Editorial | Light at end of tunnel for city torn by protest must not be dimmed

The reopening of the Cross-Harbour Tunnel, the main road link between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, is tangible evidence that normality is returning to the city. An end to the two-week closure caused by vandalism and the stand-off at the adjacent Polytechnic University restores a vital transport connection and convenience for commuters. Following on from the orderly district council elections, it continues the atmosphere of calm that has descended after six months of demonstrations and violence. But if the respite is to be meaningful, all sides have to treasure what has been achieved and work towards a lasting solution.

Numerous times during the political crisis, the tunnel has been targeted by protesters, who have vandalised toll booths and blocked traffic. Being the busiest and oldest of the three road links beneath Victoria Harbour, disrupting the 116,000 or so vehicles a day using it was aimed at putting pressure on the government to meet demands. But the cat-and-mouse nature of the protest movement with authorities meant that closures were usually only temporary. The strategy by demonstrators to use university campuses as bases from which to launch assaults brought a lasting shutdown when PolyU was besieged by police.

Damage was extensive, with even the tunnel’s ventilation system being targeted. But with the university stand-off winding down, repair and maintenance crews were able to step in and get the tunnel operating again. In a mammoth effort, 800 workers toiled day and night for 100 hours to reopen the crossing, to the relief of commuters, whose journeys had been lengthened by diversions to the two other harbour tunnels or trains. But with sentiments still strong and protests continuing, although with less intensity, there can be no assurance that transport will not again be interrupted.

At the heart of the issue are the aspirations of protesters. The elections were a barometer of public sentiment and swept an overwhelming number of pan-democrat candidates into office. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is now under intense pressure to come up with a political solution or risk a return to mass demonstrations, violence and daily disruption to city life. As yet, she has not shown that will; and although acknowledging that voters may have been unhappy with government policies and its slow response to dealing with the crisis, she still insists that her widely criticised model of public engagement is the way forward.

The calm creates the right environment. But Lam and her administration need to come up with meaningful measures. There is now, quite literally, light at the end of the tunnel. But without genuine effort by all involved, dark can just as easily return.