Spent a lot of time at Admirality and Mong Kok protests sites on my first full day in Hong Kong. Admirality is a huge area taken over by the protesting students. They have constructed crazy barricades to the adjoining streets to the area to prevent cars from entering and to make it very labor intensive for the authorities to dismantle.
Mong Kok is a busy shopping district where the students have occupied one major intersection. The adjoining streets are barricaded off. Tensions are much higher in Mong Kok I think due to the tightness of the space, the closer proximity to mainland China, and the dangerous Hong Kong gang the Triads which is very active in the area. The days before I arrived bore witness to several violent incidents where the students were attacked by groups of men verbally and physically. There were wide spread reports/rumors that the attackers were not genuine resident opponents, but paid thugs, possibly even Triad gang members. There were also widespread reports that the police simply stood by and let the attackers harm students.
I arrived a day after these incidents of violence in Mong Kok. Since that time, photos of the beat up students have been circulated throughout all Hong Kong protest sites.
The police have seemingly been shamed into protecting the protesters against violence. In public statements Hong Kong authorities are saying they will enforce the law equally against anyone committing violence. It is unclear if this statement is genuine. I did observe the scene below where a man seemed to be trying to start trouble.
At one point fists were raised between two older men. A young student is standing between them to stop any violence. You can see in the video a police man pull away another police man to not do anything about the scene. I am not sure that is to help stop tension or to allow it to happen.
In Admirality and Mong Kok I’ve spoken to many Hong Kong residents and some foreign observers like myself. The Hong Kong residents participating and supporting the protests have an inspiring optimism.
The foreign journalists and observers have a deeply entrenched cynicism about the chances these protests result in positive change. Despite the cynicism, I do see many foriegners putting on yellow ribbons to support the students for their push for true democracy in Hong Kong.
