The roots of Hong Kong's rage

Anyone who has met diplomats posted to Hong Kong from much more turbulent parts of the world will have noticed how appreciative they are of the safety and security of our city. Famed for their love of freedom, Hong Kong people have established a reputation for staging peaceful public demonstrations. Compared to the mayhem that has torn some parts of the world, Hong Kong has stood out as an oasis of peace. Sadly, that seems poised to change.

Although the threats to Hong Kong's physical security seem insignificant at this stage, an atmosphere of violence has set in and is poisoning the civility and stability of our city. Violence in the form of calls to "occupy Central" from self-proclaimed democracy advocates who want to pressurise Beijing into yielding to their demands. Violence in the form of extremist positions on arrangements for electing the chief executive, taken by student groups who will brook no compromise. Violence in the form of reckless filibustering in the Legislative Council, whatever the cost to Hong Kong's future. Violence in the form of unprecedented attempts by young radicals, some armed with offensive weapons, to storm the Legco building. Violence in the form of hate-filled verbal abuse hurled at mainland visitors unaccustomed to the ways of our sophisticated city.

Also, violence in the form of insults hurled at the chief secretary by graduates of the Academy for Performing Arts at a recent graduation ceremony. By insulting the guest of honour, they debased the ceremony and disgraced themselves.

Many older Hongkongers are asking: what has become of our city and what went wrong?

Many things have indeed gone wrong. First, despite the increase in overall wealth, our wealth gap has widened. Hong Kong has one of the highest Gini coefficients, a statistical measure of income inequality, among developed economies. And so, too, do other free-market economies such as Singapore and the US. This may be due to the fact that when you have free, open markets, the strong get stronger while the weak get weaker.

According to government statistics, Hong Kong's Gini coefficient is not only high but has also been rising over the years - from 0.43 in 1971 to 0.518 in 1996 and 0.537 in 2011. The steady increase is partly the effect of globalisation and partly the progressive narrowing of our economy with the migration of our manufacturing activities across the border. Hong Kong's economy is now 93 per cent service-oriented. This relocation has meant the loss of a wide range of jobs in the manufacturing sector and the skills that go with it.