Peaceful, polite, civil and civilized! (Photo-essay)

When I visited the Occupy areas on the Sunday afternoon and evening before the Monday morning that 689 had said the roads needed to be cleared of protestors, it was with a sense that I might well be doing so for the final time.  But last night, when I went again to those areas, I found that some barriers that had been removed on Sunday in Causeway Bay were back blocking sections of road again and that there was still no small amount of people about in Admiralty.

To be sure, much of life feels like normal these days in many parts of Hong Kong -- but that's actually been the case all this time.  (Thus it was that even while I entitled my first blog entry post my return from Japan Hong Kong in turmoil, I did also write about my observing "people doing stuff such as going about shopping at the nearby high end Pacific Place mall, drinking in a bar located inside it, heading into the cinema there to catch a movie, etc." that day.)

At the same time though, there indeed have been people out protesting-- and usually in a way and in an atmosphere that's so peaceful, polite, civil and, well, civilized that it has amazed many people and initially bemused many visiting journalists but may now have bored them!  Consequently, Hong Kong has quietly slipped out of the news in many parts of the world in recent days.  But as the following photos show, people still are visibly out there and, in their own way, doing their bit to make Hong Kong a better place:-

 Yes, there weren't as many people out occupying Admiralty 

on Sunday night as on Saturday evening but it's not like 

there was just a handful of people out there either!

 Doesn't the Central Government Complex at Tamar look like 

it was designed to arrogantly suggest that the folks who those 

who work in it actually are supposed to serve are just small fry?

On Sunday, I did see a few "anti Occupy" people

launching diatribes at tolerants protestors 

Last night, a much more peaceful and laidback -- 

sleepy even ;) -- scene greeted me at Causeway Bay

At Admiralty, there even were tents for people 

to sleep on the streets in more comfort!

Most people were happy to sit around but others 

strolled about too on the car-less streets

'Umbrella Man' - whose creator was inspired by

the image of a protestor holding an umbrella 

to shield a police officer from the rain

People strolling about in the protest area and doing what 

the poster is telling folks to do: "Keep calm and love Hong Kong"!