How we got here: Civil Unrest in Hong Kong

It is November 17 and that matters. It matters because every day is different here in Hong Kong presently. Sometimes every hour. Why? As you know, there have been protests happening since early June, cries for "Liberate Hong Kong. Revolution of our times" has rung throughout the city. Hundreds, thousands, even millions have taken to the streets to protest for the "five demands". They are: 1) the complete withdrawal of the extradition bill from the legislative process - (that's done), 2) the retraction of the "riot" characterization, 3) the release and exoneration of the riot prisoners, 4) the establishment of an independent commission of inquiry into police conduct and use of force during the protests, and 5) the resignation of Carrie Lam (Chief Executive of Hong Kong) and the implementation of universal suffrage for Legislative Council and Chief Executive elections. (Thank you Wikipedia for the language; I recommend an easy online search for more information about each of these).

 My objective here is to inform readers of the ever-changing landscape of Hong Kong in these restless and increasingly violent times. Let's start with the present and then go back in time and work our way back. Yesterday a peaceful Pride parade was cancelled because it was unsafe to march through the streets of Hong Kong due to the present unrest. Instead, my son and about 6,000 others gathered at the end point and peacefully assembled to show pride in the LGBTQ community and in Hong Kong. It was a relatively quiet day until the evening. Yesterday 400 PLA (People's Liberation Army) soldiers were deployed to help clear roadblocks. The most recently they had been deployed was a year ago to help clean up after our huge typhoon. They were in black shorts and gray t-shirts and no other gear. Is this threatening? I don't know. Is it necessary? Probably.

Many streets have been overrun with obstacles intended to disrupt traffic. And it has worked. Work day traffic has been disrupted for five days in a row and schools have been closed for 2 - 3 days.
How has traffic been disrupted? Black clad protesters - from head to toe with black cloth facemasks, arms and legs covered, backpack of supplies - have damaged street lights, have removed the loose cobblestones from the sidewalks and positioned them strategically in the road like lego three-brick doorways, scattered in some nails or other upright spiky objects like walking sticks, and have set fire repeatedly to toll booths, and have overtaken strategic bridges near two college campuses with the ability to throw objects onto traffic below - including petrol bombs (molotov cocktails). They have also disrupted MTR stations (subway stations) by lighting entrances on fire, lighting ticketing machines on fire, flooding them with firehoses, damaged lights and other mechanical objects, and thrown petrol bombs or objects onto tracks. There has been much spray painting of public spaces, as well. Some people who have tried to interrupt or undo what they have been doing have been injured in brawls. It sounds awful, and it is. And you might think that these protesters should be named something other than protesters.

With only part of the story, you get the idea that these black clad protesters could only be viewed as "the bad guys" because their actions appear to be solely responsible for ripping the fabric of daily life apart, negatively affecting tourism and commerce and job security, etc. So you may be surprised to know that there is still much support for them in the city at large. For example, over the last week during these huge disruptions to traffic and daily work life, thousands of office workers have taken to the streets during their lunch break. They have emerged with their own masks on, stood in the road, and supported the others with signs, silence, and (I presume) chants. When lunch is over, they have returned to work. It is a bit of a mystery how this is so unless you understand the despair of the youth.  The impact of the wealth gap, the impossible access to housing, the loss of a sense of purpose and optimism has risen to the surface.

Just last week several universities in the city actually closed and sent their faculty and student body away - for their own safety - for the conclusion of the term, if not for good for the year. Why? A few of these universities have been over run by the radical - mostly young - protesters. They literally have made a camp of the campus, blockading themselves in with bricks, petrol bombs, and bows and arrows with gas rags ready to light. They've received support from outsiders who brought them food supplies and fighting supplies. They broke into the chemistry lab and took volatile chemicals at one of the universities. Until yesterday, a few universities were in this position. Yesterday, one university was abandoned by protesters; we can now hope for its recovery. (As I say, it's an ever-changing landscape). Again, this all seems insane and totally "wild west", how could this conduct be supported?

Well, I've not yet introduced the police. Six months ago the Hong Kong police were "Asia's finest." Hong Kong doesn't have its own army, but the police have kept Hong Kong one of the safest places in the world. Hong Kong has been as safe to travel around in as when we lived in Korea. My son at age 16 would easily travel into the city without fear of violence or attack or robbery. Public transportation was reliable. Civility ruled. The police were respected. This changed in early June when Hong Kongers were simply fighting an extradition bill. First 1 million people marched, then the following week 2 million people marched. All was peaceful! Well, almost all was peaceful. There were a few protesters, who began to do some damage at one spot with graffiti and destruction of government property. In response, the police fired multiple rounds of tear gas into the crowd - mostly of innocent people. Ten people were arrested. Pretty soon the action was deemed a "riot". This changed everything. Under "riot law" those 10 people would now be sentenced up to ten years in prison rather than simply being arrested and released (presumably with a fine). People didn't like this at all. The police had over-reacted, used too much force. This led to the demands two, three and four: the retraction of the designation of "riot", the release of prisoners under the "riot" law and the investigation of the police conduct and use of force.

This began a cycle of protests every weekend. Each time thousands of people would come out to display their dissatisfaction with the government and the police's handling of the situation. The Chief Executive was doing nothing to address the concerns of the people (how could she as a government official tied to the desires of China?) With no action on any front, unrest rose and rose. Each time, police would show up on the scene late at night and some skirmish would happen between protesters and police. Escalation occurred as you can imagine: backpacks vs. batons, bricks versus teargas, petrol bombs versus water cannons. In the ensuing weeks the frequency and intensity of the problems increased. Actions went from taking place in a few hotspots in the city to hundreds of spots. Actions went from weekend disruption to daily disruption. Actions went from skirmishes with the police to destruction and damage of property all over the city. In the midst of  it all 60% of the general population see violence as justified. Until here we are. At this point there have been two deaths, many injuries (ages 1 - 81), arrests of children as young as 11, and over 3000 arrests in total but no investigation into police conduct of any of those injured or even in the case of the young university student who recently died retreating from a police action.

In the meantime, the city has become divided. So divided that within families some children have been expelled from their homes. There are those who support the Hong Kong government and the police and the Chinese Government. There are those who want to preserve the "One country, two systems" by returning to the status quo. There are those who are disgusted with the inaction of the government and want the Chief Executive to resign (the fifth demand). There are those who are fearful of China taking over Hong Kong and the citizenry losing all autonomy from China, essentially the planned and legal absorption of Hong Kong back to China set for 2047. And that is the basis of all of this in the first place. That fear of losing a way of life in Hong Kong that is all the younger generation has ever known.

Is there a right and wrong here? I don't know. I'm a visitor and foreigner and guest here in this beautiful place that I have come to love. I am physically removed from all of the mayhem by where I live on the Southside of Hong Kong Island. (At least, presently, as you know.) However, I do find it ironic that in this case, the protesters are calling to them the very thing which they fear, a police state run by the PLA - a loss of autonomy.

This process is eerily familiar to anyone who has a sense of history. A place divided against itself. Divisions where there is a definitive Us and Them, slurs flung at others to de-humanize them and make it okay to do violence against them. Families divided. Hatred, anger, fear. The song goes up, the flags go up, other flags are burned in defiance. Positions held. Civility stops. Commerce, government, education, daily life all in upheaval. No clear path to peace visible.

This is where we are today. I cannot speak to tomorrow.