If this is a ‘proper’ (only water, no food or supplements) hunger strike – and that will take some extreme bravery from those involved – then at some stage CY Leung and the HK Government face a massive problem. Do they arrest and force feed the three involved, or do they let them stave to death live on social media and in-front of the world’s press, creating martyrs across Hong Kong and China.
In failing to negotiate, listen and address the real and underlying causes of the protestors – which have nothing to do with the Basic Law, but centre ultimately around the erosion of hope – the government is failing its citizens. Hence the desire to be able to have a say in who’s in charge. If CY Leung and the rest of the government had been doing a good job in recent years in looking after the needs of all Hongkongers, how they’d been chosen/elected would be irrelevant.
Aspiration, hope and hard work have long been the driving force across all strata of Hong Kong. The knowledge that no matter where you were born, hard work would allow you to improve your lot and the only limit to your aspirations was your own ability and effort. Many people’s hopes are focused on simple things like having their own home (rented or bought), being able to offer their children a good education and life… others want to achieve more.
These hopes, aspirations and sheer hard work are the engine room that drive Hong Kong and make it one of the greatest places in the world to live. Sadly the nepotism, greed and incompetence of those regulating Hong Kong’s engine room – politicians and their tycoon cronies is starving it of air and fuel and hope is slowly dying.
Erecting barriers to stifle hope, helps no one – it just destroys the city. CY Leung’s arrogance, incompetence and stupidity have put himself in a lose lose situation – let’s hope that 689’s own ego won’t allow him to go down in history as the man who destroyed Hong Kong.
