World Press Photo Exhibition

Dancer Musa Motha by Alon Skuy

 

The 2020 World Press Photo Exhibition is in its 63rd year and this is the third time it has been shown in Hong Kong.

This year it was supposed to be held on March 1 at Hong Kong Baptist University in Kowloon Tong, but it was abruptly cancelled in late February by the university's officials who were concerned after a pro-Beijing media outlet, DotDotNews attacked the tertiary institution for "inciting violence".

School girls on the way to protest in Hong Kong

Management was concerned pro-Beijing figures would come to the show and stage a protest over the Hong Kong images, and then draw pro-democracy activists to counter protest which could then possibly result in a clash.

So the university cited "campus security" and the coronavirus pandemic as reasons why the exhibition was called off.

Luckily the event was back on March 28, this time in a co-working space in Admiralty, with visitors having to preregister online to ensure only a certain number of people were inside the room per hour.

I managed to catch the show today, the second last day, after work and when the elevator doors opened, there was a large crowd of people waiting to get into the show, filling out paper health declaration forms and showing their confirmation emails to go in.

A first-aider in shock of being arrested

The exhibition shows the best images from the annual photo contest that began in 1955 when a group of Dutch photographers organized an international photo contest to expose their work to a global audience.

It is now shown in 120 cities in 50 countries, and this year, 4,282 photographers from 125 countries entered 73,996 photographs to the contest.

There were photographs of the 2019 anti-government protests by Danish photographer Nicolas Asfouri. It's a series of pictures including school girls in a blue and white uniform holding hands on their way to a "human-chain" protest looking defiant and confident, while another shows a young man who is a first aider pinned down by a police officer on the ground, his facial expression reveals shock at what has happened to him, on his chest are vials of saline solution to treat people for tear gas.

A roadrunner looks at the US-Mexico wall

To be honest these pictures were not the best ones taken during the social unrest, but it is good to see the protests included in the exhibition.

Photographer Alon Skuy of South Africa, took a beautiful portrait of a young man, Musa Motha, who was a promising football [soccer] player, but at the age of 11 had his leg amputated because of cancer. He took up dancing instead and uses his crutches and gravity to create his moves and now performs professionally with the Vuyani Dance Theatre in Johannesburg.

A striking photograph is of a giant barbed wire fence and a roadrunner looking at it inquisitively. It was captured by Mexican Alejandro Prieto of the wall then US President Donald Trump was building along the US-Mexico border. There were concerns the wall would negatively affect 23 endangered and at-risk species. With Biden administration in office, construction of the wall has halted, but nothing yet has been decided.

A car melted by the Australian fires

The Australian fires were shocking to see in the news -- remember those koalas that had to be rescued by humans? Here photographer Matthew Abbott for the New York Times captured the heat of the intense fires with a burnt out car that is melting. Aluminum melts at 660.3 degrees Celsius and there's streams of the melted metal emanating from the vehicle creating an eerie sight. 

The Toronto Raptors had an amazing run in 2019, winning the NBA Championships. Canadian photographer Mark Blinch shot a great picture of the game-winning shot of the Raptors against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals in Toronto. Every person's reaction is captured -- almost all of them eyeing the ball go into the basket, as if frozen in time. It could have been a painting of that moment. Amazing.

The final second of the Raptors vs 76ers game

There are other horrific stories, like that of Belarusian women who were forced to have abortions. One woman had a wooden leg when she was pregnant by her boyfriend but he left her when his mother told him she didn't want a disabled daughter-in-law. Another aborted after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986, worried she could not handle another child (she already had one). One young woman was sexually assaulted by her boss. All these women did not reveal their faces or names.

In addition there were mages of people fleeing Isis, people burying their loved ones, others just trying to survive under the Taliban, or being defiant and holding protests in the streets, but unsure of what would happen.

Animals were also subjects, with one pangolin held by the tail as a cook is about to butcher it for a meal, or orphaned orangutans clutching onto their human mothers for a chance at survival, and a polar bear mother and cub inspecting flags posted on the Arctic Circle. 

A pangolin about to become someone's dinner

So glad to be able to see this exhibition and see what all the fuss was about. Everyone in the room was respectful and quiet in looking at the pictures, so why cancel it? This is an international photo exhibition that deserves to be shown, photographers capturing moments as they saw them. They help us witness what is happening around the world.

