In Ma On Shan in less troubled times
Hike's end this past Christmas
Things have been on the quiet side the past few days, especially compared to the day that Carrie Lam announced that she'd slap a face covering ban on Hong Kongers and the troubled weekend that ensued after its coming into effect. This is not to say though that things have gone back to normal though -- with the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) still closing early and not all of its stations being opened for business yet -- and, indeed, there are some of us who feel that Hong Kong's former normal is gone forever.
At the same time, however, there are many aspects of this current situation that we never want to come to accept as the norm. Take, as an example, shopping malls being looked upon as zones of conflict; and this especially since the design of many Hong Kong malls makes it so that they connect up to residential complexes and/or offices and down to train stations as well as often house medical clinics, tuition centers and multiplexes as well as a variety of shops and eateries.
It's almost hard to imagine it now but early on during the extradition bill protests, the Pacific Place mall over in Admiralty was seen as a refuge for protesters because people just couldn't see the police rushing into there to attack and apprehend them. Especially since July 14th, when mall mayhem ensued in Sha Tin, however, the idea of the riot police effectively running amok in malls as well as the streets of Hong Kong and the MTR is no longer unthinkable.
Even so, it was quite the shock for many to see -- the majority via video which quickly went viral -- riot police forcing themself through the closed doors of a mall and a line of security guards trying to protect the other people inside it this past Monday. And as if this was not enough to get one thinking that our world -- or, at least, the local constabulary -- had gone mad, yesterday, it was announced that the police had gone and arrested four of the security guards along with a customer relations officer at that Ma On Shan mall!
Less surprising was that, after news of the arrests spread, local residents went and gathered outside Ma On Shan police station to protest that action. Incidentally, this happened on the same day that pro-Beijing politician Maria Tam stated that the Face Covering Regulation looked to already have had a deterrent effect in what can seem like a dare to Hong Kong people to go out and protest some more. And, actually, I don't think she has to wait long for more protests to occur as there's one planned outside Tsim Sha Tsui police station later today, World Vision Day, in tribute of the Hong Kong first aider hit in the eye by police bean bag round in that area on August 11th -- ahead of which the Mira Place mall announced that it would close early today.
Moving away from malls: I can't help but notice how many of the places where I often have dinner -- or, at the very least, taken public transportation from -- after a hike, such as Yuen Long, Tsuen Wan Tsuen Wan and Tai Po, have been the sites of protests and violence in recent months. Considering how far flung they are as well as were previously pretty free of trouble, it's a further sign of how widespread the ongoing anti-government protests and unrest are.
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