Opinion | Hong Kong’s wayward young protesters need taking in hand – by parents, professors and politicians

Given the escalating chaos on the streets of Hong Kong, it is an understatement to say the rule of law is under stress. Having caused “unforgivable havoc”, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and her ill-starred government continue to muddle from one dreadful miscalculation to another.

The October 1 celebration of the 70th anniversary of communist rule in China provided a logical watershed for a change in tack. This was the big protest crescendo, after which common sense would surely return. Or so conventional wisdom averred. But something would have to give.

Having braved the storm, Lam could have done the right thing and offered her resignation with key secretaries – responsible for the crisis – following suit. (She could still do this but has chosen to surrender the city’s “high degree of autonomy” to Beijing handlers. This is not how the Basic Law envisaged the functioning of government.)

With a clean slate, a new interim team in place, and a fresh chief executive election set in motion, there would have been a potential listener in the administration. The government instead doubled down with an iron fist and a miscued anti-mask emergency decree.

Lam’s unfathomable mix of coy contrition and callous contrarianism has sent out all the wrong signals, at once offering student protesters a free pass for further arson and anarchy while rendering policing all but impossible. That “unforgivable havoc” has simply multiplied, casting doubt on the sincerity of the initial utterance.