So sad to see this unraveling in one of my favourite (and one of the most unique) cities in the entire world (which I have visited dozens of time).
__________________
"Life of Russian hockey veterans is very hard," said Soviet hockey star Sergei Makarov. "Most of them don't have enough to eat these days. These old players are Russian legends."
My dad was just there for the past week visiting my grandma and some family and friends. He said it's really bad over there, and there are lot of unsafe areas and places you should stay away from.
I too am really sad to see this happen. I love Hong Kong, and has been my favorite place to visit all my life.
That video above in Vancouver angers me though, as the pro PCC youth are acting like thugs and bullies. There is nothing threatening about the Lennon wall, and they act like someone slapped their mother.
The law, the so-called Emergency Regulations Ordinance, offers the chief executive extensive legal authority to pass rules without having to go through the legislature. It was last used during deadly riots in 1967, when pro-Communist protesters railed against the British government that oversaw the city.
The video coming out of Hong Kong today is horrifying. Protestors are shooting arrows at cops and molatov cocktails. The Police have just issued a warning that they are going to go to lethal force and live bullets if the protestors don't back down.
Meanwhile Iran is burning and the security forces bought in to contain the protests are breaking down and fleeing on video.
__________________
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
The video coming out of Hong Kong today is horrifying. Protestors are shooting arrows at cops and molatov cocktails. The Police have just issued a warning that they are going to go to lethal force and live bullets if the protestors don't back down.
They've already used lethal force. The cops are the ones with all the heavy gear, the guns, the rifles. Using armoured cars to try to run over protestors and only turn back once a molotov cocktail storm rains down on them. ##### the Hong Kong Police, screw the Chines government and anyone standing with them. Especially the mainlanders in Vancouver and the rest of Canada spewing their bull####.
The police in HK is no longer just the HK police. Back in the summer China brought in another several thousand troops to the PLA barracks in downtown HK. They said it was just the regular annual rotation of troops in and out of HK, but the troops being rotated out never seemed to leave. During the protests there has since been increasing video evidence suggesting that Chinese military troops are dressed as HK police force to participate in crack downs.
Yesterday, the PLA openly came out of the barracks. They jogged around with a camera man following them as they went through a small crowd cheering for them, then proceeded to clean up some bricks left scattered on streets by protesters. A superficially positive gesture, but also an open violation of the law that will be seen as a threat and a step towards an open military crackdown.
The crackdowns on university campuses is also a significant escalation. The universities are the centers of free thought in HK. The first night of crackdowns at CUHK featured around 2,000 canisters of tear gas being fired.
At the same time, there have been increasing numbers of arrested protesters going missing and more and more young people ending up dead having fallen from tall buildings. Recently, protesters have taken to shouting out their names when being arrested so that their names can be recorded by journalists capturing the protests and so lawyers can try to track them after arrest. Numerous videos also show police covering their mouths and trying to block them shouting out during arrests.
The Chinese state media is also using increasingly harsh language for protesters, such as graphics and videos that refer to HK protesters as cockroaches and as garbage. They also continue to blame the protests on the US, saying it's just foreign influencers causing the trouble while HK people support the police.
There is zero trust in the police at this time in HK and no political solutions being worked on by the government. Even those demands that should not be difficult to meet have been ignored and the police, who are notably not politicians and don't have the tools to solve political issues, are the ones being left to deal with the public.
I don't support the violence in HK. Nonetheless, it's worth remembering that when this started a few months ago two million people took peacefully to the street, in a city of just 7+ million. The response was to leave the police to deal with the situation.
It is an outright disaster for everyone in HK. It's also an open refusal to recognize international agreement regarding the handover of HK and is an expression to everyone regionally that their Western alliances can't be counted on.
__________________
"If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?"
The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to JohnnyB For This Useful Post:
They've already used lethal force. The cops are the ones with all the heavy gear, the guns, the rifles. Using armoured cars to try to run over protestors and only turn back once a molotov cocktail storm rains down on them. ##### the Hong Kong Police, screw the Chines government and anyone standing with them. Especially the mainlanders in Vancouver and the rest of Canada spewing their bull####.
Yeah F that crap. Rioters trying to take the guns off police and attacking old people get zero sympathy. Setting people on fire?!? #### them. Screw anyone supporting these violent #######s.
Quote:
The video shows the man, who is already bleeding, walking away from the group as he shouts: “You are not Chinese”. They respond saying: “We are Hong Kongers”, before a shouted insult sees the man in green return to confront them, according to the South China Morning Post.
As the argument resumes, a person dressed in black and wearing a face mask runs up from behind the group of young people and douses the man in liquid, before setting it on fire with a lighter, video from behind the man in green shows. The assailant then appears to flee the scene.
Right now it's being reported that the police have trapped protesters inside PolyU. They apparently announced that they were providing a final chance for people to leave through one of the exits and that thereafter everyone inside, regardless of whether or not they were a journalist or a medic, would be arrested for rioting. Reports are also that the police just arrested those who came out anyways, including medics and some journalists. The police apparently are armed with live ammunition including military rifles. The students inside aren't likely to back down. I fear it will be a terrible 24 hours for HK. There are already scenes that look like a war zone.
__________________
"If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?"
Yeah F that crap. Rioters trying to take the guns off police and attacking old people get zero sympathy. Setting people on fire?!? #### them. Screw anyone supporting these violent #######s.
I don't think anyone likes violent protestors, but considering the government has refused reform in the face of peaceful protests and the police have become increasingly militant what choice do they have?
__________________
The masses of humanity have always had to surf.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to FireGilbert For This Useful Post: