Local scholars have voiced their concern at the rising tide of violence as a form of social expression.

Lui Tai-lok, a professor at the Department of Sociology at the University of Hong Kong, was speaking out regarding the disturbance by a group of protesters that violently disrupted a constitutional reform consultation session on Sept 1.

Lui noted an absence of "a clear message to elaborate their proposition, agenda and long-term plans which can justify their disruptive conduct."

He also noted a growing trend toward simple slogan-shouting bereft of effective analysis and contemplation on the principles and values that have been upheld verbally.

"This is not a fruitful way to elicit a solution for what is under debate," Lui told China Daily on Monday.

Lui, who wrote a commentary in April calling for more analytical discussion and proposing constructive strategies for any demonstration intending to address social or political issues, said that Hong Kong people may still need some time before their attention can be shifted from sheer criticism to more rational discussion.

The ever more fierce approach to political demonstration has triggered heated discussion and has become a social issue in itself.

There have been incidents such as jostling frontline police, snatching a microphone from an official who was speaking in public, and in the latest incident, throwing dog food at Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Stephen Lam, and barging into the public forum.

Chan Kin-man, director of the Centre for Civil Society Studies of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said that there has been growing evidence of violence over the past five or six years, though the majority of Hong Kong people disapprove.

"Hong Kong people tend to opt for milder, more rational and more conservative ways to voice their opinions. But they're getting wobbled because they have doubts whether it is more effective to apply a more intense way of demonstration," Chan told China Daily.

He noted that perhaps more than 10 percent of the population prefer this way to express views, and the number may grow.

He continued that young people are more susceptible to the trend, as they have more exposure to the Internet, where their emotion of anger and discontentment are provoked and augmented.

"There is less patience towards long analytical articles and more emotional-venting online. Organizing demonstration via Facebook are usually lacking in detailed planning, which is in contrast to the 1970s or 1980s when pressure groups had much more detailed discussion before staging a protest," said Chan.

Besides, both Chan and Lui agree that news organizations had not fully represented public opinions.

"The press is fed with dramatic stories. While there are various voices heard, and there are also concrete proposals produced by some parties or organizations, the news media may have failed to get those messages across," Chan said.

andrea@chinadailyhk.com

China Daily

(HK Edition 09/06/2011 page1)