Life goes on during this summer of discontent

Takashi Murakami's works speak to me 

in bad times as well as good

This is undoubtedly because his work consists of 

darker images along with smiley, cute ones

It's also the case that it's hard to come away feeling done

after being surrounded with so much brightness and

so many smiley faces, even they are "only" of flowers!

The past couple of days have not been completely incident-less protest- and politics-wise.  Among the lowlights have been the likes of Executive Council member Fanny Law showing people that there are pro-Beijing politicos who are more idiotic than Carrie Lam, there being disturbed people who can turn violent against the existence of students and school alumni forming human chains and the police confirming that all off-duty officers now are allowed to carry extendable batons. 

At the same time though, things have been more peaceful on the streets (and MTR stations -- despite their being paid unnecessary visits by Carrie Lam).  Walking around in various parts of Hong Kong yesterday and today, it sometimes felt like what had happened over the weekend had been but a dream (or terrible nightmare).  Such was the contrast between what I saw at, say, Causeway Bay last night versus what I know happened there the night before.

There are people who may think that I shouldn't have been out and about so much these days even so, that doing so is inviting danger or bad things to happen to me.  To them: I'd say that to do so would be to bow down to one's fears and effectively let the terrorists (in this case, the Hong Kong government and Beijing -- with their threatening propaganda) and scaremongers win.  Consequently, I still am trying to go ahead and continue to enjoy living in Hong Kong amidst all the political upheavals and feelings of discontent that have come out into the open this summer.

The likes of Trevor Noah may have -- disappointingly cowardly as well as unnecessarily, to my mind -- cancelled a show in Hong Kong (that I had got a ticket for months in advance) but there have been other cultural events to go to in this city which is actually still functioning far more than many people outside of it seem to realize.  And while it's also true enough that I've been less in the mood than usual to check out a light hearted comedy or Hong Kong movies with the police or Triad members as the heroes, I've nonetheless done such as taken in film festival screenings of Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing and Mathieu Kassovitz's La Haine, and gone to see Bong Joon Ho's amazing Parasite at the cinema.

To be sure, there are times when I've not been as on the ball with regards to the cultural calendar as usual (and thus ended up missing out on such as this year's Food Expo).  However, I did score some bargains once more at this year's edition of the Hong Kong Book Fair and also remembered to catch the Murakami X Murakami major survey exhibition of the works of Takashi Murakami, one of my favorite contemporary artists in the world, at Tai Kwun just before it finally closed at the beginning of this month. 

In addition, after noticing that I was exhibiting signs of depression a couple of months back (namely, feeling bereft of energy and losing my appetite), I've made a point to go out (to catch and channel Hong Kong's vibrant energy) and also regularly treat myself to good food -- sometimes in the company of friends but other times on my own.  And for those who didn't realize: I'm one of those people who is generally fine dining out alone.  Indeed, I sometimes think that when I'm more able to focus on, and appreciate, what I'm eating when I'm dining on my own than when I'm with company and sometimes end up not actually tasting the food all that much when having a serious conversation with other people at the table! 

Yet another troubled Sunday this summer in Hong Kong

A peaceful evening walk through Victoria Park

like this would not have been possible tonight

How many Hong Kongers feel about the MTR these days

I am one of those people who regularly spends quite a bit of time in Causeway Bay.  As a matter of fact, I had both lunch and dinner in the area yesterday.  As luck would have it though, I was not in that part of town which is a major shopping and entertainment as well as dining district this evening.  Otherwise, I might have caught whiffs of tear gas again thanks to the police having unleashed a "tear gas buffet" in Causeway Bay this evening. 

As it so happens, I was due to have dinner tonight with friends over in Kennedy Town.  And even after I read about Central MTR station having been closed in the afternoon, with arrests having been made there by the police and the station subsequently being trashed by angry protesters (in the area to take part in a march in support of the Hong Kong Democratic and Human Rights Act), I still thought I could make my way to the western side of Hong Kong Island -- by bus (rather than MTR, since I didn't want to risk being caught in a situation like the poor people in Prince Edward two Saturdays ago) -- only to decide to give up the idea after waiting in vain for half an hour for a bus -- which regularly runs every 15 minutes at most -- to take me there.

Upon returning to my apartment, I got online and came across sights and reports that show a further escalation of the violence and conflict that Hong Kong now regularly sees on weekends (and some weeknights too).  For some people, the most shocking sights today have involved the trashing of Central MTR station.  For me, it remains the police's wanton use of a whole array of weaponry, including tear gas, in unlikely places and in ways in which they clearly had not been intended to be used, on people, many of whom don't even appear to have been protesters.   

