Arrest of four students said to be linked to an overseas-based pro-independence group underlines how far-reaching the national security law can be, and how unclear the red lines are. Questions are raised, too, over the postponement of Legco elections and Beijing’s response to UK’s offer of citizenship path to Hongkongers.

The chief executive’s acknowledgement that political impasse lies at the root of Hong Kong’s many problems is startling for stating the obvious. While some may welcome her U-turn, it’s hard to see how she can make peace with the opposition in the wake of the national security law.

The threat to national security from Hong Kong is overblown, which makes the new law a sledgehammer that hurts the city’s international reputation. How can there be hope in a ruptured society?

The Black Lives Matter movement is an awakening for the US. Facing up to institutionalised racism is long overdue. Slavery is a stain on America’s history, and the task is to rectify this stain without erasing history.

Since April, Hongkongers have faced bombshell announcements from the central and local government that raise questions about the ‘one country, two systems’ framework. These developments will not quell Hong Kong’s civil unrest.

The wording of the proposed national security legislation leaves it unclear if people beyond protesters in the street could find themselves accused of subversion, secession or terrorism.

The chief executive’s call for safeguards to protect impressionable young minds comes on the heels of the government’s flip-flopping about the role of Beijing’s liaison office in the city. Have the government and Beijing written off a whole generation of youth?

Beijing played a wild card when its agencies asserted that they were exempt from Article 22 of the Basic Law. They have created so much ambiguity about their roles that it can’t possibly bode well for Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy.

His early missteps notwithstanding, Trump must be given credit for banning travellers from China and rallying states and private companies to deal with the crisis. Moreover, the US president’s ‘America first’ policy is in the country’s best interests.

The arrest of a district councillor under colonial-era sedition law and Beijing’s order stopping a dozen foreign journalists from working in Hong Kong are a blow to Hong Kong’s freedoms.

Not only does Hong Kong’s leader lack the credibility to begin a television address with ‘my fellow Hongkongers’, the government’s inadequate handling of the crisis has pushed the city’s residents to draw on their own resources.

We’re all racists, it’s just a matter of degree. If The Wall Street Journal’s ‘Sick Man of Asia’ headline was racist, was it more offensive than the CCTV variety show featuring blackface? Unlike China, at least the US admits it has a problem.

Hong Kong’s leaderless drift continues even as the city battles to contain the spread of the coronavirus and Beijing’s new appointments do not bode well.

The chief executive can win hearts and minds by completely closing the border with the mainland and announcing an independent inquiry into the protests. She must also persuade Beijing to change its approach to Hong Kong.

The oft-repeated claim by Beijing loyalists that the city’s freedoms are intact does not stand up to scrutiny. Beijing’s attack on Hong Kong’s core values, to make it more aligned with mainland China, is insidious and very real.

By bringing in a strongman with no Hong Kong experience to lead the liaison office, the central government shows that it has learned little from the mistakes that landed the city in this crisis in the first place.

This was Hong Kong 2019: children are charged for burning a flag or spraying protest graffiti, while grown men go unarrested for assault. Carrie Lam condemns doxxing, except when Ta Kung Pao is doing it. Who’s in the mood to celebrate a new year?

Using education to enforce patriotism may work on the mainland, where outside information is already tightly controlled. But Hongkongers such as Wu and Lam should know that in an open society, it is just another infringement.

By kicking out the loyalists and voting for the resistance, Hongkongers have shown they are unafraid to stand up to Beijing’s heavy hand. But the central government still claims foreign forces are somehow responsible for the election humiliation.

The chief executive ignored peacefully protesting masses months ago. Following a student’s death, she says the violence she forced some protesters into won’t get them anywhere. She and others like her just don’t get what students are fighting for.

The Hong Kong crisis is likely to end in tragedy unless Carrie Lam can muster the courage to tell her bosses in Beijing to stop eroding the city’s autonomy, allow genuine democratic elections, and end the insidious mainlandisation.

No one needs to hear Carrie Lam boast of her successes when the violence on the streets shows her agenda hasn’t worked. That violence finally pushed her to tackle livelihood issues, but silence on the five demands won’t calm Hong Kong.

Protest anthem ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ captures perfectly the spirit of a movement that does not seek independence but, rather, freedom from Beijing’s ever-tightening leash. With long-cherished rights under threat and the civil unrest touching its bloodiest point yet, the anger is boiling over.

While peaceful mass protests went nowhere, violent unrest got Beijing to acknowledge the problem of unaffordable housing in the city, forced some concessions from Carrie Lam, and spurred overdue soul-searching. But, when the protests ebb, will Beijing further tighten its grip on the city?

The chilling events of the past week – including the multiple arrests of activists and lawmakers, and the brutal police beating of train passengers – underline the erosion of Hong Kong’s freedoms, and of ‘one country, two systems’.

Beijing is mistaken if it thinks Hong Kong can be ruled with a communist mindset. Going after core Hong Kong values can only backfire.

Beijing is seething after Hong Kong protesters defaced national emblems. It would be even more embarrassed if the 70th national anniversary was marred by scenes of unrest. The authorities need to work out how to meet protesters’ demands.

By condemning the defacing of the national emblem before the attacks on commuters in Yuen Long, Carrie Lam and Beijing displayed a lack of understanding of what Hongkongers value. Having missed the window of opportunity for reconciliation, only political reform will suffice.

The mass movement – distinct from the small group of violent protesters – should be honoured for its peaceful call for freedom and democracy. It’s time for Beijing to listen, and give Hongkongers a chance to prove how sensible they can be.

Beijing needs to understand that the extradition bill is just the latest in a string of proposed policy actions, including national security legislation and restrictive universal suffrage, that threaten Hong Kong’s basic character.