MARTIN LEE WRITES:

A constitutional convention to confirm Hong Kong people’s aspirations for democracy and allow for a truly democratic government is a necessary next step. With our inheritance from Britain of the rule of law, individual freedoms and tolerance for political differences, there is no society better prepared for and more deserving of democracy. And, as the world saw when our population took to the streets, there can no longer be any doubt about how strongly Hong Kong people value their liberties and desire a system that can protect them.

One day, of course, it would be nice to see liberties — and a system that can protect them — extended to the whole of China. Which, I suspect, is precisely what Beijing fears.