No, she would not have been disappeared. Hong Kong is not a society where senior public figures and family members are purged for stepping out of line.

But let's say you believe that dark scenario. In that case, even small gestures, like visiting a school or hospital, or not calling protesters "enemies of the people", would have been a sign of sympathy.

She chose to visit injured police officers and broken Octopus machines (turnstiles in the local metro) instead of victims of police brutality.

She did visit the local mosque to apologize when the police blasted it with tainted water, after she was called out on it. She did not visit nor apologize to local churchs which experienced worse behavior.

She simply refuses to learn what Hong Kongers truly think of her. The district elections were a stinging rebuke to her administration, yet she believes that she is right.

We Hong Kongers will remember her and her cronies forever, in the same way we remember the June 4th crackdown.

> Hong Kong is not a society where senior public figures and family members are purged for stepping out of line.

China is, and Hong Kong is part of China. This is the root of the entire problem.

I can't imagine Beijing even trying to purge a sympathetic HK official lest the public reaction render the city completely ungovernable.

The article's conclusion of sheer incompetence fits better.

If she decided to "make Beijing happy", then what's the endgame?

She thought this was going to end well? And she was going to get rewarded by the CCP?

I also believe this. She could only have said something somewhat safely from exile.

An important aspect of leadership is the courage to do the right thing, even at risk to one's own personal comfort and safety. In light of facts, you could make the argument that either she doesn't believe in the importance of sovereignty for her fellow citizens, or she doesn't have the courage to speak up for it.

Absolutely.