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Just Saying | Hong Kong’s youngsters are not afraid of batons and bullets, and that is truly frightening
- Yonden Lhatoo condemns the street violence against the government’s extradition bill, but sympathises with young protesters regarding all their grievances and frustrations, and warns it could get far worse
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
I never truly realised the extent of my emotional investment in Hong Kong and concern for its well-being until the public backlash against the government’s ill-conceived, bull-in-a-China-shop campaign to change this city’s extradition laws descended into shocking violence and anarchy over the past week.
How immensely saddening and distressing to see our beloved city torn apart by political acrimony and social strife, how demoralising and depressing to read international “oh my God, this is the death of Hong Kong” headlines, how alarming and disturbing to watch our youngsters fight pitched battles with police and our streets turn into smoking warzones all over again.
Those who cannot learn from the mistakes of the past are condemned to repeat them, and that’s where we find ourselves now, back in the black hole, having learned absolutely nothing from the trauma and tragedy of the 2014 Occupy movement, when masses of mostly young protesters blocked roads for 79 straight days in the name of civil disobedience and fighting for greater democracy.
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Nobody won back then, and yet here we are, rinse and repeat. We’re getting really good at losing.
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What’s really worrying is the complete and utter breakdown of trust and respect between frontline police and the youth of this city. The us-versus-them mentality is so ingrained now, the relationship so broken, that we should all be deeply concerned.
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