A feeling that autumn is upon us, and that we're currently experiencing the calm before the storm

Golden hour view towards Lamma Island 

from the southern side of Hong Kong Island 

 

 How calm Hong Kong looked

from this perspective and on this day!

When I woke up this morning, I worried that I had accidentally switched the air-condition one even while having left all the windows in my apartment open overnight.  After realizing that the cool breezes wafting through my bedroom were entirely natural, it further confirmed what I got to feeling around this time last week: that autumn is finally really here -- something that regularly only is the case after the Mid-Autumn Festival has come and gone here in Hong Kong! 

Although the daily maximum temperatures still exceed 30 degrees Celsius, the lowered levels of humidity in the air are super welcome.  Coupled with no more rounds of tear gas having been fired since last Sunday, I'd imagine that has helped to ensure that the air is cleaner -- not just fresher -- than it otherwise might have been.  

All told, the physical conditions have been pretty pleasant -- and I find genuine pleasure in not having sweated up a storm this afternoon despite having spent a good part of it outdoors.  Then there's the bonus of things feeling fairly calm these past few days -- though, as a friend I had lunch and a good  conversation with yesterday noted, it's rather scary how much is needed to truly upset us these days.

Put another way: it's not like no unpleasant events have taken place these past few days.  For example, on Monday, a senior police officer caused outrage on Monday by referring to a member of the "Protect the Children" group who was wearing a yellow t-shirt when he was filmed being kicked by police officers as "a yellow object".  And yesterday morning, pro-democratic legislative councilor Roy Kwong was attacked by three men in broad daylight.  

The lack of trust and respect that the majority of Hong Kongers now have for the local constabulary which can no longer can be relied upon to protect innocent people as well as are more likely to cause trouble than keep the peace can be seen in nearly 90 percent of some 138,000 respondents to a recent online poll having given the Hong Kong police the lowest rating possible of the options provided: specifically, 0 on a scale of 0 to 10.  And it follows from that there now are calls for the demand for an independent inquiry into police brutality (that's part of the five demands) being escalated into a demanding for the disbanding of the Hong Kong police force.

With this kind and amount of bad feelings in the air, the sense one gets is that this relative calm is not going to last for long; and this particularly so since this Friday will mark the fifth anniversary of the start of the Umbrella Movement and the dreaded 70th anniversary of the founding of the "People's Republic of China" is less than a week away.  But even while there is a definite feeling that it's all currently just the calm -- however restrained -- before the storm, those of us living in Hong Kong are endeavoring to make hay while the sun shines and enjoy what peace we are able to experience while we can -- because, well, that's become our way far more quickly than we may actually have truly realized!