Protests, Coronavirus Fears, and Valentine's Day Converge at a Hong Kong Prison

On Friday in front of the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre - a maximum security institution — hundreds of people gathered to show solidarity with detained protestors. What one of the participants held and wore particularly captured the unique convergence of events in Hong Kong that night: a face covering used by some anti-government protestors to hide their identity, 3M safety goggles to protect against the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, and a rose fitting the theme of the rally: "Valentine's Day With You".

The gathering differed from several other rallies held at the same location during recent months in that the organizers did not apply for a letter of no objection from the police. Although the police were clearly keeping an eye on things, they didn't interfere with the rally until it had nearly reached the two hour mark, which is about how long some of the previous rallies lasted. At that that time, police came into the protest area while holding up blue warning flags with the text: "This meeting or procession is in breach of the law. Disperse or we may use force."

Disperse they did. And Valentine's Day came to an end at the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre.

From Protests to a Virus: Signs of the Times at a Hong Kong MTR Station

Until recently, protests were the focus of much attention in Hong Kong. Now, attention is more focused on the new coronavirus spreading which has rapidly spread throughout China. Two signs at Kwai Fong Station capture some of the impact of the protests and the virus:

One sign promotes frequent hand washing to help prevent further spreading of the virus. Below the sign is hand sanitizer — now very hard to find in Hong Kong. Notably, the sign was placed on a device which, as another sign indicates, was previously vandalized. Most likely, the destruction is related to protests in Hong Kong last year.

Only time can tell whether both signs will be removed anytime soon.

Nearly Empty and Policed: Last Night at Hong Kong Port and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge

Hong Kong Port, the border checkpoint for people using the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB), is one of the few remaining checkpoints open in Hong Kong for direct travel to or from mainland China — a response to the still-spreading Wuhan coronavirus and its effects. With the closing of all cross-borer ferry and helicopter services, the bridge is also the only way to travel directly between Hong Kong and Macau. Despite the dwindling options for reaching Macau or mainland China, when I arrived there last night at around 7 p.m. the Departure Hall was nearly empty.

On the plus side, passing through immigration was a breeze as there were no line for the single immigration officer handling visitors.

The bridge showed few signs of travelers as well.

At times no other vehicles were in sight. Quite regularly, more than a minute would pass between any vehicles headed in the opposite direction passing us. Although I have found traffic on the bridge to be rather light in the past, even before Hong Kong was dealing with a virus outbreak or protests, last night was more extreme.

When I returned to Hong Kong Port shortly before 2 a.m. after an evening in Macau, I wasn't surprised to find it similarly quiet at first. However, after clearing customs the Arrival Hall provided a surprise: approximately 20 police in riot gear who were on their way out of the building.

Definitely back in Hong Kong

I don't know if the police were responding to a specific threat, but Hong Kong Port might be a prime target for protestors who seek a more complete closure of the border between Hong Kong and mainland China.

Perhaps they don't need to bother.

Receiving News of Kobe Bryant's Death in the Midst of Hong Kong Protests, a Spreading Virus, and a Lunar New Year

A blocked section of Portland Street next to Langham Place

While police nearby guarded a street blocked due to a long night of protests in Mong Kok, Hong Kong, a young man next to me exclaimed, "Whoah!"

When I looked at him he said, seemingly stunned, "Did you know Kobe Bryant died?"

"No. Wait, what?"

He showed me his phone.

He then expressed his shock over the news and shared how he had been a fan of Bryant since being a child.

Kobe Bryant has a large number of fans in mainland China as well. Patrick Brzeski reported on how people there were saddened by the news:

By mid-afternoon, local time, the hashtag devoted to Bryant's death on Weibo had attracted an astounding 2.4 billion views and tens of millions of engagements, making it by far the most widely read and discussed topic of the day.

The reports of Bryant's death seemed only to compound the dismay many millions in China have been feeling over the deadly coronavirus that has plunged the country into crisis during the family holiday season of Lunar New Year. A common refrain on social media was a plea wishing that 2020 could simply be started over. . . .

Just three days ago, Bryant posted a happy Chinese New Year message to his own Weibo profile, where he has 9.2 million followers. "Xin Chun Kuai Le to my dear friends in China!" he wrote.

