In her letter “ In the US, a day of violence united the people: not so in Hong Kong ” (January 12), Ms Lily Lee of New Jersey drew some dubious conclusions about the relative state of politics in Hong Kong and the United States in the wake of attacks in Washington and Hong Kong on their respective legislatures. She asserted that it will be easier for the US than Hong Kong to move beyond these dark events because in the US, the country has been “galvanised”. Well, yes. In the wake of the storming of the Capitol, the FBI reported that armed Trump-supporting mobs were planning demonstrations across 50 states ahead of the Biden inauguration. And, immediately following the attack on the Capitol, 147 US lawmakers voted against recognising the Biden victory, based on wild claims of electoral fraud that have been rejected by around 60 courts. And all this has taken place in the midst of an out-of-control pandemic with the most basic of precautions, wearing a mask, being an issue of intense controversy and almost universal neglect. In contrast, Hong Kong appears to be a haven of peace and responsible behaviour. There are concerns about the rule of law, which has been stoutly defended by the incoming chief justice, but reactions to the pandemic have been highly responsible. There are no reports of armed mobs or threatened insurrections. Insofar as normal life can proceed in the pandemic, the people of Hong Kong are behaving extremely well. If Ms Lee is intent on identifying social divisions and emerging dystopia, she should begin with a closer look at her own backyard. David Hall, Mid-Levels