 

Another Acquittal in Protest Prosecutions

Social worker Hui talks to the media after being acquitted

 

The prosecutions against people charged with various offenses during last year's protests continue, and yet not all of them lead to successful convictions. If anything a number of them are acquitted because of lack of evidence, or in this latest case, police officers are unreliable witnesses.

Yesterday a social worker was acquitted of obstructing police when officers were arresting protesters in September last year. In fact the magistrate found Hui Lai-ming to be "very cooperative" and ordered prosecutors to pay for her legal costs.

The trial was heard at West Kowloon Court

On September 29, 2019, Hui observed police apprehending more than 100 protesters in Admiralty. However, the 52-year-old director of the Hong Kong Social Workers' General Union was accused of pushing Constable Chong Tik-long twice that evening.

Before Hui's trial began last Thursday, her lawyer asked prosecutors to drop the charge of assaulting a police officer, due to new video evidence that showed the social worker did not attack the policeman.

Then prosecutors changed the charge, accusing Hui of wilfully obstructing the officer, which carries a maximum sentence of two years.

But Magistrate May Chung Ming-sun found Chong to be an unreliable witness, citing "major differences" between his evidence and the defence's footage of the incident.

Chong testified Hui appeared very emotional and kept pushing a police cordon in an attempt to get closer to the arrested protesters.

Hui was accused of obstructing a police officer

However, the magistrate found that account unsubstantiated, pointing to footage that showed a peaceful Hui moving away from the scene. Chung said the footage in fact showed the defendant being pushed to the roadside by a group of officers, including Chong.

In addition, the officer fell on the ground later, not because the defendant shoved him, but because he lost his balance during the confusion. He fell a second time when another officer grabbed the defendant's hand and swung it at him accidentally.

"[Chong] fell on both occasions by accident. The defendant had no intention to assault [him]," Chung said. "The defendant had been very cooperative. She had no intention to resist police."

Hui said her acquittal was thanks to friends who put in a lot of effort to find the video evidence to prove her innocence. 

"It was through everybody's effort that we obtained the footage so that I could have a fair trial." she said, adding when the verdict was read out, she started crying, tears of joy.

Many protest-related prosecutions are acquitted

Even after Hui's lawyer told prosecutors it had fresh evidence, they still went ahead with the court case which obviously led to an acquittal and wasted taxpayer money. 

Perhaps what is worse is that these officers who give unreliable testimony are not punished for this; in other jurisdictions this would be perjury.

Is that because going down that route would be tedious? Or with so many cases going through the courts that there isn't time to do more than a slap on the wrist of the officers involved?

In any event the number of acquittals continues to rise, making the Department of Justice look less credible day after day...

Six Years Ago Today

Yellow umbrellas in force at Admiralty six years ago

 

Six years ago today was the start of the Umbrella Movement. I remember that day in Admiralty, seeing people carrying umbrellas and some wearing masks and goggles. What was going to happen? 

I just knew there were students holed up at Civic Square, surrounded by the police and people demanded that they be let go.

Nothing happened, so my friend YTSL and I grabbed a bite to eat in a restaurant in Pacific Place shopping mall and that's when I checked Twitter to discover people had occupied the roads.

When teargas was fired, umbrellas were defense

In disbelief we went back to see a surreal sight of people on the roads, helping each other climb over the highway barriers and wandering around. It was so bizarre we wandered around too and wondered how long this would last.

Later that evening around 6pm the police fired teargas into the crowds, who tried to defend themselves with umbrellas. People watching the scenes unfold on television were in shock and rushed over to Admiralty.

It would be 79 days before the occupation ended, and it was the spark that ignited the passion of fighting for democracy in Hong Kong. The community spirit at Admiralty was warm, friendly, eco-friendly. It had a utopian atmosphere of what people believed Hong Kong should be.

Students set up desks to do their homework and people volunteered to tutor them, people drew posters, encouraged others to write notes on the first Lennon Wall, and others created arts and crafts inspired by the movement.

The famous or infamous televised debate

Meanwhile the government was caught completely off guard and had no idea what to do. They looked worse debating student leaders, who demanded that the election reform should include nominations from local citizens. However, the government claimed this fell outside the framework of the Basic Law and the National People's Congress Standing Committee decision.

The government revealed its impotence though it claimed the talks were "candid and meaningful", while the student leaders expressed disappointment in the lack of concrete results.

