A city divided
As police prepare to clear protest sites, experts and academics warn the division in society may take considerably longer to resolve
Take down your yellow or blue ribbon profile pictures from Facebook if you want to mend the deepening rift in society.
That was a piece of advice from Dr Harry Hui Chi-chiu, the head of the psychology department at the University of Hong Kong, as he surveyed the online battles being waged in the weeks since the pro-democracy sit-in began.
The colour yellow symbolises the pro-democracy cause and blue represents support for the police tasked with the job of ejecting the protesters.
As the protesters are expected to be cleared from their sites in Admiralty and Causeway Bay from tomorrow, internet users may well grow weary of defriending people who do not support their colour.
Hui warned people against believing that they make up the majority of society, based on views they share within their own circle of friends, whether online or offline.
"They may believe: how could I be wrong if there are so many people share my views?" he said.
But in day-to-day conversations, there is little doubt that views on the way ahead for Hong Kong politics will remain polarised. Hence, even as the physical barriers are removed, Hong Kong society has to confront the reality that divisions will remain.