Hong Kong government brought blood, tears and fears to the city: here’s how it can now bring peace
In a few short months, the beautiful and peaceful city of Hong Kong has been turned into a battleground, its young students into urban guerillas, its respected police force into a beleaguered organisation. Different sectors of its society have gone from living peacefully together to hating each other. The economy has entered into recession and hundreds of shops and restaurants have closed down.
The government must accept responsibility for such a state of affairs, which result from their untimely and bad decisions. They have brought blood, tears and fear to the community. Ordinary people are now suspicious of one another and live their lives in terror of the violence of protesters and police.
The tragedy is that both sides are victims of a situation that the government has inadvertently created. The violent methods used to suppress the demonstrations only generated more violence and have led to today’s chaos.
It will not be easy to restore peace and harmony. The sensible and proper way forward is to start a dialogue with the protesters with a view to achieving reconciliation. This should be done through a committee of independent, respected, sensible and trusted members of the community with leadership qualities, chosen for their integrity and proven commitment to Hong Kong.
This committee should make contact with those who have influence over the protesters. Both sides must be prepared to make concessions in order to reach a sensible and reasonable compromise. As peace cannot be achieved by the use of force, government officials must listen to the voices of the public they represent.
It is now time for all of us who are committed to Hong Kong to each do our part to serve and save our beloved city in any way we can, before it sinks further into an abyss and loses its identity.
Winston K.S. Chu, Justice of the Peace and visiting professor, University College London