Although Mong Kok’s Occupy site was ‘cleared’ in the early hours of yesterday morning, the streets were more congested than ever during the day. Having used trucks and chainsaws to demolish the central and surrounding areas of the student protests, police left only a narrow corridor on Nathan Road.
Sheltering from the heat
Northbound traffic was kept flowing, although reduced again to one lane, allowing a line of policemen to supervise protesters, who had taken to climbing the road barriers.
Protesters return with mics
The police action on Friday morning came as shock to people at the site. “Nobody knew the nightmare would come”, said local photographer Donald Chan.
A logistics worker in Kwai Fong, Derrick described the scene, “The told us they were not clearing [the site], only removing some obstacles but then actually they were just scaring people as they surrounded us and pushed us into smaller and smaller streets.”
Supplies are handed out
Occupied territory had stretched as far north as Bute Street and as far west as Reclamation Street, but throughout the day on Friday nothing along Argyle Street remained. Derrick claimed that during the morning’s clearing the police “did not use force”, in stark contrast to the events in the early hours of this morning when pepper spray was unleashed on the newly bolstered crowd and at least 26 demonstrators were arrested.
Donald, however, insisted that many protesters did not blame the police themselves for their actions, “They just do their job, follow orders; everybody knows that. They are not the target.”
Jack works on his dissertation
Later, I met Jack, an Open University student in Hong Kong who has decided to focus his dissertation in sociology on the student movement. Flashing me his yellow ribbon, he said “The most important thing is that you can have your own opinion but you should respect others’ ideals”.
Disgruntled citizen
As expected, the turnout rose exponentially as the day drew on. Unencumbered by the heat of the midday sun, citizens old and young came to participate or, as Jack put it, “to watch the show”. Many were sitting with friends, catching up on homework, or taking one of the yellow ribbon workshops that cropped up later in the day.
Police used metal barriers to restrict access and were interspersed along the road to keep the peace. Occasional passers by shouted “Ga Yau” (Add Oil), a turn of phrase roughly translated to mean “stay strong”, or started arguments with the nearest police officers.
Man talks of shame over police and government
One man in his 70s brought protesters to tears. He said he had witnessed everything the People’s Republic of China had done to its citizens and was ashamed of the response from local police. Another veteran echoed these remarks as Mong Kok regained the podium it had lost in the morning and microphones were reintroduced to the crowd. The man said that he’d protested in 1967 and that it had been perfectly “ordinary”, adding he is unsure as to why the police and state are so opposed to the current Occupy/student movements.
Veteran protester
Some were less enthused, with one elderly citizen asking the crowd “why are you protesting when everything is so stable?”, to which a demonstrater replied that the speaker’s house was still just as “stable” as ever, should he wish to return.
Captain America woos the crowd
At around 8:30pm, protesters descended on the area in their thousands, apparently mobilised on the massively popular Golden Forum. Clashes with police that involved pepper spray and multiple arrests lasted until dawn when authorities finally withdrew to cheers from the crowd.
Police and protesters clash throughout the night
Photos: Adrian O’Sullivan/ Coconuts Media, Luís Simões
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