2019 was undoubtedly an unforgettable and costly year for the people of Hong Kong. We were forced to pay the cost of political, social, and economic crises that rocked the entire city for over six months. Anyone who loves Hong Kong hopes the new year will usher in peace, which will allow the city to recover from the trauma and damage we endured in 2019. Hong Kong has lost so much that it will take unity among us to rebuild our home. Unity is fostered on common ground, which is based on three vital lessons we learned in 2019.

Safeguarding our core values is the first task we should always fulfill. While no one would disagree that Hong Kong is an open and free society, we have focused too much on liberty in the past as the core value of Hong Kong. People are used to freely expressing their views on public issues and organizing demonstrations and protests against the government. However, the chaos in 2019 taught us that freedom and openness must be conditional. When protesters attacked the Legislative Council Complex with a battering ram, it broke not only the glass of the building, but also our hearts, because a core value of our hometown was being sacrificed for the satisfaction of some devious minds. Freedom is not absolute in reality; it is earned with discipline and respect, and exists under the rule of law, all of which form the basket of core values Hong Kong holds dear. Absolute freedom is self-defeating because it leads only to conflict and mutual harm, if not destruction.

The rule of law protects freedoms of individuals without infringing on others’ rights. However, social unrest in Hong Kong has allowed radical protesters to abuse other people’s civil rights and freedoms through escalating violence and vandalism in the past few months. The course of action to end such abuse is to redirect our focus back to achieving harmony and unity. Starting with the different political camps, all sectors of society should be called upon to unite under the principle of non-violence, which would be the first step to safeguard other core values of Hong Kong against further destruction by radicalism.

Freedom is not absolute in reality; it is earned with discipline and respect, and exists under the rule of law, all of which form the basket of core values Hong Kong holds dear

The second lesson we should learn is that Hong Kong is not alone in fighting separatism. We always have the support of our motherland under the “one country, two systems” framework, even though the unique historical background of Hong Kong as a colony may lead us to think that our city stands on its own. The support from the central government is particularly important as the special administrative region has reached a critical moment when the US is playing the Hong Kong card in the Sino-US trade war. Not only is Washington orchestrating the anti-extradition-bill movement to subvert the SAR government, it is also threatening to sanction Hong Kong with the enactment of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. In the face of such global conflict, our city can hardly be spared from economic losses. It does not require a sage to understand that the only way to pull Hong Kong out of this political maelstrom, or at least reduce its impact, is to stand with our motherland.

The third lesson for us is the significance of building trust in society, which has been continually undermined by the intensifying polarization among different stakeholders. Since the onset of the anti-extradition-bill movement, the rift between the pro-establishment and opposition camps, which started from a lack of understanding and trust, has significantly widened. Then, the spread of ill-motivated rumors and fake news, especially those relating to political issues, has fuelled fear, anger and even hatred. To resolve these problems, we must rebuild trust among all parties concerned and align ourselves against the spread of fake news and rumors.

Unity and recovery for Hong Kong is what we envision for 2020. In the process of rebuilding trust, we should be prepared for lots of obstacles. Ideas and attempts to further divide Hong Kong people, like the “yellow economic circle”, are emerging, while the upcoming LegCo election could be a tipping point in regard to social stability. John Major, the former British prime minister, once said, “Recovery begins from the darkest moment”. 2019 was indeed one of the darkest pages in Hong Kong history, but it offered us valuable lessons in understanding our core values, the ties with our motherland and the importance of rebuilding trust. Anyone who loves Hong Kong will not choose a path that leads to further suffering. It is important to recognize this so we can focus on making Hong Kong better in 2020.