The protests revealed the growing divide between pro-establishment and pro-democracy camps, both becoming more entrenched in their positions.

And then on December 15, 2014 the Umbrella Movement ended unceremoniously with people being arrested for refusing to leave the protest sites, and the police cleaning up the roads for traffic to finally resume.

I never thought I would see the roads occupied by people ever again until it happened again five years later with the anti-extradition protests. 

Protesters regrouped in Admiralty last year

All that pent-up frustration and anger exploded again in the city, revealing that people still had the passion inside them to protest what they felt was not good for Hong Kong. 

But alas it has come to this -- a tone-deaf government controlled by the heavy hand of Beijing. The implementation of the national security law in the hours before July 1 came out of the blue for everyone else, but was the plan all along to force Hongkongers into submission.

And with the ongoing pandemic, it makes it even easier for Beijing to do as it pleases, postponing the Legislative Council elections (that should have been earlier this month), and outright banning mass protests all in the name of social distancing.

October 1 will have a loaded meaning this year, as it is China's national day and Mid-Autumn Festival. And the legend has it that over 600 years ago, the Han overthrew the Mongol Yuan dynasty by inserting secret messages inside the mooncakes...

A mini protest tonight in Pacific Place

Tonight there was a low-key protest at Pacific Place to mark the sixth anniversary of the Umbrella Movement. About two dozen peo

ple turned out to shout anti-government slogans and sing protest songs.

While police watched nearby they didn't arrest anyone, and instead urged people to disperse.

The Civil Human Rights Front had applied for a march to protest the 12 people detained on the mainland on October 1, but that was immediately banned due to social-distancing measures. 

What will happen next?

Remembering Raincoat Man

Over one thousand people left floral tributes to Leung tonight

If the Hong Kong government thinks after almost 9,000 arrests in the past year that the number of protesters has shrunk to only a small group of "rioters", then it is sorely mistaken.

This evening over a thousand people came to Pacific Place in Admiralty to remember Marco Leung Ling-kit, who was the first casualty of the extradition protests exactly a year ago, and to mourn the death of "one country, two systems".

They also mourned "one country, two systems"

From around 6pm onwards, mourners came clutching white flowers to place them at the exact spot where Leung, wearing a yellow raincoat, fell to his death while trying to hang a protest banner. And the people kept coming.

And coming.

And coming.

The line stretched all the way westwards along Queensway and around the corner up Cotton Tree Drive where the west entrance to Hong Kong Park is, about 1km. The floral tributes didn't stop until 11pm. Some people waited two hours in line to reach the floral shrine.

A female retiree in her 60s told one media outlet she was arrested last year for taking part in a protest last year.

The police had opposed to march organizer Civil Human Rights Front to hold a public gathering for Leung, and she said, "Whatever the government refuses to let us do, it is the right thing to do."

Most people wore black and a white ribbon, signifying their support for a strike to protest against the upcoming national security bill.

As expected the police were standing by in riot gear ready to attack, but all they did was warn the crowd about social distancing and advised them to disperse.

Inside the mall people sang Glory to Hong Kong

Also in the tributes was a sign that read: "RIP One country, two systems 1997-2020".

Inside Pacific Place protesters shouted slogans and sang the protest anthem Glory to Hong Kong while waving flags.

There were memorials also held in Tuen Mun and Tin Shui Wai.

The sheer numbers of people show they are still keen to defend Hong Kong's rights and freedoms from the impending national security law. But will the government recognize these people's views? More importantly will Beijing?

If the national security bill is of utmost importance for Hong Kong, how come residents, who will be most impacted by it are not consulted? Why is it being done in such a secretive manner? Why are Hong Kong officials and many businesses blindly supporting it without even knowing what is in this new law?

No one is defending Hong Kong except Hongkongers themselves. A year ago tomorrow, 2 million people came out to march against the extradition bill put forward by Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

There are still a lot of people who love this city and feel betrayed by Beijing for reneging on the Joint Declaration, where it was promised there would be 50 years of no change until 2047.

The remembrance ended at 11pm at Pacific Place

So while Lam and her senior ministers may think they are winning the war against the protesters, they are completely underestimating the sheer anger and sadness Hongkongers have, and that these emotions being channeled through every anniversary this year.

Protesters will make sure the Hong Kong government or the world will not forget what happened in the past year.