Something else that also shocked me today was that the riot police seemed to be arresting people everywhere -- particularly young people, on the assumption that they inevitably are radical and violent protesters -- tonight, including in my neighborhood and that hotbed of crime (not!), Victoria Park!  For, in all honesty, I still don't think that Hong Kong is full of criminals.  As such, I really wouldn't be surprised if a good number of the arrests made this summer turn out to have been uncalled for and the vast majority of the cases against arrestees will be tossed out of court, if they even make it into court at all!

No to White Terror and the police in Hong Kong!

At the Anti White Terror rally at Chater Garden last night

Posters like this in the area explain why people

want the police to be held accountable for their misbehavior

Carrie Lam may have announced the withdrawal of the hated extradition bill but the protests continue since other key demands remain unmet  Yesterday evening, there were a number of protests events and venues to choose to go to, including the first protest event staged this summer in the Southern District and the much sadder protest staged at Prince Edward MTR station by people who believed that the police actions there on the night of August 31st resulted in a number of fatalities. 

For my part, I went to the "No White Terror" (especially by the Hong Kong police) rally organised by the Social and Political Organization Workers Union over in Chater Garden.  And as I trust you can see from my photos at the top of this blog post, sentiments about this matter definitely are strong and protest attendance remains on the high side too.

Upon making my way to Chater Garden, I was startled to see a noticeble police presence in the area.  But while people opted to generally ignore the police officers milling about on the sidewalk on the southern side of Chater Garden and across the road in front of the Cheung Kong Centre, the police team stationed over on the northwestern side of the public space attracted a good bit more attention and even quite a bit of verbal abuse from the section of the crowd that they were closest to.

In view of the police over-reaction that has been rampant over the past few months, I thought it unwise to effectively provoke them and did worry that the situation would deteriorate into violence at some point.  Fortunately, the police officers concerned were more disciplined and restrained than many of their fellows.  (As a general rule, I do reckon that those in regular uniform are less inclined to abuse their powers and go wild than the riot police and "raptors" who have become all to familiar sights to Hong Kongers this summer.).

At last night's Chater Garden protest rally, Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) convenor Jimmy Sham announced that his organization plans to hold another protest march on September 15th.  I hope that this time around, it will get a Letter of No Objection from the police (like was the case for last night's rally and the June 9th and 16th mega marches organized by the CHRF).  I also hope that the police will make themselves scarce that day, particularly like with the June 16th protest march.  Because, these days, it really does appear to be the case that the best case for a peaceful protest is the absence of members of the police force (be they in uniform or undercover, masquerading as protesters) in the area. 

Actually, the general consensus among Hong Kongers these days is that the appearance of the police pretty much anywhere is a sure fire sign that trouble will ensue; this not least because they appear to increasingly be unable -- or, worse unwilling -- to distinguish between violent and peaceful protesters, and also between actual protesters and bystanders!  Consequently, it's become a regular thing for local residents to actually demand that police officers go away and leave people to effectively police themselves and their own area -- and given how law-abiding the vast majority of Hong Kongers actually are, I actually reckon this arrangement would indeed work fine!

Hong Kong protester demands: One down, four to go!

Messages re what Hong Kongers want

are easy to see all about the place these days

The protests have been more than just about 

the extradition bill for some time now

"Carrie Lam is going to withdraw the bill today!!!!!"  Upon receiving that text message from a journalist friend early yesterday afternoon, I rushed to look online for confirmation.  Early on, when all that was there was just reports that this action would be taken -- rather than actual confirmation of it being the case -- I had the following thoughts:-

1) I'll believe it only when she actually does it.  (Can you blame me since the Hong Kong Chief Executive in Name Only has shown herself to be a serial liar and has spent the past three months or so uttering a whole bunch of nonsense about the extradition bill she stupidly proposed?)

2) Is this a strategy to divide the protesters? (And I know I most definitely was/am not the only one who harbored this suspicion.)

3) If the report is indeed true, it shows that protesting works and the protesting needs to continue.

4) Even if true, more needs to be done -- most notably and imperatively for now, the reining in of the police (whose reputation seems to fall lower and lower by the day through their own actions); and

5) So much still needs to be done but this sure does add to my hope that Hong Kong can get what (good) it deserves and is long overdue.

Also, she had better withdraw the bill now. For one thing, the stock market has reacted so positively to this announcement!

