To understand where Hong Kong is going, start with Tung Chee-hwa

On September 8, Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong’s first chief executive, died. It prompted reflection, not only on a political figure who once stood at the centre of the city’s public life, but also on nearly three decades of change since its return to China. History is rarely shaped by a single person or isolated decisions. Individual choices, institutional adjustments, social expectations and external circumstances all interact to form the historical process. This is particularly true in Tung’s case....