PEOPLE should be more sympathetic to their political leaders or they may end up having weak ones or none at all, a prominent academic has warned.
Professor Lau Siu-kai says the public should rally behind those who speak on their behalf instead of projecting their sense of powerlessness and frustration on them.
His warning follows a series of surveys in the past decade that reveal people have exceptionally high moral expectations of their leaders.
Professor Lau attributed the expectations to people's lack of confidence in the future, causing them to demand their leaders have strong moral courage and a high degree of integrity.
But Professor Lau said people should realise political leaders could only learn by making mistakes.
'All too easily, Hong Kong people would condemn a leader as useless if he or she is seen to be bending to China's wishes,' he said.
