Letters | For Hong Kong government, the writing is on the (Lennon) wall

I refer to your photo feature, “The writing is on the walls” (July 11) about how Lennon Walls have mushroomed throughout the city in an outpouring of expressive energy and frustration. The original wall in Prague (in what was then Czechoslovakia) was an emotional tribute to singer-songwriter John Lennon upon his tragic murder in New York in 1980. But it soon became a graffiti site for airing grievances against the communist regime: “Lennonism” was used by young Czechs to oppose Leninism. The authorities tried to brand those students “agents of Western capitalism”, but Lennon was an anti-establishment figure who saw himself as a working-class hero.

It is very easy to see parallels with the Hong Kong situation. Who represents Hong Kong’s youth? Lennon’s 1974 album was titled “Walls and Bridges”. Now we have the walls but where are the bridges? Certainly none of the existing political parties can make such a claim, and our government is completely out of touch.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has launched a public consultation for her annual policy address and pledged to listen (“Lam seeks public input for next policy address”, July 11). This presents a huge challenge to our officials because there is now a deep-seated culture of denying civic participation with fake consultations that only go through the motions. There needs to be a radical change of attitude if Hong Kong is to find its mojo again.

Our population is not apathetic, as the massive marches have truly illustrated, and now the writing is on the wall for the administration and the advisers in the executive council — radical change is necessary: papering over the cracks can no longer work.