Hong Kongers surprise with their courage and determination once more

"Together, we fight the virus", and oppression

Hong Kong police making like the army of occupation

Tear gas fills the air in Hong Kong once again :(

Is the Hong Kong many of us know and love dead or, at the very least, lost?  Many people are inclined to think so but there are those who stubbornly refuse to believe this so and actually make a compelling case for why they think they way they do.  

To be sure, the Communist Chinese regime and local quislings are making a mockery out of "One country, two systems" -- but make no mistake: Hong Kong people are not giving up on their five demands and fight for freedom.  For those who doubt this: look at and to what happened in Hong Kong this afternoon and evening.  

While it's easy enough to fixate on the police and their eye-catching array of weapons (including the infamous water cannon and tear gas), do pay attention too to the fact that several thousand Hong Kongers were prepared to go out today to show their opposition to the national security law that the Communist Chinese regime has said it will impose on Hong Kong. (And for those who argue that (some) protestors also have weapons: honestly, now, do plastic water bottles and durian husks really count compared to what the ultra well equipped police have?!)

I was in Causeway Bay this afternoon and it was interesting to observe what ensued on the two occasions that tear gas was fired in my vicinity.  The first time around, around 1.30pm, several people (shoppers as well as protestors) sought cover in shops and other indoor spaces -- and I was pleasantly surprised to find that at least one "blue" store was not only prepared to let people shelter from the tear gas but, also, let people know when and where the police had dispersed from the area so that people could go out without fear of being arrested.

The second time around, around two hours later, I was closer to where the tear gas (or powder) was unleashed.  Rather than run for cover, much of the gathered crowd walked away from the scene.  Put another way: people calmly made like water as they flowed -- rather than rage like torrents -- away into nearby streets and alleys.     

I realize some might see it as grasping at straws but I honestly was heartened by the frankly surprising large number of people who turned up to protest today.  It's not just because this all took place in the midst of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic (that still is raging in much of the world though it's true enough that Hong Kong reported zero new cases yesterday and today).  Rather, it all did so despite everyone who turned up fully realizing that they could be arrested and attacked.  

Maybe this is because people feel like they have little or nothing left to lose anymore.  Even so, one has to admire and respect the courage and determination on show from ordinary folks -- female and male, young, old, middle-aged -- including when they persisted in doing such as singing Glory to Hong Kong even in the face of a heavy police presence.  (Unlike at the West Kowloon Magistracy this past Monday, I actually didn't recognize any well-known face in the crowd; so will surmize that this was yet another truly leaderless affair.) 

More than by the way, earlier today, one of the 15 who I went to West Kowloon Magistracy to support this week, Apple Daily owner Jimmy Lai, sought to point Carrie Lam to an actual (rather than non-existent) quote by Nelson Mandela which goes as follows: "There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires."  And I have little doubt on whose side of Hong Kong's fight for democracy and freedom the South African freedom fighter and inspirational world leader -- whom his enemies had labelled a terrorist and imprisoned -- would have been on if he were still alive today.