Halloween is Cancelled

Halloween in Lan Kwai Fong usually brings out revelers in fun costumes

Halloween should be a festive day for people to dress up in fun costumes, pretending to be someone else for a night wearing masks and such. Wearing masks help people to lose their inhibitions and play harmless tricks on people, or get treats.

But with the ongoing anti-government protests where the government has a controversial mask ban in place, Halloween is going to be pathetic this year.

The annual Halloween Fest at Ocean Park is cancelled

Ocean Park has cancelled its big annual Halloween Fest that was planned for tomorrow, and the MTR will have trains running until 11pm, but Prince Edward station will close at 2pm, while Central will close at 9pm -- just when the reveling gets started in Lan Kwai Fong.

The police have planned to have 3,000 officers stationed on Hong Kong Island, complete with three water cannons and god knows how many canisters of tear gas. And of course there will be lots of police at the Chief Executive's Office in Tamar, and at the liaison office in Sai Ying Pun.

Protesters are calling for a march from Victoria Park to Lan Kwai Fong, and the dress code is for participants to wear face masks of government officials. That in itself is amusing.

Will we see scenes like this tomorrow night?

But alas the police are taking no chances and may plan to install road blocks in Tin Hau, Causeway Bay, Wan Chai, Admiralty and Central.

"Members of the public should avoid traveling to concerned areas when public disorder occurs. Police may also close some roads if necessary," the police said in a statement.

We'll have to see what tomorrow brings...

Protesters Mourn Hong Kong

Tens of thousands of people braved the heat and smog to march today

Today was supposed to be deadline day to clear out the protesters so that President Xi Jinping could have a flawless celebration of the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. And for the most part it was -- the soldiers stepping perfectly in time -- even practicing standing for two hours and only blinking 40 seconds at a time. Xi pulled out all the military hardware and people in the parade waved wildly towards the rostrum.

This contrasted with jubilant celebrations in Beijing

But the patriotic celebrations up north did not reverberate down south. Instead protesters marked the anniversary with a funeral theme, wearing black and throwing lots of "hell money" that is usually burned to give to ancestors in the afterlife.

And then around 4pm, what we all feared the most happened -- a Hong Kong police officer shot an 18-year-old this afternoon in Tsuen Wan during a series of violent protests all over the city. Following surgery, the male student is said to be in critical condition and this incident has further inflamed protesters and the public about how the police force have handled 17 weeks of protests.

A week ago during a town hall meeting, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said it was remarkable that no one had been killed -- it was her way of pointing out the police had shown great restraint towards the protesters compared to elsewhere in the world.

The moment a student was shot by a police officer

However just moments before the shooting, the protester swung a thin metal rod at a police officer who retaliated by shooting a live round at close range, apparently out of self defense. The student fell to the ground and felt his chest hurt and asked for an ambulance. As of 10.20pm, there are reports saying bullet fragments have been removed from his lung where he was shot, just 3cm from his heart.

While his condition is not life threatening, the police have a lot to answer for this dramatic escalation. Police senior superintendent Yolanda Yu commented on the incident, saying the officer shot the live round to "save his life and his colleagues' lives".

She doesn't even relay the facts properly, only saying the 18-year-old was shot in "the left shoulder area", as if to play down the seriousness of the incident, but goes on to say how the protesters are rioters rampaging over the city.

Water cannons shooting water with blue dye at protesters

How is this all going to end?

The annual October 1 march was banned by the police yesterday, and in the hopes of further mitigating the situation, the MTR shut down a number of stations to try to prevent people from assembling. However, tens of thousands of people showed up at East Point Road in Causeway Bay before 1pm and led by some pan-democrats, defied the police and marched down Hennessy Road all the way to Chater Garden in Central.

While that march was peaceful, along with a few eggs pelted at a large portrait of Xi, a smaller number of protesters began heading towards Western district where the liaison office is, but a large group of riot police armed with a water cannon were there to greet them.

Running battles ensued from Central to Wan Chai and Causeway Bay, while others were in Sha Tin, Wong Tai Sin, Sham Shui Po and Tsuen Wan, where the student got shot. Over 180 people were arrested and will be charged with rioting. If convicted, they could be sentenced for up to 10 years in jail.

