Editorial | New year gets off to violent start in Hong Kong as old problems remain
- As vandalism and clashes force the first mass protest of 2020 to be called off, the wait for political solutions from the city’s leader goes on
There is no worse way to begin the new year than having a mass demonstration abruptly cancelled amid tear gas and firebombs. The fact that Wednesday’s protest had to be called off halfway through following vandalism and clashes underlines just how volatile the current situation is. The government and the community must work closely together to put an end to the raging unrest.
Having gone through waves of protests and landmark citywide elections in November that resulted in pro-Beijing parties suffering a crushing defeat, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor should be clearly aware of public sentiment. Regrettably, her responses still fall short of expectations.
Earlier, an exclusive Post survey shed light on people’s views and their voting behaviour in the district council polls. Some 53 per cent of liberal voters polled by Blackbox Research said they cast their ballots for democracy, followed by 49 per cent who did so to protest against police conduct.
More than half of the more than 800 respondents said police actions had been harsh or excessive, and nearly two-thirds backed calls for an independent probe into their behaviour.
But issues remain unresolved and violence continues. Worryingly, there seems to be a high level of tolerance for such actions, with one fifth of voters endorsing protesters hitting rivals, hurling bricks and petrol bombs and damaging railway facilities. Support for trashing shops with mainland links was even higher.