Residents condemn violence, hope police continue to enforce law
Police clear an illegal rally at Tsim Sha Tsui on Saturday night. (Photo: Chen Qingqing/GT)
Guerrilla-style illegal assemblies and flash mob protests hit Kowloon and the New Territories during the weekend, seriously affecting the livelihoods of local residents. More Hongkongers urged police to strictly enforce the law and bring all violent rioters to justice.
Groups of black-clad protesters marched toward Nam Wan Road in Tai Po on Saturday afternoon, which was not permitted by the police.
The area around Tai Po subway station was like a ghost town as all the stores, even some 24-hour convenience shops and pharmacies, were closed ahead of the illegal assembly.
The Global Times reporters saw few local residents walking in the area. Some streets were also blocked by barricades with railings and road signs set by protesters.
When protesters reached the march's end point near Tai Po police station, they used umbrellas as shields to protect those who broke up road fencing to build barricades. Police issued a tear gas warning at the standoff. The protesters left, without escalating the tension.
"They are changing strategies now," a source close to the protesters, who preferred not to be named for personal safety reasons, told the Global Times.
"Such a flash mob led to skirmishes in different districts, aiming to constantly provoke police officers, expending police resources."
Protesters - many of them teenagers - could not always come up with a consensus about what to do next, and where to go, noted the source, who has been following them for weeks.
They made reckless decisions by the hand game of rock-paper-scissors, the source said.
"This is just a live game for them, and their ultimate goal is to disrupt society and lead the city into chaos," he said.
Later protesters blocked a transport junction at Tai Wai station with barricades, digging out stones and bricks along the roads.
"We are prepared to attack the police amid a standoff," a protester dressed in black and wearing a mask, who preferred not to be named, told the Global Times.
Such guerrilla-style illegal assemblies had paralyzed the traffic in districts including Tai Po, Sha Tin, Tsim Sha Tsui, Wong Tai Sin and Tsuen Wan.
They set fire in some places such as Tsim Sha Tsui police station and near Suffolk Road in Kowloon Tong.
"I have to walk all the way from my home to the subway station in Tai Po," a resident living near Tai Po Plaza, told the Global Times on Sunday.
"It was super hot yesterday, no bus on the street, which was very inconvenient."
The illegal rallies seriously affect residents' daily lives, the resident said.
Illegal acts
Both Hong Kong government and Hong Kong police force condemned the unlawful assemblies on Saturday, as protesters damaged public property and blocked roads, affecting emergency and commercial activities.
"We have to emphasize that protesters' behavior are not only illegal but also disregarding public order and the needs of other members of the public," a government spokesperson said."Violent behaviors such as arson are even more dangerous."
Flash mobs took less than two hours from blocking roads to dispersal, Tung Kin Lei Kelly, a member of the Sha Tin District Council for the constituency of Tai Wai, told the Global Times on Sunday.
When protesters occupied populated areas, many business owners were "scared and rushed to leave, but could not speak out against protesters as they feared retaliation," Tung Kin Lei Kelly said.
The illegal flash mobs "spread panic" among residents, she said, noting that police had to disperse and arrest those who blocked roads, damaged or set fire to public property.
Changing tactics
Groups of protesters illegally gathered outside Tsim Sha Tsui police station on Saturday night, provoking police for hours.
They beamed laser lights at the police, ignoring repeated police warnings.
As some rioters illegally occupied roads near Nathan Road shopping area, dozens of police officers came to disperse them.
The sudden skirmishes affected tourists and passers-by who took pictures and videos of the standoff between police and protesters.
The Global Times reporters saw some protesters, who changed their black shirts and pretended to be passers-by, shouting out insulting words and slogans at police officers.
The protesters changed strategies "from violent attacks to more deceptive, confusing acts," Tang Fei, a member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, told the Global Times on Sunday.
"Maybe they are ordinary Hongkongers without wearing masks who incite hatred toward the police."
The Hong Kong police is "capable of finding explosives" amid the latest riots, Tang said. "They are equally capable of finding the 'black hands' behind them, as financial status and equipment play a decisive role in escalating tensions."
Firm support
Hundreds of residents showed up with warm greetings and beverages, chocolate, cakes, flowers and thank-you notes for officers at police stations across the city during "Day of Supporting Police" on Saturday.
Symbolizing an act to guard Hong Kong and to restore social order, over 50 Hong Kong tourism workers voluntarily went to the Star Ferry Pier in Tsim Sha Tsui on Saturday. (Photo: Chen Qingqing/GT)
Some newspapers published an open thank-you letter to the police, appreciating their professionalism and sacrifice amid recent events and hoping police would continue to strictly enforce the law.
During the operation on Saturday, police arrested 16 people for unlawful assembly, possession of an offensive weapon, assaulting a police officer and obstructing a police officer in the execution of duties, according to a police statement.
The statement reiterated that anyone participating in an unauthorized assembly commits an offence and police would strictly enforce the law against all violent and illegal acts.