Carrie Lam on the Tiananmen rostrum enjoying herself

Meanwhile earlier in the day Lam was seen enjoying herself during the 70th anniversary parade in Beijing, but strangely wearing a green round-neck top and tweed blazer, when every other senior leader was sporting a red tie.

Was her not being in Hong Kong a signal that the police could have their way with the protesters? The violent confrontations were also dangerous for reporters and in the evening, some media outlets like RTHK decided to pull back their reporters.

This is not good for freedom of the press -- the police must be held accountable for their actions and this can only be done by reporters on the ground. But as the situation becomes more hairy, how can they do their jobs relatively safely?

Protesters throwing "hell money" to mourn the loss of HK

Too many questions, and not enough answers. Will Lam hold another town hall meeting to engage with Hong Kong residents? Will the police own up to its brutal tactics? Meanwhile more MTR stations have been trashed, along with apparently pro-Beijing shops and restaurants, entire shopping malls shut down, bringing the city to a halt.

There needs to be reconciliation, not just dialogue, Carrie. Withdrawing the extradition bill is not enough to satisfy the protesters... or you haven't figured that out yet?

79 Days

Last night protesters fought police around parts of Kowloon

Today is the 79th day of protests starting from June 9 when 1 million people came out to protest against the then proposed extradition bill.

That is the same number of days the Occupy Protests, or Umbrella Movement back in 2014.

Five years ago several main roads were shut down in Admiralty, Central, Causeway Bay and Mongkok for 79 days straight. Now it's every weekend and the odd weekday where traffic is temporarily suspended, the protesters constantly on the move all over the city.

Many have suffered health effects from too much tear gas

This evening two people who call themselves frontline protesters gave a press conference in Chinese and English so there was no mistaking their message.

One of them was a man, Mr Chan, who spoke in Cantonese and was translated by a Miss Wong. Both were covered up with a helmet, goggles and face mask and even gloves.

The man gave a bit of insight into what it's like to be a frontline protester. He talked about how paranoia set in when they discovered some black-clad people were actually undercover police.

There was one incident where he and his friend were accused of being spies and were beaten by some other protesters. But the matter was soon cleared up and both sides reconciled.

"We cannot deny that the pervasive neurosis of catching spies has sown distrust, and has to a certain extent, driven a wedge between not only frontliners, but between frontliners and other citizens. We do not want spy catching to become an epidemic. Frontline protesters are themselves citizens. And if citizens begin to fight among themselves, the anti-extradition movement will be over," Chan says in a prepared speech as Wong translated.

The protesters question why the police were not in Yuen Long

"Infighting between citizens has only produced one winner -- the politicians and the government," he continues. "Infighting between protesters will spell the death of the movement. Infighting between citizens will spell the death of Hong Kong itself. We cannot allow the Hong Kong and Chinese governments to succeed in their divide and conquer strategy."

He questions why the police did not infiltrate the triads when there were already early warnings something may happen in Yuen Long on July 21 and in Tsuen Wan North Point as well.

"Why are the police shooting at the heads of pro-democracy protesters with rifles yet readily seen sharing drinks with white-clad terrorists on park benches? The situation we find ourselves in is absurd," Chan says.

They say Carrie Lam ignored pleas to keep Queens Pier...

"The police and the government aren't even trying to hide their affinity with the triads. The collusion between them is both seamless and shameless. As a frontliner we are always at the front line of battle and always the last to bow out of them."

Chan went on to describe the effects of tear gas on his health. Despite washing his clothes and showering, he still smells or believe he smells tear gas, and suffers from diarrhea, dry mouth, sore throat and rashes on the skin.

These protesters do not think Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is sincere at all, remembering she did not listen to the people when they protested in 2007 about the demolition of Queen's Pier to make way for Central reclamation, as well as "Wedding Card Street" in 2005 that has now become a luxury residential project in Wan Chai with shops and restaurants.

... and Wedding Card Street in Wan Chai

"These [Queen's Pier and Wedding Card Street] were both demolished behind Hongkongers' backs, causing irreparable damage, irreparable damage to Hong Kong's heritage. All but one of the student leaders in the 2014 Umbrella Revolution were imprisoned after accepting her offers for dialogue.

"Her government specializes in spreading white terror, whether it be through AI surveillance lamp posts, or police pretending to be protesters. But we will not allow to let this government to succeed in encouraging infighting, betrayal.. within ourselves. We hope Hongkongers will continue to stand up to our mistreatment by maintaining a unified and undivided voice."

