NO R I O T E R S, O N LY T Y R A N N Y. Hong Kong on the Edge
ANTI-EXTRADITION PROTEST FIVE DEMANDS 1. Formally WITHDRAW the Extradition Bill 2. Retract the “RIOT” characterization of the 12 June protest 3. Withdraw criminal charges against ALL protesters 4. Appoint an INDEPENDENT commission of inquiry 5. Implement UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE
FIGHT FOR FREEDOM, STAND WITH HONG KONG
“Over the past nearly two months, hundreds of thousands of people have braved Hong Kong’s sweltering summer heat in a series of mass rallies against an unpopular bill that has come to symbolize concerns about the encroachment of the mainland Chinese government on their semiautonomous territory. The city’s beleaguered leader, Carrie Lam, has already suspended the bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China and declared it “dead.” But she has refused to formally withdraw it or to meet the protesters’ other demands, which include the establishment of an independent commission to investigate police conduct and the right to directly elect the territory’s leader. Mrs. Lam’s unwavering stance has helped fuel protests that now occur regularly, some of them escalating dramatically.” Tiffany May, Lam Yik Fei, & Ezra Cheung / The New York Times
Shatin July 14 “The protest was located in the suburban Shatin area of the city—the second to take place in the New Territories region of Hong Kong, far from the financial and shopping hubs that hosted earlier marches. The demonstration began peacefully, with people marching for a few hours shouting slogans and weaving through heavily residential neighborhoods alongside a river.” Mary Hui & Isabella Steger / QZ
“By 10 p.m., as the police tried to clear the streets in the mostly residential neighborhood, the demonstrators had scattered and many ended up regrouping in a shopping mall. The police moved into the mall and were met with protesters who had filled the floors overlooking the atrium and were throwing bottles and umbrellas at the officers on the ground floor. The police struck at the protesters with batons and pushed them with shields, and officers were seen dragging several of them away.” Amy Qin / The New York Times
28 people hospitalized 2 people in critical condition 13 officers injured 47 people arrested
Wan Chai, Central, Sheung Wan July 21
“The demonstration began peacefully to renew calls for an independent inquiry into police brutality, alongside other pro-democracy demands. Clad in their usual black, the demonstrators began gathering at 3 p.m. in Victoria Park for a march towards Wan Chai, a busy commercial area. The organiser of the march, the Civil Human Rights Front, said 430,000 people participated.” Casey Quackenbush / Aljazeera
“By nightfall, some protesters had defaced a crest of the Chinese government at the liaison office with eggs and black ink, and had sprayed the building’s exterior with graffiti. Shortly after 8 p.m., about 100 riot police officers, some carrying guns with plastic rounds, approached the liaison office and dragged away metal barricades that protesters had placed in the road.” Mike Ives / The New York Times
“One of the tools used by both protesters and police on the streets of Hong Kong are high-powered lasers and blinding lights, shone through thick clouds of tear gas to confuse each other and as an additional tool to conceal their identities and activities.” The Straits Times
Yuen Long July 21
“A mob of men wearing white and armed with wooden sticks and umbrellas attac train station in a Hong Kong suburb near the border with China. The attackers, w at Yuen Long Station at about 10:30 p.m., targeting unarmed passers-by wearing anti-extradition protesters who were on their way home [from Sheung Wan].�
cked people dressed in black at a who were wearing masks, appeared black, whom they believed to be Claire Huang / The Straits Times
“Video filmed inside the train showed passengers screaming and crying as they a umbrellas. The attackers used metal and wooden rods, as well as canes and broom dressed in black being punched and kneed in the stomach by several men, comm on the station ground. A female journalist was beaten while filming the attack...”
