Opinion | A Hong Kong that writes off young protesters is writing off its future. Not that Carrie Lam will understand

Despair, tears and anger – these are the emotions that consume me as I watch the city where I was born burn. I wish I could add hope to this list but that would be lying to myself.

How can there be hope when top state leaders tell us they have full confidence in Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor as chief executive? It was surreal to watch them praise Hong Kong’s most unpopular leader ever – the author of the tragedy that has befallen us.

But enough of Lam. The less I mention her, the less angry I get. Tears came when I first watched the video of the protest song Glory to Hong Kong. I watch it often now to find the hope that eludes me. Last Sunday, a neighbour’s trumpet filled the air with the song as police tear gas wafted below my home.

It’s hard to fight back tears brought on by something so tragic. But that’s what I had to do on Friday at the car park where last Monday a 22-year-old university student fell to his death as police carried out a clearance operation nearby.

Chow Tsz-lok died last Friday morning after being in a coma since his fall. I went to the car park that evening as a journalist to observe thousands lining up to place flowers at a makeshift shrine near where Chow had landed. Some were black-clad. Many defied the mask ban.