I have written a few blog posts on the subject of the ongoing protests in Hong Kong. For the previous posts, I was in the United States following news reports and discussion boards in Hong Kong. This time primarily for personal reason I went to Hong Kong and was able to witness the protests myself.
I know people in Hong Kong who are on different sides of the issue. While some including myself have sympathy towards protesters, others think the protesters are up to no good and deserve punishment if not getting shot. This issue is tearing the Hong Kong society apart. People who are on different sides refer to their news or social media resources to justify their views. There is not a lot of middle ground or consensus regarding facts of certain events that occurred during the protests.
Basically for the last two weeks or so, the violence has escalated. A student died after falling off a parking garage when trying to escape tear gas the previous Sunday. Police shot tear gas toward protesters on that night when a police officer had a wedding reception nearby, which drawn protests. There are claims that the student was pushed off the parking garage by an undercover officer. There are also claims that student simply underestimated the height and his death was an accident.
The student didn’t die immediately and had multiple surgeries to treat the head trauma last week. His injury was too severe and passed away last Friday.
In response to his death, the protesters escalated by calling for a general strike. In the past, such calls didn’t get much response as people prefer to go with their daily lives on weekdays. The protesters had to disrupt the transportation systems and force people to strike.
So for the past few days, there were multiple protests going on at the same time in different districts all over the territory. On Monday morning, a protester got shot and injured by a cop after a scuffle broke out when police was trying to clear a roadblock. Later in the day, a protest happened in Central, the downtown/Wall Street of Hong Kong, and police resorted to shoot tear gas in the middle of the work day. At night, there were protests in the residential and retail districts. The main ones were at Mong Kok on Nathan Road retail strip. Protests also occurred at university campuses. The main one is at Chinese University.
The tactics are similar. Protesters dressed in black would set up roadblocks. Police would try to remove the roadblocks and would use tear gas to disperse the crowds. The crowds (sometime dressed in street clothes) would try to taunt the police. The protesters would also vandalize, but only toward specific targets (Chinese state owned businesses for example, along with the rail system that has been aligned with the government in shutting down service) and wouldn’t loot for personal greed.
A state own Bank of China branch is covered by steel plates to prevent protesters smashing the glass. American owned Citibank is spared from the vandalism.
The protesters that I’ve observed are young (late teens and early 20’s) and include young men and women. This is especially notable since in Asian societies women tend to take on a more traditional gender role. In this case both young men and women protest side by side.
The protests on Monday and Tuesday impacted more on the rail system. Many people could still get around by bus, which on certain routes get unusually crowded. On Wednesday, the roadblocks have impacted bus operations so many bus routes, especially from the suburbs, were disrupted for at least half a day. The rail and bus disruption caused school closures. The government announced that schools would be closed for Thursday, even though days earlier it said that they won’t close schools due to protests and threatened the protesters not to try.
For sometime night life in Hong Kong is essentially none as the rail system and indoor shopping malls shut down early, partly to discourage people going out at night and also in an attempt to reduce the impacts from the protests.
My upmost concern is the safety of the protesters. As protests continue, police are resorting to more violent tactics to either disperse or try to arrest the crowds. In addition, there are allegation of beatings, rape, and even deaths while in police custody. Pro-government gangs were reportedly attacked protesters in certain districts with knives. To defend themselves, protesters would beat up others who taunt them or trying to take a close up photo. Today’s reactions from protesters are far different than during the first months of the movement. Many protesters take pride for being peaceful back then, and some even not fighting back when a protester was being punched on the head.
What I am seeing is that Hong Kong is basically in a war. Despite the fact that there’s no formal military intervention, being so close to the protests, whether as a protester or witness, requires a warrior mentality, which is not something Hong Kongers used to especially for the older population. They’re used to the peaceful, non-violent protests that were common in the previous two decades. The younger population had to quickly adapt, and even innovating to push the limits. Formal peaceful protests that began the movement in June are rare and generally not permitted. The police does not want any large gathering. In recent months, police approved protests are seen as a trap where police could suddenly declare a permitted protest illegal and people have to scramble if they don’t want to face arrest.
The strange thing is that Hong Kong is famously known as a concrete jungle. Even as a protest is occurring at a large intersection and tear gas is being blasted, everyday business continues a block or two away. For me I feel safe to observe as long as I keep at least 300 feet away from the front line. Police or protesters could start running anytime so you need to be ready to step aside when you go into the area.
Riot police were prepared on Sunday night in Tuen Mun. There was confrontation, but less violent compared to other districts on the same night:
Those blue gear cops were “raptors” who would suddenly burst from a vehicle or somewhere indoor to catch protesters running away from the scene. They ran toward me and I had to stand against the wall to let them pass.
This is roadblock near Polytechnic University on Monday. It is one of the roads leading to the Cross Harbour Tunnel connecting between the Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula:
In Mong Kok Tuesday night...
In master planned community of Tin Shui Wai, as protesters gathered around a police station to taunt the cops. That night protests were popping up all over the city to distract the police as there was an ongoing confrontation at Chinese University.
The core of Hong Kong’s problem is its governance, particularly under the Carrie Lam’s administration. Since 1997, no chief executive in Hong Kong ever held an elected office anytime during his or her political history. I think the lack of political skills and sensitivity is what started the crisis. Currently, I don’t see a path of how to end the unrest, considering that Carrie Lam (under direction from Beijing) is not stepping down. In the minimum, I believe a truce is necessary to curb down on the violence and vandalism for now.
So far, the government has taken a hard line approach to deal with the protests. It refused to make concessions in early June after the first few protests and government resorted to police to “enforce the laws.” Later government gave in (by formally withdraw the extradition legislation) but protests haven’t ended. People are now protesting against police brutality and they demand accountability. Although there’s consensus supporting some level of investigation into police conduct, the government worries about police backlash.
Beijing, which has the power to remove Carrie Lam, seems wanting to operate under its own timetable, by expressing confidence in Carrie Lam last week. There were rumors that she would leave in March. Whether they are true or not, such rumors would make her a lame duck and would leave a power vacuum that other people in pro-Beijing fractions would fight for. On the other hand, as situation changes day by day and week by week, can Hong Kong afford to wait for a few more months until there’s some political breakthrough? How many students would have to be arrested, raped, injured, or killed in the next few months?
The hard line approach hasn’t worked unless China is willing to send in the troops. Some protesters believe in the scorched earth strategy and is daring China to militarily intervene. Such intervention may very well change how other countries including the United States policies regarding Hong Kong.
I think what politicians need to learn is that normalcy should not be taken for granted. Hong Kong is known for many decades for its economic and social stability, but what happened in the last five months you see the institutions starting to degrade. While one could avoid getting into or near any of the protests or roadblocks, the protests are leaving visible scars all over the city. I think one of the mistakes the government made is thinking that given Hong Kong has enjoyed long social stability that it could push unpopular policies and not expecting people to fight back. Now it is not just people peacefully marching on the streets.
