Covid-19 is a global humanitarian crisis and Australia’s push for an international investigation by the World Health Assembly should be welcomed. It would also be an opportunity to investigate the role of the WHO in the early stages of the outbreak.

Carrie Lam’s successor must be a person Hongkongers can trust to protect their core values and rights. Former chief justice Andrew Li has shown that he would not be swayed by popular sentiment or yield to political pressure.

Could a chief executive so careful about national security legislation not have predicted the public response to the extradition bill? Is it possible that she was pushing back against pressure from Beijing to bend its way?

While Hong Kong’s second most senior official sparked ridicule when he said he could not point to the exact source of public anger in the absence of a public-opinion poll, such a survey is urgently needed.

Hong Kong protesters’ resolve should not be unfamiliar to the Communist Party with its history of struggle against the Kuomintang. A more draconian policy will only harden that resolve, but what can be achieved if the grip is loosened?

It took courage for protesters, including Lam, to motivate the colonial government to action in the late 1970s. Where is her resolve now that Beijing appears to be calling the shots and forcing the unpopular extradition bill on the public?