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.
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.
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.