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Letters | Hong Kong protests: why there’s no sense in blaming ‘both sides’
- The government ignored peaceful demonstrations and police responded to the early protests with excessive force
- All protesters are asking for is a more democratic system
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Why you can trust SCMP
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On November 8 an opinion was expressed by Kristiaan Helsen (“Who are violent Hong Kong protesters hurting? It’s not Beijing”) that both the police and the protesters should de-escalate their violence. I have no problem with this sentiment, but feel I must respond to the underlying reasoning the author advanced.
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I must also note that the following is relevant to the events leading up to the first allegations of police brutality. It does not have not so much to do with the recent days’ violence against property and individuals, nor with the relevant police responses.
The fact that the Hong Kong government eventually withdrew the controversial bill, from which the social unrest stemmed, must be seen in the context that a peaceful protest against the contentious extradition bill by over a million Hongkongers on June 9 was openly disregarded by Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor the following day.
It is clear, though, that escalated actions were subsequently anticipated by the government, otherwise, the passage of the controversial bill would have been a foregone conclusion.
Your correspondent further alluded to how the European Commission chief or the president of the European Council is not elected by universal suffrage, to conclude therefore that the European democracy is far from perfect.
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