On the eve of still more scheduled Hong Kong protests

A message from 2014 that's still valid in 2019

 Sadly, the Hong Kong government's actions -- and that of its 

police force -- are prompting people to ask this question even now 

This past Sunday, over one million people took to the streets of Hong Kong to protest a controversial extradition bill that would allow the Communist Chinese regime to officially be able to get its hands on many people it decided were criminal (even while they were not so under current Hong Kong law -- like the booksellers who were abducted by them back in 2015).  If Hong Kong were a genuine democracy (and its official leaders consequently accountable to the people), this would get the Hong Kong government to think twice about ramming through this bill, if not downright abandon trying to get it passed.

Instead, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (aka 777) reiterated her determination to press on with getting this clearly unpopular bill passed the day after this mega-sized protest in which approximately one in seven Hong Kongers took part.  And the Hong Kong police has continued its unlawful ways this evening by seeking to stop and search people in MTR stations, including journalists, and even establishments like a branch of McDonald's across from the Government Headquarters, and cars passing by that area; prompting the likes of the Chairman of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong to Tweet about how the Hong Kong government is seriously underestimating the reputational damage that its police force's misconduct has incurred, and that will be very difficult to repair regardless of whether the proposed Extradition bill gets passed or not.

Rather than be cowed by these actions, however, many Hong Kongers have become more defiant in their wake.  This can be seen by an exceedingly rare occurence scheduled to take place tomorrow in this city whose people have long been stereotyped as caring about making money far more than politics: strike action by a variety of businesses and organizations, including over 100 commercial art galleries and other arts organizations, along with other forms of protest, such as a work-to-rule action by bus captains and -- yes, really -- picnics by the government offices.

Already, late this evening, many people have assembled outside the government headquarters to make their presence felt -- and protest evident.  I dearly hope that no violence breaks out -- and strongly suspect that if it does, it will be (largely) the fault of the police.  So, more than any one else, I hope that they will keep calm for the love of Hong Kong. Otherwise, by tomorrow morning, many of us will be asking, with serious justification, "Where has my dream city gone?" :S

Musing on yesterday's historic mega-sized protest the day after

Protesters bid to get the police to open up extra lanes

along the march route yesterday

Eventually, all of Hennessy Road's lanes -- and more -- 

were opened up for the protest march! 

 Even so, many protesters took so long to get to the vicinity of

the scheduled end point that a key road leading to it was open again

to vehicular traffic by the time we got there that evening :(

Around the same time that I wrote yesterday's blog post, the Hong Kong police bid to remove unarmed protesters from the area near the official march end point in a manner that was lamentably violent.  Rather than focus on the huge and predominantly peaceful protest march that had taken place earlier in the day, some news purveyors opted to lead with reports about the violent clashes between protestors and the police that occurred after the vast majority of yesterday's anti-extradition bill march participants were safely back at home. 

I'm not going to excuse those protestors -- some of them reportedly barely in their teens -- whose tempers boiled over late in the day but here's pointing out that the Hong Kong police spent the good part of yesterday trying to frustrate march participants.  It started with their denying protestors entry onto the football pitches at Victoria Park (from where one would be able to take a more direct path onto Causeway Road to properly start the march) and then refusing for a time to open up extra lanes for the march -- whose large participant size they recognized when they asked the march organizers to start it at least 15 minutes ahead of schedule.   

In so doing, they caused march participants to have to stand for minutes on end at various sections of the route (with the apogee for my section of the protest involving taking one hour to move from one end of Pennington Street to another; something which normally would take less than 10, even 5 minutes).  Because of their employment of tactics obviously designed to delay and frustrate, many elderly folks and parents with children bailed out midway through the march, and some people ended up requiring medical treatment after standing for hours under the hot sun and in super crowded spaces. 

Those of us who stuck it out found ourselves out out on the road for six hours in my case -- which seems to be the average people took to complete the protest march and by no means the lengthiest time spent doing so.  In some cases, quite a bit of time and effort also was required to even get to the march start since up to five MTR stations were bypassed by trains for a time due to "crowd control" needs and there also were crazy queues for the Star Ferry to Wan Chai.

Eventually, all the lanes of Hennessy Road and even sections of road that aren't usually considered part of the protest march route (including a section of Lockhart Road I had hitherto looked upon solely as a bar area!) were opened up for the use of protesters.  Nonetheless, not only had darkness fallen by the time the group of friends I was with got to Admiralty, we also found our path to the official march end at the Legislative Council complex blocked since Harcourt Road was filled with vehicles once more.   

