Carrie Lam has worked hard to reach out to Hong Kong youth. It’s a shame the protesters ignored her efforts

The violent backlash against the extradition bill and Carrie Lam shows that the chief executive needs to redouble her efforts to connect with the community, especially young people. However, those responsible for ransacking Legco must face justice

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Chief Executive Carrie Lam, seen here in July 2017, has reached out to youths but the recent protests show it has not been enough. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 9:00am, 5 Jul 2019Updated: 9:03am, 5 Jul 2019

When Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was but a contender for chief executive, I wrote about the need for a participatory, cross-generational, cross-sector platform for collaboration. This was in response to the strong desire in the community, particularly young people, for a voice in policymaking.

I had Occupy Central in the back of my mind as I wrote, because that event had resulted in a weaker, more divided society. Never should Hong Kong experience such an event again, I felt.

Alas, in recent days, we have seen multiple large-scale protests that have descended into violence and chaos. It is a scary sight to watch protesters smash layers of earthquake-resistant glass and hurl unknown liquids at police officers.

This is not what Hong Kong needs or what our city stands for. Any individual who watched the storming of the Legislative Council building should be shocked and disgusted. It was not noble. It was certainly not peaceful. It was a new low for Hong Kong.

It was especially disheartening to see young people destroy the interior of Legco, deface our emblem with black paint and drape the colonial flag over the president’s podium. These actions at first seem simply brutal, but they also speak to the ignorance of those rioting.

Life before Hong Kong returned to China was markedly worse, with governors not elected in any way – not even through an election committee.