One reporter asked Chan about his biggest concern. Other than admitting he was scared, Chan said the biggest problem he faced was his family, who he described as very "blue" or pro-police. They believe protesters are paid to go out to demonstrate, but even if he tries to explain this is false, they do not accept it so he would rather not talk about it at all.

Students debated the government during the 2014 protests

So these young people are very clear minded and do not trust Lam or Beijing at all. They believe her offers for dialogue are just a ruse after having seen what happened after the Occupy protests. They do not want to fall into the same trap.

These protesters are literally willing to die for their cause. A friend who is goes to most of the violent protests to monitor the young people says these young people are completely fearless.

Does Lam know what she is up against? It's been 79 days and these protesters are far from giving up.

Carrie Lam on Repeat

Carrie Lam reappears after two weeks to repeat what she said before...

This morning Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor came out of hiding for the past two weeks and held a press conference and said -- nothing new.

Peaceful general strike rallies were held in areas like Admiralty

She claimed the protesters were now calling for revolution and to liberate Hong Kong. "These actions are beyond their original political demands. These actions challenged national sovereignty. They threatened 'one country, two systems' and would destroy the city's prosperity and stability."

This is not true. The protesters continue to reiterate their five demands, including that Lam withdraw the extradition bill and set up an independent inquiry on how police have handled protesters.

In English Lam added: "Such extensive disruptions in the name of certain demands or uncooperative movement have seriously undermined Hong Kong's law and order and are pushing our city, the city we all love and many of us helped to build, to the verge of a very dangerous situation."

In addition, she said she would not resign, and Lam did not present any solutions moving forward, basically maintaining the same stance as before, painting the protesters as extremists and standing by the police force in maintaining what she claimed was law and order.

Instructions for tear gas says: "Do not fire directly at persons"

Again the entire population of Hong Kong was angry that she did not offer any new ideas or solutions, that it was just as well a lot of people went on a general strike today.

And at first it was relatively peaceful. There were disruptions on the MTR and for the most part people were patient, though some commuters were really angry. The same could be said at the airport where some 250 flights were cancelled. Then at 1pm there were some seven locations for people to gather in Hong Kong to demonstrate their frustration to the government.

There were massive turnouts in Admiralty and Sha Tin, but soon attention was turned to Tin Shui Wai, Tai Po, Kwun Tong, Causeway Bay and Tseung Kwan O. Police seemed to have no qualms firing endless rounds of tear gas at protesters in four different districts.

When reporters picked up the discharged tear gas tubes from the United States, the directions explicitly say that they should not be shot AT people but ABOVE them, which is not at all what the police have been doing these past two months.

A lot of tear gas was fired on Tin Shui Wai today

And the police claimed today they have fired 1,000 rounds of tear gas since June 9. Is that for sure? It could be many more than that. Meanwhile over 500 people have been arrested so far ranging in ages from 14 to 76.

Then tonight in North Point, men with long bamboo sticks began attacking protesters and a fight ensured on the street. Where were the police again? The men with sticks were outnumbered and eventually retreated, but not without shocking images of them hitting people with rage.

See Carrie, look what you've done! You didn't offer any solutions so the violence has further escalated.

Watching this all unfold all day was shocking and scary. But it's really all her fault and Beijing offers no other way out except to continue to fire tear gas and pepper spray at people, protesters and innocent victims alike.

A violent mob scene in North Point this evening

Most people are still on the side of the protesters because they see the inaction of the government as completely unacceptable. So the rage continues.

When Lam was asked at the press conference if she would resign, she replied: 

"In such a dangerous situation, when we're talking about Hong Kong's future and stability, when the well-being of 7 million people faces huge challenges, this is no longer about my personal honour. My colleagues and I have the responsibility to stand fast to our positions. And we hope to restore social order as early as possible."

So the answer is no. Reporters tried to ask more questions of accountability, but she and eight of her ministers left. So much for claiming to listen to people's concerns.

Does this mean Lam goes back in hiding for another two weeks? Some sarcastically say that she's been on strike for two weeks...

Just after 6pm, this is what the Causeway Bay MTR looked like

This evening I had dinner plans and cancelled them by late afternoon. And then I went home early, and saw all the stores had shut early, leaving the usually bustling shopping district of Causeway Bay very quiet. Even the MTR station had hardly anyone.

