Remembering what happened inside Prince Edward MTR station one year ago today

Hong Kong one year ago today

A line of thinking shared by many Hong Kongers

"When the authorities are trying so hard to gaslight us, the least we can do is remember the truth. Remember remember remember. We are not insane. This really happened." Chinese University of Hong Kong journalism professor Lokman Tsui Tweeted that message last week in response to the Hong Kong police force's attempts to twist truths and rewrite history -- specifically what happened in Yuen Long on the night of July 21st, 2019.

Another key series of events that the authorities want us to forget/misremember concerns what took place inside Prince Edward MTR station on the night of August 31st last year.  Like with what happened inside Yuen Long MTR station, there is plenty of video evidence of the terrible things done there.  At the same time though, there's footage missing that has caused suspicions of even worse things having taken place than what we know for certain.  Specifically, there are people convinced that some individuals died at the hands of the police inside Prince Edward MTR station that night.  

Even if you take that possibility away from the picture, the fact of the matter is that what happened on the night of August 31st, 2019, in that particular section of Hong Kong, traumatized many Hong Kongers.  There now are many Hong Kong residents who try to stay away from that area of Hong Kong.  There also are a good many Hong Kongers who now refuse to take the MTR (whereby it used to be the source of great pride and joy).  And there now is a massive amount of Hong Kongers with immensely low opinions of the Hong Kong police.  All due in no small part to what happened at Prince Edward one year ago today.
 
Suffice to say then that many of us do not need reminders of certain visceral scenes that caused our hearts to break (and can make me cry even when I watch the video footage of them again now -- and if you're wondering: it was the screaming, utterly defenceless passengers being pepper sprayed inside a train carriage and the desperate first aider crying out in vain to be let in to help save people that got to me the most).  Still, should anyone feel a need to refresh their memory (or see what I'm talking about if you're coming into this without prior knowledge because it was deemed not newsworthy -- or too sensitive to be covered -- in your home country), check out this detailed series of Tweets showing why "831" has become a byword among Hong Kongers for police riots.
 
So much do they want people to not remember or commemorate those terrible events that the police have consistently reacted angrily when people have gone there to mourn at the end of each month -- much like when people have gone to Yuen Long on the 21st of every month since July 2019.  What with today being the one year anniversary of the police riot inside Prince Edward MTR station, there inevitably will be a large crowd there to mourn.  And because of that, I fear that major violence will erupt again tonight in the area.

Already, there's been some argybargy there.  The purple security law warning flag has been unfurled at least once already, pepper spray has been discharged, and some pepper balls fired have been fired too.  Also, some people have been detained, including at least one preteen boy and elderly man who had gone to lay down a bouquet of flowers outside one of the MTR station's entrances!  

Not so long ago, that would be considered plenty of "incidents" already for one night.  Tonight, I just find myself hoping that I won't learn that much worse happened after I wake up and check the news tomorrow morning.  And in the meantime, I take in the following remarks by Mary Hui: namely, that these days, "Hong Kong is an endless cycle of trauma: the trauma of the moment, the trauma of memories, and the trauma of remembrance denied."