From Tear Gas to Painted Records in Hong Kong

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.

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.

Three Candidates With Shared Political Values and Fates Campaigning on Election Day in Yau Tsim Mong, Hong Kong

While taking a look at seven different polling stations yesterday evening during Hong Kong's District Council elections, by chance I came across three candidates while they were still campaigning.

One was Leslie Chan (Chan Ka Long), who was running for the Tsim Sha Tsui West constituency.

In front of iSquare

Speaking in both Cantonese and English, Chan made it clear he was supportive of the five demands made by many protestors in the city.


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.

To my surprise, I later discovered all three candidates I happened to see were in the pro-democracy camp. Their results reflect the immense success of pro-democracy candidates across Hong Kong, as all three won.

So they all have reason to smile even more today.

Polling Stations With and Without Long Lines During a Record-Setting Election in Hong Kong

Hong Kong has just held its 2019 District Council elections. On Sunday morning and afternoon there were reports of long lines at polling stations.

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

— Phoebe Kong 江穎怡 (@phoebe_kongwy) November 24, 2019

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. #HKelections pic.twitter.com/jeT6UH8bQB

— Denise Tsang (@denise_tsang) November 24, 2019

However, there were still long lines at some polling stations not long before polls were to close, As long as people were in line before 10:30 p.m. the Electoral Affairs Commission said they would be able to cast a vote.

Regardless of when and where there were lines today, don't be fooled by my photos. People voted in record numbers. Early results strongly indicate the the pro-democracy groups made major gains against pro-Beijing groups. Words like "decimated" are already being used for the latter.

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.

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

The Remains of Vehicle Set on Fire Sit for Days in a Hong Kong Street

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:

#Mongkok at night. More road barricades. A car has been set on fire. Several burst of explosion sounds. Bystanders watch on. #LiberateHongKong #HKprotests #StandWithHongKong #FreedomHK #GloryToHongKong #ProtestsHK #HKHumanRightsandDemocracyAct #StandwithHK #FightforHongKong #HKG pic.twitter.com/EcIGsOkcED

— Truth Live Hong Kong (@HongTruth) November 12, 2019

Perhaps just as remarkable that this car was lit on fire is that it was still sitting in the street. Another person commented on this issue yesterday:

Presumably the car that was set on fire yesterday. Government given up on trying to return the streets to normal each morning. #Mongkok #HongKongProtests pic.twitter.com/IzcWN8VF4X

— Ataraxis (@ataraxisfinch) November 13, 2019

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.

Fleeing the Tear Gas in Hong Kong's Central Financial District

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

— Ivan Watson (@IvanCNN) November 12, 2019

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.

Police Chase and Apprehend Protestors in Mong Kok, Hong Kong

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.

It would be an understatement to say I have seen much since I returned to Hong Kong four days ago. It would be a bigger understatement to say much more has happened here regarding the protests during that time. Especially given today's terrible events which include police shooting a protestor, a police officer driving his motorcycle into a crowd, and protestors lighting a person on fire, it is easy to believe the protests and the reactions to them will escalate further.

Gone Fishing in Xuzhou

Next to Heping Bridge (和平桥)

Steps With Trees in Xuzhou

On some days it is much easier to appreciate the obstacles in one's path . . .

Zifang Hill (子房山) in Xuzhou

Encounters With a Lively Skeleton Queen in Xuzhou

As I have seen in past years at some shopping centers in China on the weekend of or before Halloween, on Saturday the Xuzhou Suning Plaza invited children to come to the mall dressed up in Halloween costumes. That afternoon it held an activity that wouldn't have been out of place any other time of the years except for the fact that some of the children were wearing costumes.

After watching a small part of a contest where children had to think of animals that hadn't been previously named by other children, I took a photo. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a skeleton queen who had been helping some of the other children had now apparently taken interest in me. She quickly jumped onto the stage and approached me while making expressions ranging from ghoulish to charming.

So this happened:

About an hour later I watched a portion of a similar event at the Golden Eagle Pengcheng Square Store. Once again, the setting had a Halloween theme yet the activity — in this case children and teenagers singing — wouldn't have been out of place any other weekend of the year.

As I took a photo of the entrance to the area, I felt a light pat on my stomach. The most likely source of the rather unexpected pat seemed to be downwards, so that's where I looked. The next step to take was soon obvious, and this happened:

After a couple of photos, the skeleton queen darted off and disappeared into the crowd. Later, I saw she had returned to watch the performances, where as before she eagerly showed support — this time by applauding.

And that's the end of this story about an outgoing skeleton queen with a heart.