Momentarily Raising the Pepper Spray Canisters in Yuen Long, Hong Kong

Tuesday evening I was so occupied in Yuen Long, Hong Kong, that I didn't eat dinner. Also that evening, some police officers on Castle Peak Road suddenly started shaking their pepper spray canisters and made it clear they were ready to use them. We were rather close to a local district councillor who was... pepper sprayed by police.

After midnight I found a good meal of dumplings & noodles elsewhere in Hong Kong. I expected that wouldn't be a problem. I did not expect the pepper spray threat at a location close to the Hong Lok Road light rail stop and down the road from where a recent protest rally was held.

Yet again, I want to spend more time composing my thoughts and photos regarding the rally and related events. For now I will just add that shortly after the police stopped blocking the area, the district councillor was cleaned up and seemingly in good spirits as he gave interviews. I believe he was later arrested. Still sorting out what happened that chaotic night.

Momentarily Raising a Gun in Tin Shui Wai, Hong Kong

Tonight I had dinner at a cheap Italian-style place in Tin Shui Wai, Hong Kong. Also tonight, at a nearby rally a police officer suddenly appeared in front of me and then raised his gun.

The food I ordered wasn't especially Italian. But I expected that, and for the price I was happy with it. I wasn't expecting the gun though.

I need more time to compose my thoughts and photos regarding the rally and related events. For now I will just add that the police officer soon lowered his gun without aiming it at anything. I don't know what concerned him. At the time I was more focused on him than whatever he was looking at behind me.

Graffiti and More Xiangqi at Soy Street

Although tear gas hasn't lately poured out of a pedestrian underpass on Soy Street in Mong Kok, Hong Kong, signs of the protests can still be found there.

Photo taken evening of January 16, 2020

And the xiangqi games go on as well . . .

Photo taken the same evening

From Tear Gas to Xiangqii on Soy Street in Hong Kong

Around 1 a.m. on the 9th of last November, police fired tear gas into a pedestrian underpass on Soy Street in Mong Kok, Hong Kong. The people on the other side likely weren't the intended target, but they still had to flee.

Such sights were common in Mong Kok during those days.

Where an older man had been sitting while wearing a gas mask, yesterday near midnight a crowd watched two men play a variation of xiangqi in which most of the pieces are initially flipped over to hide their identity and mixed up before setting them on the board.

That no gas masks were in sight or at all expected to be needed is one of the many signs of how much has changed in Mong Kong between two months ago and now.

A Face Mask Left Behind on New Year's Day in Hong Kong

I never intended to not post here for such an extended period of time. I certainly am not lacking in material or thoughts. I could post about fresh blood on a wall bordering a garden in Sheung Shui, a young woman stomping on a man's head in Mong Kok, or notes of hope in Central — all in Hong Kong.

For now, here is photo of a face mask, bricks, and a wheelbarrow in the middle of a street in Causeway Bay after a very large New Year's Day protest march and . . . more.

While the intended purposes of the items seem clear to me, I don't what exact event led to this state. I don't expect to ever know, but a chaotic scene seems likely. Plenty of such scenes played out on New Year's Day in Hong Kong. And more have since.

Before and After the New Year on a Street in Hong Kong

Just before 11 p.m in Hong Kong New Year's Eve at Sai Yeung Choi Street South seemed moderately usual:

Around 3 a.m. New Year's at Sai Yeung Choi Street South had a different feeling though:

Happy New Year.

Independence and Revolution Waving Above a Public Square in Hong Kong

On top of the Edinburgh Place Car Park looking out towards "The Grief of Us" protestor assembly last night

A Beatdown and a Blockade During Christmas in Hong Kong

As anticipated, there were large-scale protests yesterday in Hong Kong, and the protests continue today. I will post more about them later, including some of the ways they intermixed with the Christmas holiday spirit. For now, I will just share two photos I shared on Twitter recently along with the comments I made there.

I took the first photo not long before 2 a.m. this morning.

Man grabs a young woman's breast.
Crowd beats man.
Man pretends to be unconscious to avoid more pain.
Hong Kong's top riot police arrive.

The incident in Mong Kok didn't appear to have any direct connection to the protests, except that the large number of protestors around probably meant a more intense response, both from the protestors and the police. There is much more I can say and share regarding what happened, and perhaps that will happen as it touches on a number of issues. I will add that the only obvious involvement by the police was chasing away protestors in the area which enabled an ambulance to safely take the man away. I was told the young woman didn't wish to formally report the man. She did not trust the police would handle the matter fairly, which says a lot about how some people in Hong Kong view the police these days.

