I hope he got a fantastic photo. At least he didn't fall.
Later I'll share photos not featuring photographers from today's police-approved (until they decided otherwise in the middle of it) protest march in Hong Kong that began in Tsim Sha Tsui.
During the past several weeks in Hong Kong I have seen many people wearing heavy-duty respirator masks. Today was the first time they weren't being worn due to concerns about tear gas.
So that's kind of nice.
Later, I will share a number of protested-related photos from the past weeks. I held a number of them back due to wanting either to have a better sense of the protests or to wait for certain aspects of them to finish / reach a new phase. That seems to have happened, so more soon.
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.
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.
Another was Leo Chu (Chu Tsz Lok) who was running for the East Tsim Sha Tsui & King's Park constituency.
Alongside Nathan Road near Man Ming Lane
As Chu spoke to a couple of women, people campaigned nearby for other candidates.
The last candidate I saw campaigning was Ben Lam (Lam Siu Pan), who was running for the Mong Kok East constituency.
Outside Exit A of Prince Edward Station
Just 40 minutes before Mong Kok East's polling station a few hundred meters away would close at 10:30 p.m., Lam was greeting people as they left Prince Edward Station, where riot police stormed train carriages and beat people several months ago.
Timelapse videos of long queues outside polling stations overwhelm my newsfeed. Here's another one in Taipo - northern district in #HongKong w/ highest turnout rate so far. Took me several mins to walk thru the whole line...still waiting to cast my vote. Turnout is the KEY today. pic.twitter.com/q4lWGBNEmW
Polling stations were open until at least 10:30 p.m. This evening I visited polling stations for seven different constituencies in the Yao Tsim Mong District roughly between 6 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. None had a line extending outside.
Tsim Sha Tsui West
Jordan South
Jordan West
Yao Ma Tei South
Mong Kok South
Mong Kok West
Mong Kok East
The same held true in some other locations, which had benefits.
Now: This is the best time to vote, I have the whole voting station to myself 😂 voted within 1 min. This station had 67.6% of assigned voters voted as of 8.30pm. Pretty high among other districts. #HKelectionspic.twitter.com/jeT6UH8bQB
Still, many races have yet to be declared. More later, but it's already clear Hong Kong's people were very motivated to express themselves through voting after months and months of intense protests.
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
Early this evening as I walked through Mong Kok, Hong Kong I saw something on Sai Yeung Choi Street that seemed remarkable even after seeing and experiencing so much recently in Hong Kong regarding the ongoing protests.
Using the word "dog" for "police", common practice for protestors in Hong Kong, the markings on the the vehicle "便衣狗車" claim it is a plainclothes police car. I can't confirm this is accurate. But the vehicle does look like some unmarked vehicles I have seen on multiple occasions set in the middle of a row of marked police vehicles making their way through the city. In any case, presumably the vehicle's current state is the result of protesters.
This tweet includes a video of a car on fire in Mong Kok which appears to be a perfect match in terms of vehicle type and location:
So the car has been sitting there in this not so usable state at least for a couple of days. Of course this is far from Hong Kong's most pressing issue, which is one of many signs of just how widespread and intense the protests have been lately.
This afternoon I observed the interaction of protestors, police, media, medics, and onlookers in Central — Hong Kong's main financial and business district. Suddenly the police started firing numerous tear gas canisters and rounds before leaving the area.
The below video begins with a large crowd following the police as they move away from the area with the frontline black-clad protestors. At 1:49 in the video, as I am standing next to a CNN crew the tear gas canisters begin to fly. As I headed westward on Pedder Street directly away from the police, I thought that quite soon either the firing would stop or that I would be out of harms way. However, the number of tear gas canisters and the distance they reached was more intense than I expected.
For more context, here is the report by CNN's Ivan Watson that was wrapping up while I recorded the above video just as the police began shooting this round of tear gas:
Amnesty International accuses Hong Kong’s police of acting “out of control.” The police reject that criticism. More than 5 months into this crisis, the scene we filmed in Central Hong Kong on Tuesday did not demonstrate a confident police force in command of the situation. pic.twitter.com/9Vevoe0htg
Incredibly this tear gassing of protestors and many others is just a small part of the protest related events today in Hong Kong and seems to pale in comparison to some of them.
And thanks to the helpful Hongkongers who provided me with eyewashes after the tear gassing. I am fine now, folks. I can't say the same for some others here though.
Last night around 12:30 a.m. I thought all seemed relatively calm at my specific location in Mong Kok, Hong Kong. Certainly, it was much calmer than what I experienced related to the ongoing protests in Hong Kong at a nearby location in Mong Kok two nights earlier.
Suddenly, I saw a number of black-clad protestors running in my direction.
The video I took below captures that moment when all certainly was not calm and number of others including the police apprehending at least two people and a police officer forcibly removing the respirator of a person whose outwear I think indicates "Press" or "Media". Most of the action occurs during the first six minutes of the video. I decided to post the full version in order to share some of the immediate aftermath as well. There is much going on throughout. The video has not been edited in any way except for having been uploaded to YouTube.
