Then & now: Cometh the hour
As faith in the Hong Kong leadership deteriorates, the political arena remains ominously devoid of viable replacements, writes Jason Wordie
Confidence in the ability of Hong Kong’s political system to deliver competent, responsible administration continues to decline.
Popular despair at the dispiriting race to the bottom that characterises most public debate causes many to wonder whether the current crop of so-called leaders really are the best Hong Kong can produce.
History offers little grounds for confidence. The talent pool of those prepared to enter public life (for reasons beyond their own personal advantage) has always been small, and continues to decline. “Cometh the hour, cometh the man,” optimists aver – but, so far, who on Hong Kong’s political horizon displays genuine leadership ability?
The territory’s current political impasse and the underlying socioeconomic issues that contribute to rising levels of unrest bear comparison to Northern Ireland in the late 1960s, luckily without the poisonous religious bigotry.
Like Northern Ireland, contemporary local politics displays the nastier characteristics of a pack of brawling drunks. Hong Kong’s public life has declined beyond the point where it matters who threw the first punch, hurled the initial insult or dropped the first kick; right across the political spectrum, all participants are now horribly in the wrong.
Inevitably, Occupy Central will happen; with equally unstoppable momentum, lines of intransigence have been drawn on all sides of the debate. Whatever form the protests take, the drama will end in floods of tears all round.
But however many tears are shed – and let’s fervently hope that they are all that will flow on the streets in the coming weeks – eventually responsible adults will need to step forward, hand out the tissues and instruct (perhaps compel) everyone to wipe their eyes, blow their noses, pipe down and get on with their lives.