【明報專訊】HALF A YEAR into the storm of anti-extradition protests, public discontent with the government is still running high. However, violence seems to have momentarily abated at long last. On the whole, a march organised by the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) on December 8 was a peaceful and orderly one despite sporadic instances of violence and vandalism, including acts of arson directed at the Court of Final Appeal and the High Court. All sides were seen to exercise restraint and there were no acute conflicts between the police force and the public. The call by some netizens for a new round of "general strikes on three fronts" (a walkout, class boycotts and boycotts by businesses) yesterday (December 9) also failed to have an impact, as society functioned as usual. After all these months of continued violence, society is completely exhausted. It is certainly desirable that all sides have become willing to exercise more restraint. Nevertheless, the "relative calm" right now is in fact very fragile. As the situation may still take an abrupt turn for the worse, it is hard to simply count on the development over the past couple of weeks. From the district council elections to the December 8 march, many citizens have expressed their discontent with the government in a peaceful way. The authorities should seize the moment of relative calm and take more substantial action to soothe public sentiment, so that society can truly restore peace.