Hong Kong’s protesters have shown courage, creativity and thoughtfulness. Will the city still have a place for them when this is over?

It’s one thing to disagree with the protesters, but simply listening to them shows they are not mere thugs and rioters

Moreover, they may have done Hong Kong a service by exposing the ineptitude of our government and police

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Protesters hold up a banner during a demonstration at the airport in Hong Kong on August 9. Pro-democracy activists rallied at the airport on Friday even as the city sought to reassure visitors of their welcome despite increasing levels of violence. Photo: AP

Peter Kammerer

Australian-born Peter Kammerer has lived and worked in Hong Kong for more than 30 years, joining the Post in 1988.

Published: 9:00am, 13 Aug 2019Updated: 11:04am, 13 Aug 2019

Beijing and its backers call the young Hong Kong protesters clashing with police separatists, independence-seekers and radicals. They are without doubt lawbreakers and there is certainly a small number seeking self-determination.

But the majority also happen to be well-educated, intelligent, energetic, enthusiastic, courageous, creative, thoughtful and all manner of other qualities, which seem in short supply among those in charge in our city.

If the authorities perceive them as troublemakers whose views don’t count, I’m sure that there are governments elsewhere only too happy to welcome their talents.

I’ve had a few encounters with some of the protesters, each time coming away more impressed. They are idealistic, yes, but not thoughtless as to the ramifications of their actions. The limits are being pushed to force authorities to buckle to demands and, if not, show their true colours.

The tough approach on display in the press conferences of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s government and the police seems to show that for now, the young protesters and their supporters aren’t going to get what they want, and may even be shut further out of the city’s decision-making processes in retribution.