“...When police arrived at the station they had taken so long to get there. P gate of the train station.”
attempted to shield themselves with ms. Footage showed a young man muters bleeding and smears of blood
after 11pm, the assailants had left and angry protesters demanded to know why Police left and the attackers later came back a second time, breaking into a closed Lily Kuo & Verna Yu / The Guardian
45 people hospitalized 1 person in critical condition no one was arrested overnight
Timeline of the Yuen Long Attack 06:35 p.m. - 08:21 p.m. Some white-clad men gathered at Fung Yau Street North. Some, with bamboo sticks, headed towards the park where the first attack occurred. 09:29 p.m. - 10:13 p.m. Three police car patrolled along Fung Yau Street North. No police got off the car. 09:49 p.m. First attack occurred: A chef, So, passed by the park after work and was beaten by the white-clad. 10:24 p.m. Pro-Beijing legislators Junius Ho was filmed shaking hands with men in white while being called a hero. 10:50 p.m. - 11:14 p.m. The white-clad men on Fung Yau Street North left to Yuen Long station. The first round of attack happened inside the station. No police were at the scene. 10:52 p.m. - 11:14 p.m. Two uniformed police armed with guns appeared at the station and retreated. Violence escalated. White-clad men attacked people on the platforms and inside the train carriage. 10:56 p.m. - 11:14 p.m. Train service was suspended. Station announcement told passengers to leave the carriage.
11:15 p.m. - 11:44 p.m. As some of the white-clad men ran away, 40 police arrived at the station, 39 minutes after receiving the report. Police did not appear to pursue any perpetrators. 00:26 a.m. White-clad men stormed into the station again. CCTV reveals some casually walking by patrol cars while officers walked away. Beating continued inside and outside the station. 01:00 a.m. Riot police arrived at the village where white-clad men gathered. Journalists were stopped from filming. 03:00 a.m. - 04:00 a.m. Painclothes officers entered the village for investigation. Several groups of white-clad men left. No arrests were made overnight. Nearest police station at Tin Shui Wai and Yuen Long shut their gates. 24, 000 emergency calls were made to the police within three hours between 10:30 p.m. - 01:30 a.m.
RTHK & The New York Times
Yuen Long July 27 “The march on Saturday saw crowds vent their anger with authorities who they accuse of negligence over a mob attack last week. Despite the apparent unlawfulness of the gathering, tens of thousands of protesters defied police to march through Yuen Long. Protesters, many wearing black, chanted ‘There is no riot only a tyranny’ and ‘Hong Kong police, the lawbreakers’.” James Griffiths & Joshua Berlinger / CNN
“Hong Kong police’s decision to fire tear gas in the heavily populated and residential district of Yuen Long has come under fire, after a viral video showed residents of a nursing home choking on the noxious substance. Sounds of coughing can be heard on the video, with an old lady saying: “Why aren’t the windows closed?”’ Jeffie Lam & Michelle Wong / South China Morning Post
“By about 7 p.m., a special tactical unit rushed into the train station where protesters had gathered, some getting ready to go home. The police fired pepper spray on them, while beating some with batons.� Lily Kuo & Verna Yu / The Guardian
“The decision by riot police to storm the subway station has drawn unfavorable comparisons among demonstrators with the events of last weekend, when protesters returning home to Yuen Long were viciously attacked by a mob wielding iron bars and bamboo sticks.� Rebecca Wright / CNN
24 people hospitalized 2 people in critical condition 11 people arrested
Sheung Wan July 28 “For the second day in a row, thousands rallied in Hong Kong to protest mob violence and what they say is police brutality against peaceful marchers. And for the second consecutive day, the police fired tear gas and rubber bullets starting from about 7 p.m. Clashes erupted again that turned parts of downtown Hong Kong into a tear gas-filled battlefield as riot officers beat back demonstrators who tried to approach the Chinese government’s representative office in the territory.� Austin Ramzy / The New York Times
“For the past 3 hours police have been firing tear gas to clear protesters in Sheung Wan. A few hundred remaining protesters are still on the streets. Whole area is in lockdown.” Rebecca Wright / CNN via Twitter “我耳邊仍聽到警方繼續開槍、發射催淚彈，我計算了一下，頻 率高到幾乎20秒左右就一發 [I can still hear the police shooting and firing tear gas—almost shooting every 20 seconds].” Stephanie Yang / Initium Media “They were firing from at least three points within 50m of each other. This city has turned into a fucking war zone. I have lost count of the number of rounds of teargas. The bangs are near constant. I just tried to take pictures of the aggressive arrest of a man—several officers pinned him to the ground. Police kept blocking me by standing in my way and asked me for my press ID, and let me stay for a few seconds before kicking me out.” Laurel Chor, freelance journalist via Twitter
