🔴 HKFP_Live: Protesters march from Kwun Tong to Kowloon Bay to protest the extradition bill and the installation of “smart lampposts”: facebook.com/hongkongfp/vid…
Kwun Tong’s Tsun Yip Street Playground is filled with protesters on Saturday afternoon despite the closure of four MTR stations in the vicinity following Chinese pressure.
Nick, a 23-year-old graphic designer, told HKFP that opposition to the introduction of smart lampposts in Kwun Tong is compounded by the public's lack of trust in the government: "We are fine as we are, what's the point in these lampposts?"
It is almost 34 degrees Celsius in Kwun Tong Saturday afternoon. Hydration stations serving water, tea and other beverages have been set up along the march route.
The smart lampposts — which have sensors, data connectivity and cameras — in Kwun Tong as part of a pilot scheme. Activists have cited privacy concerns.
Protesters are playing a looped audio clip of Chief Executive Carrie Lam saying jailed activist Edward Leung's slogan "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" on a loudspeaker.
At 4pm, protesters dismantled with tolls and felled one “smart lamppost” — with sensory, data connection and camera capacities — on Wang Chiu Road, Kowloon Bay. Activists have raised privacy concerns over them.
In a press release, police explained their firing of tear gas and dispersal operation due to the building of barricades and destruction of “smart lampposts”.
The time of the letter of no objection for the rally at Kowloon Bay is meant to end at 7pm, however.
Crowds have scattered off the streets of Kowloon Bay towards Telford Plaza after quick firing of tear gas and advances by riot police.
Scenes as police fired tear gas and rushed forwards to clear and arrest protesters in Kowloon Bay. Protesters threw objects such as bamboo and bricks back at the police.
As the police’s special tactical unit - the “raptors” appeared at the platform outside the Telford Plaza mall, some protester used a fire hose to wet the floor and disperse the smell of tear gas.
According to Stand News, medics say a person was shot by a suspected rubber bullet in the left eye during the police’s clearance operation on Saturday afternoon.
A medic had earlier been shot in the right eye on August 11.
Tear gas was fired along Wai Yip Street again at 6:30pm Saturday, as police sought to clear the second round of makeshift barriers erected by protesters.
@SiuSinGallery More scenes from Saturday evening as Kowloon Bay protesters prepare makeshift barricades and bricks to throw at police when they charge.
@SiuSinGallery Earlier in Kwun Tong, #HongKong demonstrators deviated from the original protest anthem, "Sing Hallelujah to the Lord," & played rap song "Fuck the Popo, Fuck Your Mother" on repeat from a loudspeaker on Wai Yip Street.
2/ Hongkongers who travel to 30 European countries including France and Germany will need to apply for prior authorisation from the first half of next year, the EU has said.
3/ The new policy requires visitors to Europe from 59 currently visa-exempt countries or territories, including Hong Kong and Macau, to apply online for the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) ahead of their trips.
1/ Exclusive: The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has not arranged an election study tour to Taiwan this year, despite running previous trips to witness the self-ruled island’s presidential and parliamentary polls.
2/ The university cited periodic “changes in destinations.” However, a source told HKFP that manpower shortage, as well as politics, were among the considerations.
Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
3/ A source at the Centre of Development and Resources for Students said they were unaware of any direct pressure, but that they felt they should be "careful in this kind of political atmosphere."
1/ Facebook group Free Food Flow, which facilitates food swaps between Hongkongers, began as a university project 10 years ago. It now has more than 60,000 members.
2/ Members donate food items - including homemade cakes, leftovers, pre-packaged snacks, takeaway food from fast food chains that people could not collect in time, even one single apple - for others to collect.
3/ Food waste accounted for 30 per cent of all municipal solid waste dumped in the city’s landfills in 2021, according to the Environmental Protection Department. That is an average of 3,437 tonnes of food waste per day.
2/ Small instant-photography stalls have long been part of the vibrant scene at Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade, frequented by tourists – and sometimes locals – who want high-resolution snapshots of themselves against Hong Kong’s iconic skyline and Victoria Harbour.
3/ But the government recently stopped issuing licences to photographers offering such services outside the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, meaning all those operating there must now do so unofficially.
2/ Hong Kong's Covid-19 face mask mandate was in place for more than 2.5 years, leaving some young children with no memory of life without masks.
3/ “Masks have become a part of them. It will take time for them to get used to life without masks,” kindergarten principal Reann Lau told HKFP, “especially the younger ones.”
Chow Hang-tung, Tang Ngok-kwan and Tsui Hon-kwong appeared on Saturday at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts in front of designated national security judge, Principal Magistrate Peter Law. They now face up to six months in jail and a HK$100,000 fine. hongkongfp.com/2023/03/04/bre…
At next Sat's sentencing, the trio face up to six months in jail and a HK$100k fine.
Principal Magistrate Peter Law ruled that the notice issued by police was legal, & that only the info at the point when the police chief made his decision was relevant to the matter of legality.