I'm not sure why that was the case but a friend suggested that the scheduled march time had elapsed long before we -- and a good many other march participants -- had got to the area; thanks in no small part to our having been held to a standstill at several spots along the march route by the sheer size of the crowd but also, I'm sure, delays created by the police.  (As veteran protest march participants have come to look upon it, the police seek to "play games" with protesters with the aim of frustrating people, and causing the less patient and tolerant to give up and walk away -- and with the possibility too of tempers coming to a boil and violence ensuing.)

As I understand it, the clashes between the protestors and the police that ended up taking place were because some people wanted very much to cross Harcourt Road over to the Legislative Council complex.  But if the police hadn't delayed and impeded the march progress, I'm sure the majority, if not all, of the over 1 million march participants would have been able to make it to the official march end without any violence ensuing.

On a more positive note: I not only found the sheer size of yesterday's protest awe-inspiring but that, if the official figure of over 1 million participants is to be believed (and why not when you see the crowd images?!), this means that approximately 1 out of 7 Hong Kongers were out protesting in the streets.  Something else I found pretty amazing was that this proposed extradition bill has spurred a number of people who had previously never taken part in an organized political protest in their lives to respond to the call for action yesterday (with one third of my group yesterday falling into that category)! 

As a friend said to me at one point yesterday afternoon, it is sad that there has come to be a time in Hong Kong when people feel that their lives and their Hong Kong is in serious danger.  (To put things in context: Hong Kong's current Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, has now brought more protesters out onto the streets at any given time than the likes of Leung Chun Ying and Regina Ip combined!)  At the same time, it also is heartening to see that so many people do care for Hong Kong and aren't prepared to take the authorities' proposed actions quietly and sitting down. 

Protest march with over 1 million others in Hong Kong

Just a tiny section of the protesters marching against

the proposed extradition bill in Causeway Bay this afternoon

 

Crossing from Wan Chai to Admiralty several hours later

 

The message that Hong Kong people want to send to 

their government, and the watching world

 

I have been to protests with over 100,000 people before in Hong Kong -- including as recently as this past Tuesday (if you consider a candlelight vigil to be such) and this past April (if you don't).  And I can tell you that their numbers pale compared to the number of people who went out on to the streets of Hong Kong this afternoon to protest against the government's proposed extradition bill (which involves extraditions to Mainland China).

The organizer's of today's protest march estimate that over 1 million people turned up today to make clear their objections to the proposed extradition bill.  For my part, I can report that it took me close to six hours to walk along a route that I've done in a much shorter time because I saw an unprecedented amount of people out on the streets along with me this afternoon -- including a number of friends, and their friends and relatives -- all of whom clearly care very much about Hong Kong.

 

More later tomorrow.  In the meantime, I need time to rest and process what I've seen and experienced today.  At the same time, I know already to want to say thank you very much to those who made the effort to go out and take part in today's protests: one that was phenomenally large and that I truly hope will make a positive difference.

Dragon boat races in Peng Chau on Tuen Ng!

Dragon boats (and their rowers) getting ready to race!

 

In the thick of the battle (and paddling)!

 

The nearest I got to any dragon boat yesterday ;)

 

The day before this year's Tuen Ng festival, a Danish visitor to Hong Kong asked me if I was going to go look at the Chinese ships due in Hong Kong the next day.  After I figured out that she actually was referring to the dragon boats, I told her yes -- but that this actually was the first year that I'd be doing so!

 

Dragon boat racing is a big deal in Hong Kong, where the sport -- or, at least, the modern version of it -- originated in 1976.  Over the years, it's spread to a number of other territories and I remember going and watching dragon boat racing as a kid in Penang.  So I guess one reason why I've not been super inclined to check it out in Hong Kong is partly because it's not all that exotic an event for me. 

 

Another reason is that it's quite the thing for tourists and expats as well as certain local Hong Kongers to go watch the dragon boat races.  So I tend to associate these events with super large crowds (of which I really am not a fan), particularly the international dragon boat championships held in Stanley which a Japanese friend of mine regularly takes part in but I still can't bring myself to attend!

 

But when a friend living on Peng Chau told me about the dragon boat races being held there and assured me that they are very much a local affair, I was intrigued.  And what really convinced me was that, because the races would be taking place at the bay which her place looks out to, we would be able to watch it from her apartment balcony -- far away from the madding crowd (if such actually were to appear that day)!

