Letters | As Hong Kong protests drag on, Carrie Lam and her government must shake off its paralysis

I, and many fellow Hongkongers I have spoken to, have become increasingly concerned about the destruction and violence on our streets. The police have been put in an impossible situation, trying to maintain law and order without any clear direction from the government. The lack of almost any response from Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and her administration has been astonishing and falls far short of the leadership that we expect from our government.

The government needs to take the advice proffered by many community leaders and withdraw the extradition bill to allay fears, however unfounded, that they might try to sneak the bill through by stealth one night with a hastily convened quorum. They also need to set up an independent commission of inquiry to look into events leading up to the ill-advised and hasty tabling of this bill and the actions of all of those parties involved in the subsequent unrest.

Regarding political representation, we need to look at our system of governance, specifically the functional constituencies. These special interest groups, which should be able to contribute expert advice in their specific areas of knowledge for the benefit of our society, often seem guided by narrow self-interest and a desire to preserve their iron rice bowls. Some have an electoral roll of only a couple of hundred voters, and many representatives are returned unopposed time after time. It is clear that we need better representation for the dysfunctional constituencies that now make up a large part of our community.

Finally, I think we need senior government officials to take responsibility and resign. If they are unable to lead our city out of this crisis, then let us get someone who can – anyone but Executive Council member and former security chief Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, please.