Hong Kong Protests by Numbers

Carrie Lam repeating herself every week, offering no new solutions

The anti-government protests have just stretched past the six-month point, and Sunday's turnout of 800,000 people shows the movement is still very strong.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and her administration must be scared. Really scared.

Hong Kong police have fired 16,000 rounds of tear gas

This morning in her weekly press briefing she was asked her reaction to the "silent majority" who were not pro-government, but instead pro-protest. She evaded the question entirely, and instead replied in Hong Kong this showed people were given the freedom to express their opinions...

But here are some cold, hard facts from the Hong Kong police on the protests so far:

- Over 6,000 people have been arrested: 4,474 males and 1,548 females, ages ranging from 11 and 84 years old. Of those arrested, 2,393 are students.

- 16,000 rounds of tear gas fired

- 10,000 rubber bullets

- 2,000 bean bag rounds

- 1,850 sponge grenades

- 493 police officers have been injured since June, including 452 male and 41 female

Police did not mention how much pepper spray they used...

We don't know exactly how many protesters have been injured, with some not going to hospitals for medical help but instead through an underground system of volunteer paramedics, doctors and nurses.

As Lam didn't say anything enlightening today, the protests will continue, but with the protesters having a higher moral ground following the results of the November 24 elections showing wide support for them.

How is this all going to end, Carrie? Or perhaps Beijing doesn't have a clue either?

Telling Hong Kong to be like Macau demonstrates how little understanding Chinese officials have of the immense differences between the two cities.

Over 6,000 people have been arrested since June

Hong Kong refuses to die too. Yes, many shops and restaurants are closing down, but in some ways this is a good reset for the city's economy and it must innovate to find a new way out of the recession.

For example, does Hong Kong really need eight Louis Vuitton stores? They were mostly catering to the mainland market. It's time for the city to diversify its customer base and look elsewhere to bring in tourists and create new activities for visitors to do besides shop.

The Hong Kong government can't even find its way out of a paper bag so it's up to local residents to come up with creative ideas to stimulate business.

香港人加油！