This has become, as numerous commentators point out repeatedly, a summer of discontent for Hong Kong. Recent weeks have seen civil servants marching in protest against their bosses, homeowners complaining about plunging property prices, schoolteachers trying to block plans for language tests and leading politicians quitting because the system offers them much more frustration than satisfaction.
Above all, assorted opinion polls show the image of Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa as the city's leader to be in steady, if not terminal, decline. There is a sense of things coming apart, that Hong Kong - if not in crisis - is at least drifting toward an unwelcome state of heightened social unrest.
But these and related political strains should be considered in a broader perspective. Contradictory themes are at work, and it is possible to conclude that the situation is simultaneously worse than it appears and yet not all that bad.
Begin with all those complaints and protests. None of them raises fundamental questions about Hong Kong's political or economic future, as did public anxiety preceding the 1997 handover or the subsequent run on the local dollar. Those raised doubts about the basic nature of the SAR's political and social structure, and whether great financial turbulence was on the way. Forces beyond local control seemed to be at work; for a time, there were grave worries both here and abroad about what kind of place Hong Kong would become in the years just ahead.
While current issues are important, they are of a distinctly lesser magnitude. Whether apartment prices rise or fall another 10 per cent matters a great deal to those who own, build or want to buy them, but economic stability is not at stake. In fact, some economists believe lower prices would be the best possible thing for Hong Kong's competitive position, no matter what the protesting homeowners say.
So too for civil service reforms or benchmarking exams for English teachers. Those most affected care a great deal what happens, and say so loudly, even rudely. But whether teachers must take tests, or not, or whether government workers have their pay raises tied to performance, or not, won't shake society to the core no matter what the choices may be.
