Is an era of political reconciliation finally dawning in Hong Kong?
Alice Wu says the even-handed Occupy convictions and united visit to Dongjiang suggest the time of extreme antagonism in Hong Kong is winding down, and the future looks bright for a ‘great reconciliation’, as envisaged by Jasper Tsang as far back as 2012
“Hong Kong needs political reconciliation” – it’s an understatement that cannot be overstated, and it’s also a sentiment that has existed in our political sphere for years.
Perhaps inconceivable at the time, even before Occupy Central was conceived, Tsang’s “great reconciliation” is now undergoing a sort of revival.
How can we resolve the conflicts in Hong Kong and ensure ‘one country, two systems’ thrives?
During the years Tsang preached about it, it didn’t quite catch on. The political rut got worse, in fact. But perhaps there is truth in the statement that things will get worse before they get better.
If things looked bad in 2012, they certainly got worse. And perhaps they are now bad enough for the thought of “reconciliation” to finally take root, ready for us to begin to try to conceptualise it.
Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai tried to do this – with his call last week for the chief executive-elect to declare a legal amnesty for all involved in the 2014 Occupy protests.
At the heart of reconciliation is the thankless job of building engagement