Hong Kong in 2020: hopeful or hopeless new year?

It’s that time again when people make New Year’s resolutions, as clichéd as it sounds and often amounts to no more than wishful thinking.

It would be better to look around the real world with open eyes and minds to get a clearer picture and engage in deeper reflection before making any wish for the year ahead. As 2019 draws to an end, this is exactly what Hong Kong needs.

To quote the ancient Chinese philosopher Zeng Zi, borrowing from various translations, “Every day, I self-examine myself on three aspects: am I faithful in doing business; am I sincere to my friends; and am I practising what I have been taught?”

This famous quote is actually primary-school, textbook reading that many should be familiar with, but what matters is how many still remember to follow it.

I must admit I fail to do it myself on a daily basis, but writing this now makes me feel it’s time to look back and reflect.

First of all, if the clock could be turned back for Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, would she still fearlessly, as always, push ahead with her now-withdrawn extradition bill which triggered what she herself has described as this “havoc”?

In hindsight, the writing was on the wall. But there is one painful lesson: for an international city like Hong Kong, its leaders must think geopolitically and put aside their vote-counting mentality. Had Lam not been emboldened by the assumption that the bill could be passed by lawmakers, it would be a completely different story now.

But now that the chaos has been unleashed, Lam and her administration have the responsibility to end it, seeing as they started it in the first place. As the Chinese saying goes, he who tied the bell around the tiger’s neck must untie it himself. Relying on police to do the job is neither the solution nor fair to the force.

At the same time, protesters and their supporters should know that fighting for democracy and safeguarding the rights that Hongkongers are guaranteed under the Basic Law, while a noble undertaking, cannot justify violence, or hostility towards our compatriots from mainland China. Radical actions such as vandalising public facilities and mainland-linked businesses, far from forcing Beijing to compromise, will only hurt Hong Kong’s own interests.

The furthest distance between ‘one country’ and ‘two systems’

For Hongkongers as a whole, it does not matter whether they identify with the yellow or blue camp. Instead, being inclusive is what Hong Kong used to be proud of, a virtue that should be treasured. Naturally, different people look at things with different eyes, but the “you’re either my friend or my enemy” mentality is not democracy.

And for Beijing, without doubt, it is paying quite the political price for backing an unpopular government and a controversial police force. Yet, unfortunately, that seems to be its preferred or viable option at this stage.

Behind the many political and practical considerations, one major factor is what President Xi Jinping highlighted in a recent meeting of the Communist Party’s Politburo – “China and the world are in the midst of profound and complex changes”.

When there is too much on the top leadership’s plate, particularly the more complicated issue of China-US relations, Beijing expects Hong Kong to clean up its own mess. Ironically, isn’t that similar to what the protesters want – to keep Beijing away from Hong Kong as much as possible?

So don’t be surprised as Beijing leaves Hong Kong alone to sort out its own problems, but remains firm on the need to put “one country” above “two systems”.

So, dear readers, while wishing you a happy new year, I leave it to you to judge: is it a hopeful or hopeless 2020 that awaits us?