What began as a peaceful protest against an extradition bill to transfer criminals to the Chinese mainland in June has now turned Hong Kong into a savaging violent zone.

The large crowd of demonstrators with reasonable demands and lawful gatherings have now been hijacked by a very small group of radicals who have unleashed waves of violent activities, including beating up civilians (with one fatality already), burning and destroying train stations and other public infrastructure, illegal occupation of university campuses, large-scale production of petro bombs, and brutal attacks on law reinforcement.

Hong Kong, long known as one of the best cities in the world with a fine tradition of law and order, is at a crossroad. Any reasonable mind should conclude that the senseless violence the world has witnessed in recent days must stop.

It is one thing to have democratic aspirations, concerns for eroding freedoms by Beijing’s interference in local affairs, or other grievances of injustice, but quite another if they are articulated by means of extreme destruction that tears apart the very foundation of a civil society. All relevant parties must make some hard choices that return the city to normality.

For the remaining protesters, their number is small but they are radical and determined. Many of them maybe desperate young students who are idealistic, similar to those at the Tiananmen Square 30 years ago, believing their sacrifice for democratic ideals will make a difference.

But even their leaders have acknowledged that the situation is out of control and nobody in the protest movement knows where things are going and how they will end. They should realize that more violence will lead them nowhere but losing support from the general public and the international community. They need to return to peaceful and lawful means in pursuing their goals.

The silent majority of Hong Kong people, who were the backbone of the mass demonstrations when they started in the summer, are still giving a low score on how the authorities in both Hong Kong and Beijing responded to their demands. But there are unmistakable indications that they are also fed up by the violent destruction of the city by the small group of diehard protestors.

Many residents have taken to the streets to confront the black-masked, brick-throwing radicals by cleaning up the debris and roadblocks that have paralyzed local life. Both the Hong Kong Law Society and the Bar Association, well-respected professional jury organizations and no puppet of Beijing, have come out strongly condemning the latest unlawful activities and calling for them to be stopped. Hongkongers should join them to draw the line in the sand that the current violence engulfing the city is unacceptable.

For the Hong Kong authorities and the Chinese central government, they have turned more hardline and responded to protesters with more forceful means as the level of violence escalated.

Chief Executive Office Carrie Lam has declared that the only way out for protesters occupying campuses is to surrender; mainland officials warned that Beijing would not sit idle if things are out control. But the government must also learn a humble lesson from many months of protests that Hongkongers have genuine concerns about the interferences from Beijing, and how the “one-country, two-systems” will work without giving more autonomy to Hong Kong.

The central government should consider some forms of compromise as not necessarily a sign of weakness or giving up its core interests but rather a measure of confidence and a way of finding common ground with most Hong Kong citizens.

Finally, for the Western democracies, both the media and the governments, which have showed great sympathy to the demonstrators, it is time to not only continue to call for restrains by Hong Kong and Beijing authorities, but also condemn the small group of radical elements that have done so much illegal damage that threatens people’s livelihood in Hong Kong.

It would be dangerous to weaponize the situation in Hong Kong for the purpose of containing China. Instead, all parties should find solutions to end the ongoing violence.

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Wenran Jiang is an adjunct professor at School of Public Policy & Global Affairs, University of British Columbia

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