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Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

A Beatdown and a Blockade During Christmas in Hong Kong

As anticipated, there were large-scale protests yesterday in Hong Kong, and the protests continue today. I will post more about them later, including some of the ways they intermixed with the Christmas holiday spirit. For now, I will just share two photos I shared on Twitter recently along with the comments I made there.

I took the first photo not long before 2 a.m. this morning.

woman wearing a Santa cap looking at a man on the ground
Man grabs a young woman's breast.
Crowd beats man.
Man pretends to be unconscious to avoid more pain.
Hong Kong's top riot police arrive.

The incident in Mong Kok didn't appear to have any direct connection to the protests, except that the large number of protestors around probably meant a more intense response, both from the protestors and the police. There is much more I can say and share regarding what happened, and perhaps that will happen as it touches on a number of issues. I will add that the only obvious involvement by the police was chasing away protestors in the area which enabled an ambulance to safely take the man away. I was told the young woman didn't wish to formally report the man. She did not trust the police would handle the matter fairly, which says a lot about how some people in Hong Kong view the police these days.

The second photo was taken several hours later.

debris set by protestors to block Nathan Road
If you thought that the protests in Hong Kong would be over by 5am today, you'd be wrong.

The photo was taken at Nathan Road also in Mong Kok. This certainly isn't the most remarkable photo I took of the recent protests, especially since they were far more intense earlier. But the scene is notable because the protests appeared to be lasting longer into the morning than some other protests that occurred in Mong Kok during the past couple of months.

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Anticipating a Lively Christmas in Hong Kong

Compared to November, the protests in Hong Kong have been relatively calm lately. However, they continue, and there are signs they will soon intensify.

yellow Hong Kong protest signs with a Christmas theme


It could be a rather eventful Christmas in Hong Kong. 

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Photographing a Fisher and a Photographer at Victoria Harbour

He only had a line, yet he fished. He only had a camera, yet he photographed.


man photographing a fisher at Victoria Harbour
At Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Hong Kong Buses with The Force

Four years ago I shared photos of displays with a Christmas touch promoting the release of Disney's Star Wars: The Force Awakens at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai. I haven't seen anything as grandiose in Hong Kong for this year's release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Perhaps that is just because I haven't actively looked for anything. In any case, the best I can do now is to share photos of some of the buses I have seen in Hong Kong with advertising for the movie.

double-decker bus with advertising for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker


double-decker bus with advertising for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker


double-decker bus with advertising for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker


Given my previous interest in advertising on Hong Kong trams, I will keep an eye out for any Star Wars trams. No luck yet though.

Thursday, December 12, 2019

O Fortuna, the Wheel Brings Another Message

First there were ballerinas with umbrellas above "Free HK".  Then there was blackness. Now, there is a different message.

"Stop Police Cruelty" graffiti on pedestrian bridge to Central Piers with the Hong Kong Observation Wheel in the background


The "Stop Police Brutality" graffiti is on a number of beams on a pedestrian bridge connecting to the Central Piers in Hong Kong. In all of the examples I saw, they were placed directly on top of areas that had been painted black to cover previous graffiti.

two examples of "Stop Police Cruelty" graffiti on pedestrian bridge to Central Piers


It is now the predominant graffiti design on the bridge, though there is at least one example of partially symbolic graffiti expressing the protest slogan "Five Demands, Not One Less".

"Five Demands Not One Less" (using symbols) graffiti on pedestrian bridge to Central Piers with the Hong Kong Observation Wheel in the background


However, there appeared to be more examples of untouched painted-black areas than of recent graffiti. This is consistent with what I have seen in various parts of Hong Kong, whether Central, Tsing Yi, or Yau Tsim Mong. Newer protest graffiti, posters, and other forms of visible expression continue to replace older ones, but overall there is far less now compared to a few weeks ago.

And the wheel keeps turning . . . 

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

The Good Shop in Hong Kong

As one of Hong Kong's major shopping districts, you won't have problems finding a variety of items for sale in Causeway Bay. But if you simply want something good, there is a place on Lockhart Road to check out.

The Good Shop store in Hong Kong


On the day I passed, items ranging from maneki-neko (Japanese lucky cat) figurines to stuffed toy carrots to sim cards. Perhaps the selection will change in the future, but it should still be good.

Monday, December 9, 2019

The Large Size of Hong Kong's Latest Protest March Captured in Tweets

After six months of protests, yesterday hundreds of thousands of protestors attended one of Hong Kong's largest recent marches:
Demonstrators returned in force, packing city streets to denounce [China's leader Xi Jingping's] government, rail against police brutality and reiterate demands for greater civil liberties, including universal suffrage. They beat drums, sang protest anthems and chanted, “Fight for freedom.” Though the march was largely peaceful, some demonstrators vandalized shops and restaurants and lit a fire outside the high court.

“We want Hong Kong to continue being Hong Kong,” said Alice Wong, 24, a biology researcher who stood among protesters gathered at Victoria Park. “We don’t want to become like China.”

As many as 800,000 people attended the march, according to Civil Human Rights Front, an advocacy group that organized the gathering.

The mood at the march was relaxed, with people taking selfies against a backdrop of the vast crowds. Children, some dressed in black, marched with their parents, holding hands as they shouted, “Stand with Hong Kong!”

I had expected that I would now be able to share photographs I had taken at the march. Unfortunately, a painful foot sprain kept me away from it. So instead, below is a series of tweets by a variety of people presented in the order they were tweeted. A few tweets hint at other aspects of the rally, but mostly they help provide a sense of the large number of protestors and their intensity.


















Friday, December 6, 2019

Protecting the Traffic Control Boxes in Hong Kong

Several weeks ago around 3:30 A.M. on November 11, protestors lit an electrical traffic control box on fired on Nathan Road in Mong Kok, Hong Kong.



Many other traffic control boxes were decommissioned in one way or another during recent protests. This raises the question, "How does a city restore traffic control boxes while also not making them prone to similar repeat attacks?"

An attempt to address this question now exists at the intersection of Nathan Road with Kansu Street and Gascoigne Road in Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong.

traffic control box surrounded by secure bars in Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong

I didn't see any obvious way to open the barred protection. This may be a strike against usability, but that's probably the point.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Precariously Photographing in Hong Kong

I hope he got a fantastic photo. At least he didn't fall.

man leaning over a high ledge to take a photo


Later I'll share photos not featuring photographers from today's police-approved (until they decided otherwise in the middle of it) protest march in Hong Kong that began in Tsim Sha Tsui.