Focus on Yuen Long once more on the one month anniversary of the horrific mob attack at Yuen Long MTR station

View from Sai Wan Ho's Lennon Wall (or should it be 

stairwell as it covers so much more than just a single wall?)

One of many thought-provoking posters

to be found there

One month ago tonight, a mob armed with bamboo canes and sticks attacked passengers at Yuen Long MTR station (and folks in nearby areas).  One of the most shocking series of events of this turbulent summer was made even more horrifying by damning evidence (including on video) that the police not only did not promptly go to the rescue of the victims but actually colluded with the thugs responsible for inflicting much violence that night and shocking much of Hong Kong to its very core. 

This evening, a sit-in was held at Yuen Long MTR station to mark the one month anniversary of that savagery and also protest the fact that although 28 people have been arrested in connection with what happened in Yuen Long on July 21st, it's all just been only for unlawful assembly (rather than on more serious charges) -- and that not a single individual has yet to appear in court, never mind be found guilty of having actually committed a crime.  Much as I wish it wasn't the case, it seemed all too inevitable that a standoff would end up taking place between the police and protesters -- and for much of the time that I was writing this blog post, that was indeed what had been happening over there, just like it did on July 27th, when defiant people went to Yuen Long to protest against the thug attacks and police collusion of the previous week.

After Hong Kong's first tear gas-free weekend in a while (despite this past Friday, Saturday and Sunday being far from protest-less), some of us were hoping against hope that the powers-that-be would make good use of the fragile peace.  Sadly and too predictably, Chief Executive (in name only?) Carrie Lam squandered the offered opportunity to build on that inevitably only temporary peace by showing that she was willing to agree to even one of this protest movement's five demands; this even after the senior lawyer who heads the Independent Police Complaints Council actually came out in favor of the formal withdrawal of the extradition bill and said the government shouldn't rule out convening the independent commission of inquiry into the police's use of force.

Coming on the same day as the news of an attack on three individuals having taken place at the site of the Lennon Wall in Tseung Kwan O in the early hours of Tuesday morning and reports belatedly surfacing of a British consulate staffer having gone missing on August 9th at the Mainland China-controlled immigration checkpoint of the West Kowloon terminus of the cross-border express train, this put Hong Kongers back on edge.  And when it came to light today that the Hong Kong police have access to closed-circuit television (CCTV) live streams from MTR station (and thus could see in real time what was happening in Yuen Long MTR station on the night of July 21st), let's just say that it's a miracle that actual clashes did not ensue at that locale this evening.  

Instead, what we ended up having at the scene were rubber ducks floating on a floor made wet and slippery to slow down the anticipated police pursuit of protesters intent on catching the train out of there so that they can live and be free to fight another day (or night).  Because, make no mistake, the protesters are not going away -- with a number of quite diverse protest events being planned to take place in just the next few days alone!