Is this how you want to kill Hong Kong's economy, Carrie? The Hang Seng Index lost 777 points. Ironically it's the same number of votes that got you this chief executive job.

Time to show some leadership. Carrie? Carrie?

Another Protest, Another Conflict

Some 430,000 people participated in the (peaceful) march on Sunday

Every Sunday it's the same thing -- a peaceful march followed by ugly confrontations between a group of protesters and the police.

This afternoon hundreds of thousands of people gathered at Victoria Park for yet another march calling for Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to withdraw the bill and set up an independent commission into alleged police brutality. This time the dress code was any colour, but the vast majority of people were in black.

"Hong Kong add oil" in yellow balloons

We were told the finish would be at Southern Playground in Wan Chai, and there was speculation that perhaps the police were itching for a fight and that protesters would go to the police headquarters a few blocks away.

In any event, the march got underway at 3.30pm, but it took us over an hour just to get out of Victoria Park. In that time at least four people passed out and marchers signaled for first aid, and even made space for them to rush over. Standing around in 32 degree heat and high humidity shows protesters aren't doing this for fun -- this is hard work!

At times we had to walk backwards too, which was a first in a protest march, possibly because of people fainting here and there. Almost two hours later we were by the Regal Hong Kong Hotel, and then just after two hours by Sogo.

It was here that we saw Ken Tsang Kin-chiu on a bullhorn telling marchers they could walk faster on Lockhart Road and he was with Cardinal Zen who was giving everyone the thumbs up. All along the way there were no police in sight to ensure we were keeping in line.

People leaving messages of support all over the march route

With some people going to Lockhart Road, we could finally walk at a slightly faster pace, though it was not without its stops and starts. When things got quiet, someone would show "Hongkongers!" and others replied "Add oil!", or "Carrie Lam!" and "Resign!" That would energize the crowd for a while and then later on towards Admiralty Christians were singing "Sing Hallelujah", another protest song...

Overall the atmosphere was good, young and old, we all braved the heat to march. By the time we got to Southern Playground we could see one protester shouting he had masks, hinting it was for people who wanted to go to the police headquarters.

We decided to march all the way to the Court of Final Appeal, the original end point for the march, but we could see other people heading to the Legislative Council, also with masks. After three hours and 48 minutes we finally made it to Central and my legs were tired to say the least.

Protesters deface the sign in front of the liaison office

After coming home I saw on Twitter that protesters had gone to the liaison office in Sai Ying Pun and no police were there to guard the building. Naturally the protesters took the opportunity to deface it, including calling President Xi Jinping a dog...

Then the police tried to clear them from the area, and moved them eastwards towards Central. However, things heated up again near Shun Tak Centre and Western Market and tear gas was thrown many times and possibly rubber bullets were fired as well.

In the meantime things got even uglier in Yuen Long MTR station where people in white with sticks were attacking anyone in black, who they assumed to be protesters. What was even scarier was that there were no police in sight, leaving many people, including families with young children frightened and shocked to be caught in the mess.

Police fire tear gas at protesters in Sheung Wan this evening

Only in the last few minutes (around 11.15pm) did the police arrive (all 12 of them), after the thugs (possibly triads?) left. To some it seemed like the whole incident was planned and are demanding answers from the police, who are telling commuters to just go home. How about some answers?

It's all very confusing and there will be more talk tomorrow. But in the meantime it seems now (11.30pm) that protesters have decided to call it a day in Sheung Wan.

How can Hong Kong continue to sustain these protest marches and violent incidents week after week? This is not the city we know and love anymore and it is the government that has to be accountable for this mess and get us out of it. However, Carrie Lam has been completely silent about it and the longer she doesn't say anything, the more this will continue...

The Tireless Lion Rock Spirit

There are hundreds of people in Sha Tin chanting for Sun Hung Kai to explain

Tensions are still simmering in New Town Plaza in Sha Tin tonight, the site of the pitched battles between protesters and the police. This evening there are crowds of people gathered in the same spot shouting, "Sun Hung Kai explain!"

They rightly or wrongly believe the developer that owns the mall may have called the police in on Sunday evening, which created a lot of chaos and violence. The mall has reiterated twice in written statements that it did not call the police to come in.

Nevertheless, residents are demanding answers and apparently will continue chanting this message everyday until they get one.