 

As it turned out, she was absolutely right that Peng Chau's dragon boat carnival being quite the local and -- by dragon boat festival standards -- and low-key affair.  Indeed, I couldn't find any information about it on the usual websites with information about dragon boat races taking place at various Hong Kong locations, including ones as far flung as Tai O and Tai Po (such as the Hong Kong Tourism Board's); with seemingly the only publicity about the Peng Chau event having been disseminated on Peng Chau itself!

 

Leisurely watching the dragon boat racing in the company of friends while drinking alcoholic libations and a spot of lunch, I got to thinking of past experiences I've had of leisurely watching cricket in the company of friends in England and, also, Tanzania, and watching baseball in the company of a friend in the USA and Japan too.  (I guess it's because these are all sports with frequent pauses in between actual action that gives one ample opportunity to chat and relax!)  I also got to associating dragon boat racing in Hong Kong with boat races in England -- and thinking that if we were to do this again in Peng Chau next year, I'll ensure that there'll be Pimms to drink (along with the G&Ts and beer on offer this year)! ;b

Thirty years on from June 4th, 1989

Thirty years on...

Hong Kong still remembers and mourns...

 This not least because people in Mainland China, including

those who lost their children on that day, are not allowed to

Thirty years ago today, the lives of thousands of young, idealist Chinese were cut short by members of their country's military -- the so ironically named, in this case, People's Liberation Army -- on the orders of their country's Communist rulers.  Also tragic was the loss to the country of hundreds of intellectuals, student activists and sympathetic government officials through exile in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square Massacre of June 4th, 1989, and the turning of many a dream of democracy, justice, freedom of speech and such into nightmares.  

In addition, in Hong Kong, there was the horrified realization that come July 1st, 1997, the territory and its people would come under the rule of a repressive regime that felt it was justified to get its military force to have its tanks run over unarmed civilians as well as get its soldiers to shoot to kill its own citizens.  But rather than be cowed by Beijing, many Hong Kongers have responded by, among other things, making a point to remember -- and publicly commemorate -- what the Mainland Chinese authorities have tried very hard to get people to forget as well as stop caring about and holding a candlelight vigil in Victoria Park every June 4th since.

What with this year's being the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, hopes were high that attendance at this year's candlelight vigil would be on the high side.  In the weeks leading up to this evening though, I had my doubts after discovering that -- in part because this Friday is a public holiday (ironically, the Tuen Ng Festival actually commemorates a Chinese patriot who commited suicide after his kingdom was attacked, and many of its people massacred) -- quite a few people I knew would be taking vacations away from Hong Kong this week.  In addition, I suspect that the Hong Kong Observatory's forecast of rain for this evening caused some fair weather folks to decide against going to Victoria Park at the last minute.

When I met up with the same friends I attended last year's June 4th commemorations with in Causeway Bay this evening though, no drops of rain were falling; and while some sections of ground were wet when got onto Victoria Park's football pitches, they were dry long before the ceremony's end tonight.  Indeed, the most moisture I felt on my person this evening came when, viewing a video of a representative of the Tiananmen Mothers, tears welled up: particularly when she mentioned that, in the 30 years since 1989, more than 50 of their members had passed away and she thanked the people of Hong Kong for continuing to commemorate the events of June 4th, 1989, and mourn the untimely deaths of their children.      

Midway through the event, I told my friends that I was disappointed that the football pitches didn't seem as packed this evening as I had hoped and worried that many Hong Kongers have stopped caring about what happened in Mainland China all those years ago.  (I frankly think this would be far more likely than that their having turned pro-Beijing.)  In addition, I know of one localist friend who had opted to attend an alternative candlelight vigil over in Tsim Sha Tsui this same evening.  

After leaving Victoria Park and returning home, however, I've learnt of latecomers (some of whom maybe decided to attend after this evening's thunderstorm warning was cancelled at 7pm) having had difficulty getting into the park because of the large crowds in the surrounding streets and heard of people being diverted to the grass lawn.  I also saw with my own eyes people milling about on the sidewalk next to the football pitches (some with lit candles in hand) as well as still other people (also with candles in hand) sitting on the basketball courts next to the football pitches -- and realized that attendance this evening was actually pretty good (and according to the organizers, at a record high)! 

Scenic views from a boat sailing across Matsushima Bay (Photo-essay)

While the chance to have a kaisendon feast at the Shiogama Wholesale Fish Market may be a great reason to spend time in Shiogama, my main reason for going to that city actually was to go on a boat ride from there to the nearby town of Matsushima.  To be sure, one can take a train from Shiogama to Matsushima -- and, for that matter, a train from my Tohoku base of Sendai to Matushima.  But I figured that the boat ride across Matsushima Bay would be considerably more scenic as well as pleasant (and can confirm that since I did end up taking the train back to Sendai from Matsushima later the same day!).     

