July 12    Donald Trump, Brexit .... and HK!

Many, many times over the past few years, Ming Pao's editorial has been calling on the HK government to fix fundamental problems like the lack of affordable housing, a shortage of hospital beds and the widening gap between rich and poor.

Because these "boils" have not been treated, they have continued to fester ... to the point where they cause citizens, especially young people, to turn to radical solutions to bring about change.

Internationally, governments' lack of care for ordinary people explains why so many voters, out of desperation for change, support extremists like Donald Trump (US), Rodrigo Duterte (Philippines), Pauline Hanson (Australia) - and an exit of Britain ("Brexit") from the European Union.

This is a wake-up call for governments all over the world. It's also the message of Chinese history: ordinary people can take only so much. Pushed to the brink, they will revolt.