After the extradition protests, Hong Kong must do what it failed to do after Occupy: heal the divisions

Both the Hong Kong and Beijing governments need to step back and carefully consider their next moves. Many missteps have contributed to the destructive protests, and another mistake could have even worse consequences

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A protester’s helmet is seen outside the Legislative Council after the building was stormed and its interior vandalised on July 1. Photo: Winson Wong

Published: 9:00am, 8 Jul 2019Updated: 9:08am, 8 Jul 2019

As intoxicating as the Hong Kong protests have been, the aftermath should be sobering. The city must now rebuild the ruins left from its divisive politics, unresponsive leadership and irresponsible politicians on both sides of the aisle, who have done nothing but feast on political polarisation. We know what needs to be done; without reconciliation, there will be no moving forward.

We needed reconciliation after Occupy Central in 2014 but, unfortunately, we took the easy route. We let the post-Occupy blue and yellow camps’ divisions become a permanent fixture in our politics. Social and political issues and the emotions they elicit continued to fester until we, as a society, basically imploded.

Yes, the extradition bill was controversial. Yes, the way the government went about trying to force it down our throats was despicable. But it takes much more than that to cause what has transpired on our streets. It was heartbreaking to see Hongkongers, yet again, pitched against one another as protesters and law enforcement officers – the perfect fault lines for violent conflict.

In short, Hong Kong needs to find its reset button. Political fatalism and idealism have created a devastating combination: generations of people who feel so distressed and helpless that they have given in to political fatalism, and the glorification of resistance has driven them to risk it all – and even take their own lives – to be heard.

Hong Kong’s dysfunctional politics has not only given birth to disillusionment, it has midwifed a helplessness that fuels and deepens our existential crisis.

Confrontational politics has taken its toll, and Hong Kong cannot afford to see another building besieged. We cannot afford to have more peaceful demonstrators go rogue. The Hong Kong government cannot afford another misstep.