     

A few hours later, there finally came confirmation of Carrie Lam having at long last announced that she'd formally withdraw the extradition bill which would have allowed the transfer of fugitives to mainland China among other jurisdictions.  And yes, I did allow myself some time to celebrate this development -- because I do believe that it's healthy to celebrate small victories -- even while also totally feeling that the struggle is far from over. 

Here's the thing though: If this extradition bill had been formally withdrawn before June 12th, that would have meant that the government had acceded to the one demand of protesters who taken part in three protest marches: the first of which, in late March, had  some 12,000 participants; the second of which, in late April, saw the crowd size increase by a factor of 11; and the third of which, on June 9th, is estimated to have involved some 1 million participants.  But over the course of this summer, people have come to have so many more concerns and demands; thanks in no small part to the continued misconduct of the police and, also, the growing realization that pretty much the whole system is broke.

So what would have felt like a major concession from the government three months ago now merely feels like but the first, way overdue step in what many, many Hong Kongers want to see done.  I'm going to end today's post by quoting at length what a fellow known Snufkin Tweeted because I think it really does lay things out so very well as well as clearly:-

#HongKongProtests Why it must be all 5 demands and nothing less: 1. Withdraw the Extradition Bill - to show the government is listening. 2. Revoke the riot claim - to show the government is understanding. 3. Amnesty - to show the government is willing to be compassionate.  4. Independent investigation of police conduct - to show the government wants to try and regain the public's trust. 5. Genuine Universal Suffrage - to show the government wants to attempt to fix Hong Kong societies inequalities.

Revelatory news leaks and more protest actions

Yet another Lennon Wall in Hong Kong, this one spotted on 

my way to the HKSAR Government Headquarters yesterday

At the currently abandoned-looking Legislative Council Complex

I planned to stay home and take a breather from it all yesterday but after a friend told me that she and her husband would be going to an anti-government rally at Admiralty (which, surprisingly, the police had issued a Letter of No Objection for), I joined her there for a couple of hours in the afternoon.  Shortly after the event officially concluded at 6pm, my friends and I took our leave.  

Many people milled about the area though, doing such as checking out how the Legislative Council Complex looks like these days and admiring the views of Victoria Harbour to be had from Tamar Park.  And some of them ended up being sprinkled by a flourescent powder from a helicopter flying above the area; this despite their not having done anything illegal -- since it's not a crime to be in a public area even after the scheduled event there had ended!

Tamar Park played host to another (legal) anti-government rally again today.  Also, the class boycott by university and school students which began yesterday -- the first day of the near academic year -- continued into today; resulting in scenes like this, this, and -- horrifyingly -- this and this.  (For the record: Hong Kong is not officially under martial law.  Still.)    

But the main subject being discussed by many people for much of today -- and since the news broke late yesterday -- has been one of two major leaks that occurred yesterday along with the Hong Kong High Court's overturning of a government decision to ban pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow from the Legislative Council elections.  (And, yes, this is indeed the same Agnes Chow who was arrested last Friday but is currently free on bail.)  

In a major scoop for the news agency, Reuters released a special report detailing what Hong Kong Chief Executive (in name only) Carrie Lam told a group of businessmen at a "closed-door" meeting.   Among its choice quotes: “For a chief executive to have caused this huge havoc to Hong Kong is unforgivable”; “If I have a choice, the first thing is to quit, having made a deep apology”; " “[Beijing] care[s] about the country’s international profile”; and "“Hong Kong is not dead yet" -- but it would be “naïve to paint you a rosy picture, that things will be fine.”

Then, after Chinese state "news" agencies and pro-Beijing "news" sources sought to refute the report, Reuters proceeded to release: excerpts of the audio transcript it had obtained; and pretty much the full transcript of the more than 20 minute long recording of Carrie Lam's remarks.  (A cautionary note: The transcript can make readers apoplectic but is very worth reading to get absolute confirmation of how self-pitying as well as idiotic this woman is). 

Also important -- and arguably, more eye-opening (since that first leak confirmed much of what many of us already suspected) -- was yesterday's other news leak.  This one coming by way of RTHK jounalist Damon Pang, it involves an email sent by the Chairman of the Court Prosecutors (Department of Justice) Association stating that "the police know they are telling lies".  The final line of its postscript -- "What happened to the Cathay Pacific will sooner or later happen to DOJ" (i.e., the Department of Justice) -- is chilling. As is the implication, after hearing or reading of Carrie Lam's latest press conference earlier today, that Hong Kong is led by a serial liar.

The MTR is complicit in unsavory police actions now too :(

Not a sight many Hong Kongers want to see these days, including 

when coming out of a bar (as was the case for me yesterday!)

