Letters | Millions of Hongkongers have shown who they are, and just in time for the elections

What was on display last Sunday was absolutely extraordinary. To the occasional strains of Do You Hear the People Sing, the protest took on meaning beyond anything so mundane as calling for the extradition bill to be dropped or for Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to resign.

The law of unintended consequences was writ large over us. We now shine! Hong Kong exceptionalism is here to stay unless Beijing remains sadly fearful of a level playing field, the rule of law and compassion for our fellow men, and, in particular, the belief that we can do better and be better.

In the summer of 1989, Hong Kong became political. I reckon that 2 million walked that May too, in a spontaneous outpouring of grief and anger. I saw it from our offices in Taikoo Shing. And, since the bloody crackdown of June 4, Hong Kong comes out every year to remember it. Now you see it on full display: who we are!

Hong Kong people have every right to be proud. It is the stuff of Guinness World Records that 2 million people protested peacefully. Will Beijing listen, and more to the point, does it matter? Sunday, June 16, put Hong Kong on the map. And, as an aside: “Hey, we’re part of China. Imagine that.”