The sun may rise, but there's no ray of hope for democracy
Whatever you read into Zhang Xiaoming's remark, Beijing is unlikely to cave in to demands
Attending National Day celebrations shortly after the Occupy Central protests kicked off, Beijing's top man in Hong Kong responded to the barrage of media questions with a wry smile.
"The sun rises as usual," said Zhang Xiaoming, director of the central government's liaison office.
A journalism student at a recent gathering asked what Zhang meant by this - was he trying to tell Hongkongers that nothing would change? That Beijing would not budge?
There is no doubt that Beijing won't be making any concessions on its tough decision on electoral arrangements for the 2017 chief executive election.
But there could be more than that in Zhang's message. And what Hongkongers read into it depends on their background.
For some, the expression may bring to mind the Ernest Hemingway novel, , which delves into the "lost generation" of the first world war and carries the message that "the earth abideth forever".
To others, it may be more reminiscent of the 2007 Jiang Wen film of the same name. The movie was a hit in China and overseas, presenting four interconnected stories of ordinary families living amid the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution.
Perhaps Zhang was thinking of the film, and philosophising about how to face difficulties and challenges.
For the protesters, Zhang's comment was unacceptable. Some said Zhang's sun was not theirs. Dr Chan Kin-man, co-founder of the Occupy civil disobedience movement, said they were not feeling any warmth from Beijing since it shut the door on genuine democracy.
"To be honest, even if the sun has risen, we don't feel the warmth," Chan said.
To Beijing, the ongoing protests, which show no sign of abating, are illegal and affecting stability in the city. It fears the young students involved could turn into a "lost generation" - or a "generation lost" - for the central government.
This leads to the issue of mindset. Many Hongkongers, especially young people, have not "returned with their hearts" to China, even 17 years after the handover.
Winning the hearts and minds of Hongkongers, especially the younger generation, is an increasingly pressing issue for Beijing.
But it hasn't always been this way. In the early 1980s, student unions at the University of Hong Kong and Chinese University were the first to embrace the idea of the city's return to the motherland.
In fact, in 1984, the two student unions wrote to then premier, the late Zhao Ziyang, to express their support for the handover.
Fast-forward to 2014, when we have student protesters writing to President Xi Jinping asking for genuine universal suffrage.
In an open letter to Xi last week, student leaders from the Federation of Students and Scholarism reiterated that their movement was not a "colour revolution" but a genuine call for democracy.
It also called on the president to "not be afraid of your people".
Beijing is showing no sign of yielding to the pressure - perhaps clinging to the thought that the sun will still rise tomorrow, no matter what. But one thing is clear: greater effort is needed from both sides in this stand-off to build mutual understanding and trust.