This booth and several others will be inundated by protesters

People are very angry, tired and frustrated. But most of all they want to be listened to and Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is completely ignoring them after she claimed she would work harder to engage the community.

In the meantime there are so many activities going on -- I had to ask a colleague what was happening and this person gave me a long verbal list of what was happening where. It's pretty amazing.

Tomorrow should be interesting -- it is the start of the Hong Kong Book Fair -- known for its massive lines because parents want to snap up books for their children to read during their summer break.

However, protesters will be targeting booths run by a mainland publisher, Sino United Publishing. It is state-owned and is controlled by Beijing's liaison office in Hong Kong, and is the largest publishing group in the city that controls as much as 90 percent of the book retail business through its subsidiaries, Joint Publishing, Chung Hwa Book and Commercial Press.

Will a Lennon Wall be started at the Hong Kong Book Fair?

Some tactics that protesters discussed online include setting up a "Lennon Wall", which are a collage of messages written by people that have sprouted all over the city; besieging booths by standing there and reading, and protest talks given by pro-Beijing writers.

And surprise surprise -- Hong Kong's leader won't be attending the opening of the event -- the first time in three years.

Meanwhile there will be more events this week, including tomorrow when seniors who will be marching from Chater Garden in Central to government headquarters in Admiralty, and on Sunday, Civil Rights Front will have a rally in Admiralty calling for an independent inquiry on police actions during protests.

This coming weekend there will also be marches held in Hung Hom, Western and Tseung Kwan O.

Summer this year has hardly been quiet. It's a pretty schizophrenic situation -- there are violent clashes on the weekends, but come Monday morning everything is civilized again until Friday evening. If anything this Hong Kong spirit is indefatigable!

More Chaos in Sha Tin

There were battles between protesters and police in New Town Plaza tonight

Today is the 230th anniversary of the storming of Bastille in Paris, which is France's national day. Meanwhile tonight halfway around the world, some Hongkongers are currently pitched in a flight with police in riot gear in a shopping mall in Sha Tin in the New Territories.

As I write this, protesters against the extradition bill are throwing umbrellas and helmets at the police with shields in the mall -- a place where families usually spend their weekends to go shopping and have meals. But now it's a battleground and it is looking uglier by the minute.

Earlier this afternoon around 3pm the protest march started from Tai Wai to Sha Tin, and for the most part was peaceful, but afterwards some marchers refused to leave and began occupying streets. The police then moved in on three sides, which resulted in the protesters retreating to New Town Plaza and the ensuing battles within the mall, startling shoppers.

Some 28,000 people came out to protest in Sha Tin

On Twitter there were video clips of police in riot gear in a residential area above the shopping mall and the angry residents there demanded the police leave. "If you go away then everything will be fine! Just leave!" one woman shouted at them. Did the police think they were harbouring protesters? In any event the police eventually retreated the cheers (and jeers) of the residents.

Now at 10.45pm protesters are trying to leave Sha Tin on any train they can get on to escape from the police. It's just another chaotic protest day in Hong Kong.

When will it end? Surely the police are going to have enosugh of the pitched battles with protesters and tell Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor that they can't continue like this week after week?

Meanwhile the Financial Times is reporting that Lam tried to resign several times after the extradition bill fiasco but was ordered by Beijing to stay on to fix the mess that she created. "No one else can clean up the mess and no one else wants the job," said one source close to the situation.

At Tamar in Admiralty, journalists protested police violence

We knew that, but the reasoning is interesting. Beijing seems to want to leave Lam high and dry. How benevolent the motherland is...

Tonight's tense flare-ups are in total contrast to this morning when organizers said 1,000 (but seemed more like more than 2,000) journalists, photo-journalists, journalism instructors and freelancers showed up at a silent march starting from Admiralty's Harcourt Garden to the police headquarters next door.

People on buses took pictures as journalists marched in black to the police station in Wan Chai and showed their press passes. Then the marching continued around the Legislative Council, which is currently boarded up.

It's rare for journalists in Hong Kong to protest, but the treatment they have gotten from the police, especially since June 12 when they were pepper sprayed and attacked, it was time to stand up and formally protest.

Some marchers showed examples of violence against media

But tonight's mess is yet another reason for Lam to finally say the w-word (withdraw) and to call for an independent investigation into alleged police brutality against protesters. Keeping quiet is just going to lead to another protest this coming Sunday...