Dear Hong Kong, and the World (part 1)

This is an ongoing series analysing the recent riots in Hong Kong: its origins, the course of events, reactions to it, and its implications.

You might be aware of the riots that happened in Hong Kong yesterday night. If not, then long story short, there were riots in Hong Kong yesterday night. People threw bricks, lit fires. The police fired shots. On the first day of Chinese New Year, of all days.

On Facebook and other social media sites, news feeds have been lit up with terrifying images of police pointing guns at citizens, in a city where in 2011 there were just 17 homicides. I know that this is a scene all too prevalent in the United States and one that has caused so much debate, but then for such a law-abiding, civilised city such is a sight far and few between. There have been videos of citizens hurling trash cans, broken bricks, and paraphernalia at policemen, of reporters being brutally beaten by police, and attacked by citizens. Discussion feeds have rapidly arisen, in which the rioters and policemen have been glorified, vilified, and everything in between.

To be honest, I don’t even know why I decided to start writing this. Perhaps it’s too depressing, to see a city, that once knew how to protest so peacefully, slowly, surely descend into anarchy. But here I just hope to raise the level of discourse that we have seen on this matter in just over the space of a day, and hopefully provoke some thought on the matter. So I am writing this to all Hong Kong citizens who might happen to chance on this, to offer my own two cents, hopefully two rational, thought-through cents, on the topic so that we need not see a repeat of such events. But I am also writing this to the world at large, to signal that there are deep-rooted problems at play in this city that once was the success story of communism and capitalism working hand in hand, and so that the powers of the world may take notice and intervene before it’s all too late.

An essay on these most recent events could fill up an entire college dissertation, so I am going to be selective with my thoughts.

Beginning with the most obvious and (hopefully) uncontentious thoughts, rioting is not going to be in any way a viable means to an end. Their throwing of projectiles at the police (or individual policemen’s throwing back of projectiles at the protesters, which indeed did happen, and was caught on tape) is plain wrong. People can, and do die because of things like these, and these are serious affronts to personal integrity. I do not see how such attacks, so intensely personal and physical, can be ‘praised’ or justified in any single way. However much one is discontent about the government, or the police force as a whole, this does not justify your taking it out on any single individual officer, a person merely acting under orders and earning a paltry $2500 (HK$20000) a month.

With regards to (warning) shots fired by the police, one can definitely see how a policeman would ‘feel under attack or threat of serious harm’ which is typically the minimum threshold required for drawing out one’s weapon. There are definitely guidelines as to gun use by members of the police force, and this will have to be a matter for an internal investigation to resolve. Obviously, these two fateful shots would have played no small part in inciting the rioters further, but then its lawfulness is not something that we can easily comment on.

Here I pause now for lack of time and mental energy; I strive to be back with more thoughts as my day permits. But before I close, I would just like to note that I post this in anonymity so not to detract from discussion on the substantive content. It is in part a fear of a descent into personal attacks that have proved all too common on social media, but a fear, I hope you understand, so for a higher cause.