Hong Kong police on Thursday cleared away the Occupy Central protest encampments inAdmiralty. The clearance in general went smoothly and peacefully. A number of protesterswere arrested without resistance. This doesn't mean that the opposition against the HongKong political reform plan incited by radical students and the opposition camp has come toan end, but indicates Hong Kong has safeguarded the bottom line of the rule of law.
Discontent within society and the opposition's ambition to revamp basic political rules, aswell as Western instigation are prerequisites for a color revolution. Although conditionsappeared ripe in Hong Kong, Occupy Central is different from the revolutions that sweptacross Egypt and Ukraine.
The central government's resolution of not making concessions to radical forces in HongKong determined the trajectory of the Hong Kong situation.
Street politics can easily ravage a society and are addictive to some members of the public.The allure of revolution lies in the interruption to a depressing social order and creating theillusion that upheaval could bring about a change of life.
It's difficult to convince all social members that revolution always comes at a high cost, onewhich the public will eventually pay for.
Those who believe unlimited democracy is the solution to a deluge of social conundrums inHong Kong are also waxing nostalgic for colonial rule under Britain, when there was nodemocracy at all. This is a paradox.
Hong Kong needs systematic development. The central government is unable to cater toHong Kong's requests one by one; it can only serve as a strong hand at the helm,preventing the region from falling into a subversive state. Hong Kong is supposed to bemore independent than most inland cities.
Which is more important to avoiding a color revolution, addressing internal problems orpreventing subversion by external forces? The answer is contentious. But theoretically, wehave to focus on internal issues.
Different stages of social development have different problems. It takes time to solveproblems. In most cases, the Chinese government can solve a similar problem quicker thanits foreign counterparts, but it still frustrates the Chinese public who pins high expectationson the government.
We firmly oppose the notion that society can be overhauled through street violence. This isa key political principle. On one hand, the principle gains great popularity among the public,but on the other, a group of forces attempts to violate it.
It's harder to keep a gigantic society which accommodates over 1 billion people far fromturmoil and chaos than it is to maintain China's rapid economic development.
There are varied views on how to maintain political stability. China needs to upgrade itsproblem-solving capabilities through reform; meanwhile, the public should have realisticexpectations about the government. Society should also reach a consensus on anti-streetpolitics. These are three crucial pillars to underpin China's long-term security andstability.
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