Perhaps the most remarkable outcome of last year's protest was this: a government can lose all credibility and social support, and still use law and civil inst

Perhaps the most remarkable outcome of last year's protest was this: a government can lose all credibility and social support, and still use law and civil institutions to prop up the hated regime. Isn't this proof that democracy has a huge Achilles' heel? The way modern democracy works is ultimately easy to corrupt: - People's power is only exercised once every few years at election time. Weaknesses: Hacking the election process, stacking the field, disqualification of candidates, using the media to spread disinformation. - Power is concentrated at the top. Once the election is stolen, the "representatives" in parliament and chief executive office can carry out bad agendas to pass evil laws and steal national reserves. There is no longer any effective people's power to restrain them. - The expression of people's disagreement with the government is normally through free press, arts, civil society interaction, protests, strikes, and petitions. A bad government willing to use police force and ignore international questions can crush dissent. - Even when the bad government went too far, like in HK, and caused thousands of political victims, it can hide behind the grand facade of "internal affairs". This is a loincloth that no longer has any effective meaning in today's connected, borderless world. - finally, why are the citizens of a bad country not allowed to obtain help from a third country? The UN's mandate is to set up orderly diplomacy between states, but increasing non-state players also need a voice to be heard at the UN.