Sorry about the radio silence. We had a great hotel in Hong Kong but the bed was hard and small and I never slept more than 4 hours every night. The upshot was that I walked around in a bit of a daze and wasn’t motivated to take many photos. Then in Sydney the jet lag upped even more and again I wasn’t inspired to take many images. Finally we get to Kangeroo Valley, one of our favourite places, we finally get over the jet lag and we don’t have access to wifi except on my phone which I have to conserve for google maps, Whatsapp and emails.
Finally, the only cafe in the village with wifi opened up today (only open on weekends) and it was with great relief that I can finally catchup.
If you aren’t interested in politics, skip the rest of this post.
Just a bit about the riots in HK. We arrived on the Sunday, which was the day of the local elections. We were rather worried that all hell may break loose. However, it was totally peaceful and they had a record turnout and support for the Pan Democratic Party (the yellows). This peace lasted virtually the entire 5 days we were there and all the roads, tunnels and trains were working. With a million less mainland Chinese visitors, absolutely perfect sunny days of around 23 degrees C and uninterrupted transport, we could not have asked for better.
It was fascinating to hear everybody’s point of view with regard to the protests. One thing for sure is that you don’t want to be caught up in the tear gas. It really is extremely unpleasant.
Here are some points that everybody agrees with:
1. It has been very disruptive to everybody and many people have lost earnings because of it. All my 3 friends have.
2. The police have been incompetent but mainly because crime is almost non-existent and they are not prepared for these riots or have the right training. They usually spend their time issuing parking tickets and directing tourists. Now, even desktop staff have to go out and fight the crowds.
3. Carrie Lam, the Chief Executive of the HK, and a puppet of China has been so incompetent it’s scary and can be blamed for how badly the whole thing has been managed.
4. Whether you are for or against the riots, everybody is resigned to the fact that China is unlikely to change it’s stance.
5. Everybody has been shocked by the extent of the violence and wanton damage even those who are for it.
6. Many families are torn apart with some supporting the yellows and others the blues (whose who do not support the Pan Democratics). I think there will be an exodus of Hong Kongers. Many of them have passports for Australia, Canada, the UK and Britain.
Varied Views:
1. Some people think the violence is totally unnecessary but one of my friends was caught up in a peaceful demonstration on her way to her studio and she said that people were milling around peacefully and the police chucked tear gas into the crowd unnecessarily. This has caused a lot of anger. Personally I think the police have been too heavy handed in many cases but ineffective when control is really needed.
2. There is evidence that many of the protesters are being paid significant sums of money to up the violence. The protests are driven by social media and none of my friends knows who is behind the violence! It might be people/countries wanting to destabilise China. Personally I wonder who is really behind the extreme violence. It’s a worrying age when people can be influenced by outside forces.
Personally I think peaceful demonstrations are totally justified and some violence inevitable. Hong Kongers know they will lose the freedom of speech they have. However, some of the violence like smashing a shopping mall to smitherens really can’t be justified.