“The streets are littered with tear gas canisters and casings, with some bearing the label of a manufacturer from the United States. One casing is labelled “NonLethal Technologies,” a company based in Pennsylvania that creates crowd control products.” Helen Regan / CNN
16 people hopitalized 49 people arrested
“While tens of thousands take to the streets again in Hong Kong to protest agains leaders, including Carrie Lam, have gone to a People’s Liberation Army summer Chungyan Chow / So
“Hong Kong youth should keep eyes contributions to Hong Kong, our country an
st the government, the city’s top camp for youngsters.” outh China Morning Post via Twitter July 28 4:19 pm
on the horizon, pay close attention to the development of our country and make nd the world in the future. The Hong Kong government will do its best to support the healthy growth of young people.” Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of Hong Kong
“It’s not so much about democracy as it is about trust. If every Hongkonger chooses to stay at home, then we will surely die...This is the way Hongkongers show their trust to each other—by showing up and standing up for each other.” Fong, 30, through The Guardian
“I haven’t really protested before, not even in marches, but I feel that if I don’t do something to protect freedoms I ought to have, I may never recover them again. We want to be peaceful, but under oppression, we need to resist.” Fung, 17, through The New York Times
“Hong Kongers add oil”
Lennon Wall Across Hong Kong and Beyond “Hong Kong has been rocked by waves of protests against the government’s extradition bill since June. But while opposition to the now-suspended bill has at times been fierce, the episode has also inspired many Hongkongers to express themselves in a quieter, more creative way. Walls have sprung up all over Hong Kong in past two weeks, having been first seen in city during Occupy protests in 2014. As the protests continued, more and more of the colourful walls began to spring up across Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and beyond, even as far as some of the outlying islands. Among the biggest are in Tai Po, Causeway Bay and Austin. Outside Hong Kong, Lennon Walls sprang up in Toronto, Canada, Tokyo, Berlin and London, just to name a few.” Zoe Low / South China Morning Post
Silver-Haired March Central July 17 “An estimated 9,000 marchers, mostly elderly citizens, took to the streets to show their support for young people who have been at the forefront of protests.” Kimmy Chung / South China Morning Post “The demonstration, billed as a “silver-haired” march, saw senior citizens rallying toward the centre of the city to denounce police handling of recent protests. One of the protest organisers, activist Yeung Po-hi, read aloud a statement in support of ‘our youth in their struggle of no return.’ Many shouted slogans along the way such as ‘Carrie Lam step down’ and ‘no rioters, only a tyrannical regime.’” Gavin Butler / VICE Asia
Hong Kong International Airport Sit-in July 26 “More than 1,000 demonstrators dressed in black filled the arrival hall at Hong Kong International Airport, where they greeted visitors with chants of ‘There are no riots, there’s only tyranny!’” Alice Fung & Yanan Wang / Associated Press ‘There’s a very peaceful and orderly demonstration at Hong Kong International Airport. All they demand is the withdrawal of the controversial extradition bill. Don’t be scared by all these people wearing black shirts and sitting in the arrivals hall. In fact, feel free to talk to them and try to know more about Hong Kong if you want to. And last but not least, 香港人加油 萬事小心 [Hong Kongers add oil, stay safe].” A Cathay Pacific pilot on-board annoucement upon landing in Hong Kong
Open Letters to Hong Kong Government “At least 230 civil servants from more than 40 bureaus and departments [and] some 100 out of a total of 650 Administrative Officers have spoken out about the city’s recent unrest. In petitions and open letters on social media, they have indicated their endorsement by sharing photos of their civil service staff cards, with their names covered.” Austin Ramzy & Tiffany May / The New York Times “According to the Civil Service Code, civil servants must serve Hong Kong’s chief executive and the government with total loyalty and to the best of their ability, regardless of their political beliefs.” Kathy Zhang / China Daily “When we take off our staff cards, take off our uniforms, we are all Hong Kong people.” Ngan, organizer of the August 2 civil servant sit-in turnout: 40,000
若一個政權連一個人民發聲也不容許 這正正印證了如我所說 那個政權如何壓榨人民 滅聲 若一個國家以為可以用恐嚇這種方法令人民噤聲 其實癡心妄想的好像不是我們
何韻詩
hope does not put us to shame we won’t be slienced.
香港人加油 萬事小心 Hong Kongers Add Oil Stay Safe
compiled on 8.5.2019 22:08 Gothenburg & Los Angeles we do not claim ownership of any content displayed not for sale