,
23 tweets,
11 min read
Read on Twitter
1. Another Sunday, another massive protest in Hong Kong. A thread with what I saw and a few observations. #HongKongProtests #antiELAB
2. It was in Sha Tin in the New Territories, far from the areas where the previous protests happened. Again, a cross-section of people and it was peaceful. There were also some familiar faces, including Grandma Wong who is waving the British flag. (see previous thread) 
3. One protester told me that they came out here because they want to bring the protest to the people. And as the rally snaked through the streets, there were banks of people on the bridges above cheering them on.
4. The goals have not changed - they include the full withdrawal of a controversial extradition bill and an investigation into police violence handling previous protests.
5. A real focus of the anger remains chief executive Carrie Lam, who has said consistently the bill was her idea. She has suspended the proposed law and said it is ‘dead’ but that hasn’t been enough for the protesters, who have absolutely no trust in her. ft.com/content/eed3e4…
6. As @FT has reported, she has offered to quit only for Beijing to reject it. China says she ‘has to stay to clean up the mess she created’. ft.com/content/e646db…
7. Back to Sunday. The protesters and the police settled into a tense stand-of, blocking a road and setting up about 40-50 metres apart.
8. Everyone seemed to be waiting and preparing, with lots of barrier building. One member of LegCo, Hong Kong’s de facto parliament, tried to calm things down by shuttling between the police and the protesters.
9. There were also some curious onlookers, such as this bunch who had been sunning themselves at the local swimming pool.
10. By about 8-8:30, it looked like things were winding down. The protesters were leaving, without needing to use their shields (not sure how effective this one would be) and leaving behind a pile of cling film boxes (protesters put this on their arms to ward off pepper spray).
11. But as people started moving towards the metro station, things started to get a little hairy. My colleague @nicolle_liu reported that some protesters threw bricks and plastic water bottles from those bridges I showed earlier at the police.
12. As the protesters started streaming through a shopping mall to the MTR station, things became tense again. The police set up lines inside the mall. Some protesters were seething with anger, shouting and giving police the finger.
13. And then it kicked off. It is unclear exactly what started it. From where I was standing, things were thrown at the police - umbrellas, bottles - and they responded with pepper spray and batons.
14. They also tackled some protesters aggressively and made about 40 arrests, binding people’s’ hands in plastic handcuffs and carrying them off.
15. I’m not sure the police helped matters by lining up as they did. But I’m also not sure what the protesters (a small number, not the majority) achieve by throwing stuff at them. Presumably it gives them a reason to hit back.
16. Meanwhile, this guy didn’t read @Dimi’s scoop that Hong Kong is a bargaining chip for Trump in negotiating a trade deal. ft.com/content/3ef12a…
17. And in an example of the surreal nature of this all, near the Apple Store in another part of the mall, all was calm.
18. Eventually, things did calm down and the protesters got on to their trains as riot police cleared floors and blocked some exit points.
19. This was the view the day after - spotless and you wouldn’t have known what had happened the night before. This is the place from which I filmed the fights. All of the debris was cleared, the floors were clean and the shopping had resumed.
20. What next? An impossible question but we know a few things. These protests will carry on, with another set for next weekend. The anger is deep and the majority of protests are peaceful. But towards the end of the rallies, a small group is willing to go to extreme lengths.
21. The police are also on edge judging by what happened yesterday and last week. One of them started shouting back at the protesters until his colleagues calmed him down. They must be losing patience.
22. Lam has tried to resign but even if she succeeded, would it be enough? If Beijing won’t even let her quit, what is its plan? Maybe China is as confused as the rest of us.
23. I suspect we are in for far more turmoil before any of the answers become clearer or resolved. This was the Lennon Wall outside Sha Tin. The messages backing the protests are still coming.