 Others sights that sends chills down my spine

There are upsetting videos showing the Hong Kong police in action in the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) last night. I'll spare you them on this page but they're easily found online (on Facebook, Twitter, etc.).  If you don't want your blood pressure rise to the point where you might actually get a heart attack but still appreciate being informed, read articles like this one instead.

To put things into context: I learnt about these actions after I had blogged last night about the Hong Kong police actions that day having further caused their reputation to sink to super low levels.  On a day where certain protester actions had also caused me no small amount of frustration and sadness, the following Tweet by City of Protest author Antony Dapiran's last night felt right on the money: "They never fail. No matter what the perceived “outrage” committed by the protesters, the police always outdo them on outrage and rile up the entire HK populace the very same night. Every. Single. Time."

And then there's the MTR.  Another previously much admired and respected Hong Kong organization whose reputation has suffered a major hit this summer, they now have blood on their hands after collaborating with the Hong Kong police in the manner they have done. Closing whole entire lines along with individual stations at great inconvenience to the public. Allowing the riot police and "raptors" (the Special Tactical Squad) to run riot and beat up unarmed civilians with batons, pepper spray them and deny them emergency aid in MTR stations is disgusting. 

The MTR and police's role in traumatizing the hundreds of people who had the misfortune to be on the scene at such at Prince Edward and Yau Ma Tei MTR stations last night, Kwai Fong and Tai Koo MTR stations on August 11th, and Yuen Long MTR station on July 21st -- and the millions more who watched what happened on the news, etc. -- is certainly not to be under-estimated nor -"valued".  And the company's unrepentance over yesterday's actions was plainly shown by its decision today to suspend service on multiple lines and let the riot police into stations and trains, to the horror of passengers in and on them, once more. :(

A day which saw the Hong Kong police reputation sink still further, and Hong Kong protesters show that they remain unbowed

"A New Level of Peak Living Awaits" even while Hong Kongers

seek a Free Hong Kong, possibly with "Revolution Now" if the 

"Mother of Violence" does not accede to protesters' five demands 

 

One more weekend with closed MTR stations

 

It's late in the day but bands of protesters and police are continuing to play a cat and mouse game that has seen various groups moving around different parts of Hong Kong on both side of Victoria Harbour for much of the day.  Like with last Saturday, the protests began peacefully -- this even though, unlike the past weekend's, they were not sanctioned by the police -- and but even before night fell, protesters and police clashed: first at Admiralty, a prime protest site on account of the Central Government Complex being located there; and then moving on to a bunch of other locales, including Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui and Mongkok (all three of them prime shopping areas and which, along with Admiralty, were "Occupied" for a time in 2014).   

In a further escalation of police violence, water cannons -- including that which emited blue dye along with plain water -- were employed at Admiralty today in addition to the now usual tear gas.  Petrol bombs were also thrown at the police, and fires lit on streets in Causeway Bay, Wan Chai and elsewhere -- but even as people looked askance at all this, what has shocked many even more is that at least one of the "protesters" throwing petrol bombs appears to have been an undercover cop; one of many deployed yet again in circumstances that are controversial, to say the least.

The way many people see it, the deployment of undercover police dressed up like protesters shows the Hong Kong police playing a dangerous game.  For one thing, it sows suspicion that many of the more radical and violent acts ascribed to protesters may well have been instigated or even enacted by "black" undercover cops trying to escalate matters and pin blame on protesters.  For another, undercover cops are liable to panic after their cover is blown and do such as proceed to fire a live round to protect themselves -- like what actually happened earlier today.   

Frankly, it's not like the reputation of the police force that most emphatically no longer is regarded as Asia's finest is already in tatters and is going to take a miracle to salvage.  Further examples of ultra questionable conduct on their part today include their deciding to strip-search four women out on the street in Causeway Bay this evening.  That this happened just three days after a rally against police sexual violence attracted some 30,000 people represtents a real "up yours" to Hong Kongers and the #MeToo movement in general.           

By a similar token, the fact that thousands of people turned up to protest today -- despite the campaign of "white terror" currently being waged that has seen planned protests being banned, and pro-democracy activists and politicians slapped with charges from seemingly out of blue and arrested -- surely represents a mega show of defiance against the Hong Kong government and Beijing.  To be sure, I definitely would have preferred that the protests had been peaceful. 

 

But I still will applaud all those who came out to show their continued commitment to the cause and willingness to fight for the Hong Kong they want: one where, among other things, the police are not political tools that act like a branch of China's public security machinery, and Hong Kongers' rights to freedom of assembly, movement, speech and expression are truly guaranteed once more.