In divided Hong Kong, there is still hope for rational debate

Every Saturday, I lead heated debates with groups of Hong Kong students on issues ranging from whether Apple should unlock their iPhones for the FBI to the ramifications of North Korea’s alleged hydrogen bomb test. However, if I try to bring up the topic of localism in Hong Kong, my students’ eyes just glaze over.

What’s there to talk about, they say. Anyone who comes out against them is automatically branded as “anti-democracy” or “pro-Beijing” and who needs that? Best to keep your head down, wait, and hope that things will get better, my students say.

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This makes me terribly sad, the fact that we can sit around and debate issues on any number of countries, each with messes equal to or bigger than our own, but when it comes to our home, increasingly, we cannot have a debate about Hong Kong in Hong Kong.

Not a screaming match, or a riot, but a proper, civilised debate in which we examine rationally and calmly exactly what “localism” is. What are their goals and interests? How are those different from the goals and interests of those in the “pro-establishment” camp, and is there perhaps any common ground between the two sides?

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Such a debate, if it can be had intelligently, would be extremely beneficial to Hong Kong. After all, such is the virtue of a true democracy – the ability to hash out ideas and let the strongest ones triumph through gentle persuasion, not by bashing them into people’s heads. Indeed, it is truly unfortunate that, in advocating for democracy, so many have acted so undemocratically.

Not surprisingly, the impression in many youngsters’ minds these days is that it is a waste of time to talk about Hong Kong politics, because you’re either preaching to the choir, or you’re talking to a wall.