My Take | Protest movement spawns its own Frankenstein’s monster

From the outset, today’s protesters have decided they don’t need leaders; everything has to be as spontaneous as possible. Indeed, spontaneity is taken as proof of the movement’s legitimacy and authenticity – contrary to Beijing’s claims about protesters being in the pockets of Washington and Taipei.

Secondly, and this is related to the first point, to keep such a loose movement intact, there can be no public dissension among its people. You may belong to the “peaceful, rational, non-violent” camp, but you cannot openly criticise or argue against those who advocate violence.

But the logic of such a movement, unrestrained by any leadership or a peaceful faction, necessarily means it’s being led by the most radical members – and violence will escalate as their demands become greater and more difficult to satisfy.

No one has the authority to call off the protests or de-escalate, but anyone can get on social media to launch another wave of violent protests. The government may want to sit down and talk, but the protesters can’t. Even Joseph Lian Yi-zheng, the economist, journalist and intellectual eminence grise of the protest movement, admits this point. “Carrie Lam, the city’s leader, suggested that she wanted to open a dialogue with the protesters as soon as things calm down,” he wrote in The New York Times. “But with whom exactly would she communicate since the movement has no recognised representatives?”