With more than 260 islands, most of them pine tree-laden (Matsushima means "pine tree island(s) in Japanese) and uninhabited, there's plenty to see on the boat trip across what's long been considered one of the top three scenic places in Japan (along with Miyajima -- which I've been lucky to already been to -- and Kyoto Prefecture's Amanohashidate).  I also like the boat travels at what seems like an optimal speed for enjoying the experience: not too quickly so you feel like getting to the destination matters more than the journey itself; yet not so slowly that things feel like they're dragging on and you pine (hehe) to get on shore long before the boat finally arrives in Matsushima town... ;b

 Three different forms of transportation in a single photo

taken while waiting for the boat to get going from Shiogama

A seagull flies past a boat berthed in Shiogama port 

as well as the boat I was on ;b

 

Definitely the most alien-looking island/islet 

I saw that day (maybe ever)!

 

Sunlight sparkling on the water adds to the beauty of the bay

 

Oyster farmer tending to his oyster beds in Matsushima Bay

 

Two of the pine clad islands that the bay's famed for

 

This islet got met thinking of a wave but friends 

have told me it brings to mind a whale

 

Puppet Ponyo pointing to an island that took her fancy :)

Feasting on kaisendon at the Shiogama Seafood Wholesale Market ;b

Tuna on sale at a stall in Shiogama Seafood Wholesale Market :O

 

The kaisendon I assembled and devoured for lunch that day :)

 

The highlight of my meal -- uni straight from the shell! :O

 

On the second night of my recent Japan trip, I had a delicious dinner at a Sendai sushi-ya whose name I don't actually know as it wasn't written anywhere (be it the outside or, say, on the menu or bill) in Romaji -- and for the record, neither was anything on its menu.  On occasions like this, I feel really relieved and happy that I know enough "food Japanese" to be able to not only get by at such dining establishments but actually order a pretty good and varied meal: as in one that consisted of four types of sashimi of my choice, nine different pieces of sushi, and two glasses of junmai ginjo sake!

 

For most people, that might be enough sashimi and sushi for days, even an entire Japan trip.  I, on the other hand, ended up following this up by having more raw seafood for lunch the next day at an area seafood wholesale market that's one of the largest in East Asia in a town with the highest number of sushi restaurants per capita in the entire country!

 

The Shiogama Seafood Wholesale Market is housed in premises built after the previous one was destroyed by the tsunami that swept into the area in the wake of the earthquakes of March 11, 2011. Large but pretty basic looking, it doesn't look all that visually impressive from the outside but what treasures await inside!  More specifically, there are over 140 stalls in the 4,950 square meter facility -- and one can go around buying up portions of seafood of one's choice before going and buying a bowl of rice and miso soup, and assembling one's own kaisendon (seafood rice bowl). 

 

Walking into the market -- which, despite its name, is open to the public rather than just restricted to wholesalers -- at around 11.30am (after a train ride from Sendai to Shiogama, followed by a bus ride from the train station), I actually wasn't feeling all that hungry but told myself that I could at least stroll around the place and enjoy seeing what I knew -- from visits to the likes of Tsukiji -- would be a pretty cool variety of seafood on offer.  But then I saw what was on offer there -- and the prices that they were on offer for -- and knew that I absolutely couldn't pass up the opportunity to assemble my own kaisendon -- and, then, of course devour it -- at this venue!

The following rundown of my meal and its cost should get food lovers salivating.  A bowl of rice (on which I'd lay out various ingredients from the sea) and miso soup = 400 Yen (~US$3.69).  A portion of pickles (essential when eating sushi for me) = 50 Yen (~46 US cents).  A portion of tsubugai (Japanese whelk) that would be delicious since I had just had some of that the night before = 500 Yen (~US$4.61).  Four super fatty slices of otoro (fatty tuna) = also 500 Yen (~US4.61)!  A large packet of ikura (salmon roe) = 800 Yen (~US$7.38).  And, finally, the pièce de résistance of the meal for me -- uni in the shell = 800 Yen (~US7.38) too.

 

So, yes, my entire meal cost a grand total of 3050 Yen (~US$28.14) -- which I consider a pretty good price for this incredible richness that I have to admit to struggling to finish.  And yes, I got to realizing midway through my feast that I had gone sorta beserk at the market and gotten more than than my stomach actually was comfortable with at that time of the day... but then, can you blame me (this especially since I don't know when I'll be in this part of Japan again)?!