Over the past year, Hong Kong has been rocked by wave after wave of political storms with no end in sight. The increasingly violent social unrest , followed by the contentious national security law and sweeping disqualification of opposition hopefuls have altered the city’s political landscape beyond recognition. Bitter finger-pointing, accusations and name-calling have replaced rational discussion in this once-civilised society and Legislative Council. In this tense political atmosphere, many residents feel the community has already reached the point of no return, having become “collateral damage” in the US-China struggle for supremacy. Despite the all-out confrontation on issues ranging from the anti-government protests to calls for foreign sanctions, the Chinese government has hardly budged an inch on the citizens’ demands. Sadly, instead of advancing the human rights cause, our efforts have only ended up giving us a draconian security law, tightened control on election rules and erosion of press freedom . Following those disastrous chapters, we should realise that the more confrontational we are, the more we could be deprived of. Remember the phrase “ Be water ” that we adopted as a slogan in 2019? To live up to this spirit, we should be more flexible and shift our strategy wisely. When plan A didn’t work out well, why not attempt a conciliatory approach? Given the hostile geopolitical environment, national security and stability are China’s overriding concerns. Coexisting harmoniously under the Basic Law must involve a bit of give and take. Stubborn resistance would only highlight our lack of political wisdom and sound the death knell for democracy. Let’s bury the hatchet and negotiate a moderate reform package as a baby step to help the embattled city move on and recover. Gary Lam, Sheung Shui Why traditional pan-democrats have lost credibility As the Hong Kong government postponed the Legislative Council election and the National People’s Congress Standing Committee extended the Legco’s term by a year, the Hong Kong government has held out an olive branch to the opposition, inviting them to stay on for the extended term – even though several sitting pan-democrats had earlier been disqualified from the September election. Their supporters wished them to have the backbone to reject such false generosity, while some pro-establishment heavyweights weighed in with ridicule, saying that the serving opposition lawmakers would be loath to forgo their HK$100,000 salary. The pan-democrat camp on Monday stated that most of their lawmakers preferred to stay on, disappointing many, of course. But this is the typical Sisyphean tragedy of Hong Kong politics: the traditional pan-democrats are hardly trustworthy; their modus operandi is to navigate politics between the authorities and supporters of democracy. They often portray themselves as the last force to withstand the totalitarian regime, when the fact is that they have jeopardised the progress of democracy for decades. Ben Wong, Prince Edward