What do we want to give to the next generation

Cai Ziqiang, a university lecturer and current affairs commentator, pointed out in an exclusive interview with "Hong Kong 01" recently that the democratic movement is inseparable from compromise.

"When your strength is limited, don't "suncool" the opponent at every turn, you should strive for it point by point and for a long time, even if the things you win each time are very small... When the opponent sees that your strength is nothing more than that, the only end is It's just being cleared."

After the interview was published, Shen Xuhui publicly refuted Cai Ziqiang's statement.

He pointed out that under the CCP regime's line of governing Hong Kong, even if the Hong Kong democracy movement does not take the radical line as in 2019, but follows the moderate line of pan-democrats, Hong Kong will still be "firmly controlled", "with the existing system and life way" will still be changed.

If Cai Ziqiang's key word is "compromise", the key word to refute his statement is "fate".

However, fatalists are also the least convinced that Hong Kong can achieve democracy and freedom, because according to their ideas, Hong Kong under the CCP's rule will be ill-fated and doomed no matter what.

Compromise and fate are about the stakes of youth

In both cases, history is the judge.

If there is no compromise, how can there be an additional five seats in the Legislative Council and five super district council seats equivalent to direct elections?

If there is a compromise, although under the framework of 831 of the National People's Congress, at least one person, one vote for the chief executive can be elected as early as 2017.

Even though Hong Kong experienced the Umbrella Movement in 2014 and even the Mong Kok riots in 2016, the National Security Law for Hong Kong did not appear, and the Legislative Council was not restructured into its current state.

It shows that the changes in Hong Kong in the past year or more are indeed related to the fact that the social movement in 2019 deviates from the moderate line of traditional pan-democrats and adopts a radical line.

What's more, compromise and fatalism are not just paper discussions between some academics and commentators on current affairs.

After Cai Ziqiang's interview was published and before Shen Xuhui's public rebuttal, a young man in his thirties stepped out of Shibi Prison, ending his four-year prison life.

Liang Tianqi once chanted "Liberate Hong Kong, the revolution of our times", advocated "Hong Kong independence" and "Control violence by force". He is the spiritual leader of a generation of radical youth.

He was convicted of rioting in 2018 and sentenced to six years in prison for his anger.

Liang Tianqi's motorcade leaves the prison.

(Photo by Hong Kong 01 reporter)

Radical product of restlessness

On the road to democracy movement in Hong Kong, whether to encourage young people to challenge the regime at all costs, or to remind them of the importance of patience and compromise, the answer is self-evident.

Even a young man like Liang Tianqi, in 2019, when many people were dazzled by blood, he publicly stated, "I beg you not to be dominated by hatred."

If you want to "make those who don't support you turn into support," as he said, how can it be possible without dialogue and compromise?

Liang Tianqi was imprisoned four years ago. At that time, Hong Kong did not have the "Hong Kong National Security Law", the electoral system was not "perfect", and "Apple Daily" and "Stance News" still existed.

In this way, Hong Kong has certainly changed a lot.

But from another point of view, nothing has changed in Hong Kong in the past four years: young people still have no way out, Hong Kong people still suffer from expensive rents or heavy mortgages just to live in small rooms, and the waiting time for public housing is still as long as five years. , thousands of wage earners are still left to their employers.

When Liang Tianqi was sentenced in 2018, we pointed out in our editorial that radical youths were the product of "uneasy and restless social soil" and a "structurally unfair distribution system". "If government officials are still complacent and addicted to comfort," society can only There will be more radical youth.

As a result, the prophecy has come true. Now one person has been released from prison, but more people are being imprisoned for the crime of rioting against the anti-amendment demonstrations.

The social structure has not changed, the soil of unease and restlessness still exists, and government officials are still in high spirits only because of "stopping violence and chaos".

The past is untraceable, and the future is still the future.

Another group of restless young people will lose their youth. What will Hong Kong be like when they regain their freedom in the future?

Helping youth rehabilitate society to mend the tear The government needs to work hard to communicate with the citizens Only the government can mend the tear in society