Meaningful dates for Hong Kongers seeking democracy and justice
We're not playing anymore :(
Yet another end of the month has arrived and, as has been the case for six months now, people have gathered at Prince Edward MTR station to mourn -- if not the actual deaths of individuals, then the hammering of one more nail on the coffin of Hong Kongers' freedom from fear while doing not much more than taking what used to be a popular as well as integral mode of public transportation, thanks to the actions of the police at Prince Edward MTR station on the evening of August 31st, 2019. I hate that I'm expecting this but it really wouldn't surprise me if more tear gas gets fired by the police before the night is out, like has happened too many times already.
As it is, there already have been some arrests made in the area; including, as previously anticipated, using the new social distancing laws which came into effect over the weekend.
Almost needless to say, all of this really is not going to get people
in Hong Kong thinking that the members of the local constabulary --
particularly those in green fatigues and riot gear and "raptor" outfits (rather than their previously more "regular" uniforms) -- are "citizens in uniform" who are going about "policing by consent". (But, then, do the police really care what the public think of them anymore?)
As it so happens, there also is another anniversary of note for Hong Kongers who care about the law being upheld in the proper, just way to commemorate today. For on March 31st of last year, the first anti-extradition bill protest march took place.
Under-publicized (so that, I, for example, didn't know about it until I
saw people demonstrating on Queensway), it nonetheless attracted some
12,000 participants. I'm sure, though, that no one taking part in that
March 31st, 2019, protest had any incline of the amount of support their cause would end up attracting -- and how it would lead to a sea change in the way Hong Kongers think and act, and the kind of community efforts that have seen Hong Kongers wage a fierce battle against the local authorities, their Beijing overlords, and the coronavirus which came over from Mainland China.
On the subject of the Wuhan coronavirus: on a day when the number of confirmed cases worldwide passed the 800,000 mark, Hong Kong recorded another 32 new cases, bringing its total tally to 714. While this looks to be a dip in the numbers of new daily cases, there's actually a real worry that Hong
Kong will soon run out of isolation beds if the numbers of infected
people keeps on rising as quickly as they have in recent weeks.
I really hope that the Hong Kong community's efforts to stem the Wuhan coronavirus will not be in vain. And even while I think there are many branches of Hong Kong's government that could do better (including Carrie Lam, of course, but those who issued quarantined individuals with faulty wristbands and allowed confusion to reign inside quarantine centers), it does seem like the Centre for Health Protection is doing a pretty good job with such as their
having conducted some 90,000 tests for the coronavirus to date
(resulting in a 12,000 to 1 million ratio that ranks among the highest
in the world).
For
those of us who often find it hard to envision statistics and need
the help of graphics, I'm glad for the existence of such as the South China Morning Post's local Wuhan coronavirus infographic.
Incidentally, I also find its map of confirmed cases in Hong Kong,
which include the names (along with locations) of local hospitals where
patients are treated to provide insights into Hong Kong's distinct
identity vis a vis (Mainland) China. Put another way, only in Hong Kong
will you get hospitals with Cantonese names (like Kwong Wah, Tseung Kwan O and Pok Oi) mixed with others named after various British Royals (such as Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary, Princess Margaret and the Prince of Wales) along with at least one with South Asian roots (Ruttonjee)! ;b
2 comments:
It looks like pretty much people in my area is practicing social distancing here. Although there is a few who don't.
Hi peppylady --
I'm glad to hear that the majority of people in your area are practicing social distancing in these times and I do hope that the few who aren't doing so will soon fall in with the majority and won't cause your community dear.
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