Letters | Like the Hong Kong protesters, Carrie Lam must learn how to ‘be water’ if she wants to keep the city afloat

Hong Kong has been rocked by unrest since June, with protests followed by police action and tear gas in virtually in every corner of the territory. What is happening in Hong Kong resonates with events 120 years ago in Beijing. Will history repeat itself?

In 1899, Empress Dowager Cixi tried to use a society called Righteous and Harmonious Fists, or the Boxers, to drive out the eight countries that had invaded China. It led to a humiliating defeat and the signing of the Boxer Protocol. If the Hong Kong government uses forces other than the police to suppress the social uprising, it would repeat what Cixi did. Hopefully, Hong Kong will not adopt new “boxers”.

“Be water” is one of the protest slogans. Now that Hong Kong is in trouble, we have to seek a way to iron out our problems. The Taoist way would be most appropriate. The saying, “The supreme good is like water, which benefits all of creation without trying to compete with it”, means that if our leader is humble and takes inspiration from water, she will be open-minded and not calculating. Social uprisings will then dissipate.

Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher was known for her stubbornness, famously saying, “You turn if you want to. The lady’s not for turning.” Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is both stubborn and arrogant. She has refused to accept most of protesters’ five demands. Many eminent people in society are of the opinion that if she accepts two of the demands, the social unrest will subside. Should we wait until there is no room for reversal?