The second photo was taken several hours later.

If you thought that the protests in Hong Kong would be over by 5am today, you'd be wrong.

The photo was taken at Nathan Road also in Mong Kok. This certainly isn't the most remarkable photo I took of the recent protests, especially since they were far more intense earlier. But the scene is notable because the protests appeared to be lasting longer into the morning than some other protests that occurred in Mong Kok during the past couple of months.

Anticipating a Lively Christmas in Hong Kong

Compared to November, the protests in Hong Kong have been relatively calm lately. However, they continue, and there are signs they will soon intensify.

It could be a rather eventful Christmas in Hong Kong. 

Another Night in Hong Kong: Outside the Lai Chi Kok Reception (Detention) Centre

There were thousands. They were loud.

Perhaps the detained protestors in Lai Chi Kok heard them.

Still Tilted in Hong Kong

The recent signs of protest have changed and lately are mostly removed. But some remain.

O Fortuna, the Wheel Brings Another Message

First there were ballerinas with umbrellas above "Free HK".  Then there was blackness. Now, there is a different message.

The "Stop Police Brutality" graffiti is on a number of beams on a pedestrian bridge connecting to the Central Piers in Hong Kong. In all of the examples I saw, they were placed directly on top of areas that had been painted black to cover previous graffiti.

It is now the predominant graffiti design on the bridge, though there is at least one example of partially symbolic graffiti expressing the protest slogan "Five Demands, Not One Less".

However, there appeared to be more examples of untouched painted-black areas than of recent graffiti. This is consistent with what I have seen in various parts of Hong Kong, whether Central, Tsing Yi, or Yau Tsim Mong. Newer protest graffiti, posters, and other forms of visible expression continue to replace older ones, but overall there is far less now compared to a few weeks ago.

And the wheel keeps turning . . . 

Protecting the Traffic Control Boxes in Hong Kong

Several weeks ago around 3:30 A.M. on November 11, protestors lit an electrical traffic control box on fired on Nathan Road in Mong Kok, Hong Kong.

Many other traffic control boxes were decommissioned in one way or another during recent protests. This raises the question, "How does a city restore traffic control boxes while also not making them prone to similar repeat attacks?"

An attempt to address this question now exists at the intersection of Nathan Road with Kansu Street and Gascoigne Road in Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong.

I didn't see any obvious way to open the barred protection. This may be a strike against usability, but that's probably the point.

A Thanksgiving Dinner View of Police in Hong Kong

In the past, I have shared some of my Thanksgiving day experiences in different cities, such as drinking horse milk baijiu in Zhongshan and a rat running up my leg in Changsha. Like those times, today in Hong Kong offered me something new.

I observed the traditions by finding a buffet which included turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. For a bonus, the restaurant staff kindly sat me at a location with a prime view of the world outside. As I ate way too much food, I had the opportunity to watch a number of police vehicles, sometimes with sirens blaring and likely containing Special Tactical Squads or Police Tactical Units, head southward.

Their activity was possibly related to a nearby protest rally. I later visited it and saw no outward signs of police in the immediate vicinity though. So for the first time on this holiday, I felt like I should give thanks that no police shot tear gas in my direction today.

O Fortuna, A Whirling Wheel in Hong Kong

Sors immanis
et inanis,
rota tu volubilis . . .

——————————————————————————

So now an explanation for those who would like one:

As I took the above photo today near the Hong Kong Observation Wheel, the opening section O Fortuna from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana came to mind and it stayed there for a while. Here is an excellent recording of the widely used piece, which many will recognize at least in part even if they don't know its name, with Robert Shaw conducting the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus:

You can find the lyrics alongside an English translation here. The translation for the excerpt I shared above is:

Fate — monstrous
and empty,
you whirling wheel . . .

While much of Carmina Burana isn't as familiar to most people as the movement O Fortuna, it is certainly worth listening to in full while following along with a translation. There are even a few more references to the wheel.

A Tsim Sha Tsui Sign of the Times in Hong Kong

Early this evening in Tsim Sha Tsui at one of many sites where protestors gathered last night hoping to help students surrounded by police at the nearby Hong Kong Polytechnic University