Thursday, November 27, 2014

"Shopping" in Mongkok

Seen in Mongkok earlier this month

It ain't over yet.  Last night, many people went "shopping" in Mongkok -- responding to 689's call for people to do so in ways that he didn't anticipate.  Even while members of the Umbrella Movement asserted that they wanted to shop for gold and milk powder, like many mainlanders who come to Hong Kong do, many of the shops in the area decided to temporarily close -- probably more than would have been the case if Occupy Mongkok had continued in the way that it previouslyhad been doing for many weeks now!

Quite a few people plan to go "shopping" in Mongkok tonight too -- and I could see people doing so again on Friday night and after that too.  For let's face it: the authorities may have cleared the roads for vehicular traffic to go along but they haven't put a permanent roadblock on the path that the Umbrella Movement's members and supporters wish to go along.

Put another way: it's like with the mainlanders - faced with impediments to getting real milk powder where they would like to find it, they go elsewhere to get what they want.  Thus it is that Hong Kongers who want real elections -- as well as milk powder -- are (invariably) going to try other means to get what they want... because that yearning remains and, indeed, may have spread over the past 60 days (for yes, today marks the 60th day of the Umbrella Movement!).

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi YTSL! I love this new "shopping" tactic. It's simply brilliant, especially the way it overturns the idea that the only thing to do in HK is shop. A strange notion I've heard more than once, especially from people who are bewildered by my having visited HK so many times.

Have fun shopping this weekend! ;D

YTSL said...

Hi duriandave --

The more Hong Kong shows itself to be interested in much more than just shopping (especially of prestige items like "brand name" clothing), the more I love it.

And that's the thing for me with the Umbrella Movement: it brings to the fore sides of Hong Kongers -- creative, environmentally minded, wanting equality along with answerable leaders, etc. -- that I am empathetic to.

nulle said...

I concur, this shopping tactic works,
a) no more camping
b) more flexibility
c) can be spread out and adjusted on the fly
d) more effective to drive more mainlanders away from HK, hopefully permanently...

let's "shop" at Central, at Admirality, Causeaway Bay, and Northern area of Northern Terrorities (area(s) closest to the Shenzhen border)

YTSL said...

Hi Nulle --

Camping is still continuing in Admiralty and Causeway Bay. Some people seem to think all the protest sites have been cleared: they have not.

nulle said...

YTSL,
you misread...I said the tactic works...I know Admiralit and Causeway Bay is still occupied...

I am talking about the areas in Central, Admirality, Causeway Bay NOT taken over by Occupy Central.

I want those piggy HK Police to fight for every block against Occupy...I suspect those piggy HK Police is being spread thin...

now a few timely calls about certain objects should push those piggies to beyond their limits...

YTSL said...

Hi again nulle --

I don't want the HK police to be pushed beyond their limits just for the sake of it. What I do want though is for the message to be rammed home that using the police and the courts to deal with a political problem is NOT workable.

Leung Chun-ying's administration is showing how stupid and incapble it is by the day.