Opinion | Will those in the political middle please step forward to bridge the great divide and save Hong Kong
- The political middle should accept Carrie Lam’s olive branch and open up space for reconciliation. Moderates who sympathise with the protest movement should remember that the ability to talk across the divide is a democratic virtue
Hong Kong’s opposition and establishment camps might not be able to bring themselves to do it, so someone else will have to. As an existential crisis engulfs the city, the political middle has a great responsibility to seize this moment and transform it into an opportunity.
The middle ground in politics is usually where the majority view lies. Those who are zealous accuse moderates of being dull, timid and lacking fervour and passion. They call the political middle names like “middle-of-the-roaders”, “fence-sitters”, “opportunists” and “whateverists”.
Moderation is a salve. It is a disposition, not an ideology. It helps us resist the temptation to persist with political conflict: when too much has been invested in resistance, it can be hard to stand down and talk to those across the divide. But talk we must as this is the way to solve problems, even those that seem intractable.