Hongkongers are restoring order to their own city, brick by brick. Who needs the Carrie Lam administration?

The civil disobedience movement in Hong Kong, which started in early June, has shown what makes this special administrative region of China truly special – the people. The movement, which started as a peaceful march of hundreds of thousands, brought out and rallied millions of people from all walks of life and of all ages. They differed in strategy, joining either marches or violent attacks, but were held together by a common goal: to make their voices heard and recognised.

During lunchtime protests on the streets of Central, the financial district, they were cheered on by bankers, lawyers and office workers in suits.

The diehard protesters, who believed peaceful means would not help realise their goals, took to throwing firebombs and bricks, shutting down universities, schools, malls and MTR stations, putting up barricades and bricks on thoroughfares, while other members of the community volunteered to remove the bricks, barricades and other obstructions from the roads to allow traffic and people to flow like water again.

The violent protesters who left a trail of damaged public and private property confronted not only the brutal power of the police but also, eventually, the brigade of brick removers. It was over the weekend of November 15 that things started changing, even as violence escalated at Polytechnic University.

Many Hongkongers – whether they supported the protesters or pro-Beijing political parties like the Federation of Trade Unions – started taking matters into their own hands, for the good of all. They did so one brick at a time.

The “Lion Rock spirit” – getting on with it, moving on, onwards and upwards – kicked in and gathered momentum.

In a video that went viral that weekend, an expatriate in a suit and with a briefcase is crossing Des Voeux Road in Central after a noontime protest when he stops, picks up a brick and moves it to the roadside. He repeats this exercise several times; onlookers who first watch him in amazement soon join him in removing bricks.

Worst yet to come for Hong Kong’s protest-hit retail property market

The Brick Man reminds me of the Tiananmen Square Tank Man. He was not intimidated by the violent protesters who had earlier in the week killed a man by hitting him in the head with a brick.

Others followed suit. Residents and businessmen – including Robert Ng Chee Siong, chairman of property developer Sino Group, and his son Daryl Ng Win-kong – were spotted picking up bricks and rubbish from the roads of Tsim Sha Tsui East. In Central, Wheelock chairman Douglas Woo Chun-kuen was seen clearing bricks and wooden pallets from the street.

Hongkongers took matters – and bricks – into their own hands and did what the lame-duck Hong Kong government wouldn’t. They helped restore order and ensure the district council elections took place on November 24 as scheduled. They were heeding not only the call of Chris Tang Ping-keung, Hong Kong’s new police chief, but also the warning of Patrick Nip Tak-kuen, the secretary for constitutional and mainland affairs who said the election could be postponed if the roads were blocked and polling stations became inaccessible.

Although the black-clad protesters confronted the brick removers to scare them and stop them, they failed. The brick-removal movement took root as quickly as the peaceful protests against the extradition bill.

Hongkongers have spoken. Will Beijing heed their call for political reform?

The history of protests teaches us that some peaceful protests will turn violent before law and order is restored. The latest Hong Kong protests are no exception. The difference that bears noting, however, is that the violence of Hong Kong’s protests – including the police response and the resulting deaths and injuries – pales in comparison with that of unrest in other eras or other places today.

Moreover, Hong Kong’s brigade of brick removers will outdo the lone wolves, the packs of black-clad marauders, the police and the do-nothing government. They are leading the charge to get Hong Kong back on track, so the city can go back to being the safe and prosperous place we all call home.

The silent majority has decided to take matters into its own hands. Restore order one brick at a time.

Amazingly, contrary to the concerns of many political pundits, when the People’s Liberation Army troops garrisoned in Hong Kong hit the streets, it was not to quell the protests, but to help in the brick-removal movement. The sight of PLA soldiers coming out of their barracks in shorts and T-shirts to help civilians clear barricades and restore order is a hopeful metaphor for future cooperation between the people of Hong Kong and Beijing.

Now that the people have spoken loud and clear through the district council elections, the removal of bricks has to be followed by the removal of Chief Executive Carrie Lam Yuet-ngor, her inept cabinet and her Executive Council. The indecisive leadership has to be replaced by a respected and decisive new chief executive.

Why won’t Carrie Lam allow an independent inquiry?

The new leader should appoint a citizens’ inquiry and reconciliation commission made up of local and foreign business leaders, elected officials, legal and other professionals, educators, journalists, law enforcement officers, protest leaders and students.

It should be modelled on South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and other such commissions in the United States and Britain which addressed violent racial protests and riots, reconciled different points of view and restored not only law and order – but also, most importantly, harmony. Hearings open to the public should be held for six months, with a report of the findings released within 90 days after that, for public consultation.

Peter de Krassel is a strategic analyst, contemporary social commentator, and author of the Custom Maid series of books and blogs. [email protected]