Inside Out | It is up to Hong Kong to end this leaderless drift and save itself

This message was simple and obvious. Given Hong Kong’s flawed political system, which leaves most people’s views unrepresented, something needs to be said and done in the early days of each new administration that reminds everyone that Hong Kong people rule Hong Kong, and that the “two systems” part of the “one country, two systems” arrangement actually means something.

Failure to demonstrate in specific terms that Hong Kong’s leaders are there for Hong Kong people, focused on their specific needs despite the absence of a fully-fledged democratic election system, has distanced the administration from the community, and undermined support and credibility. Worse, it has led to a widespread view that our leaders are puppets. Once they are seen as puppets, then all parts of our community know that the only time well spent is time spent talking to the puppet-masters.

The disappearance of Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s team down into a deep bunker has only made things worse. It was shocking to read the lame column of Bernard Chan, Lam’s Executive Council convenor, in Friday’s South China Morning Post. The best he could do was: “the sooner we can create a calmer atmosphere, the more we will all benefit”.

This seems to be an administration bereft of any strategic response, or plausible solution, to the social unrest that has exploded since the ill-considered extradition bill was proposed six months ago. No wonder China’s top official in Hong Kong has come out to comment publicly. No wonder there is premature gossip about the danger of People’s Liberation Army troops pouring out onto Hong Kong streets. No wonder people are predicting, not for the first time, the death of Hong Kong.