise and anger that surrounds the umbrella movement, one vital point appears to have been overlooked.
This is that the fundamental aim of most protesters is a conservative one, namely to preserve the unique character of Hong Kong.
Having spent a great deal of time talking to the protesters, especially the students, I keep hearing the same refrain: "We don't want Hong Kong to become just another Chinese city."
They want to preserve the characteristics that make this place unique in China; rule of law and freedom is an essential part of this agenda.
Of course, they also want to see a democratically elected government and there is no suggestion here that this is a side issue. But drill down to what fundamentally motivates these protests and you keep coming to this core issue of preservation.
The real radicals in Hong Kong want to see it becoming a very different sort of place where the central government makes all the big decisions and where core values that distinguish the Hong Kong system from that of the mainland are cast aside.