It was their collective response to the shocking mob violence by thugs at the town’s MTR railway station and the police failure to react to it, the week-end before.
The authorities had already declared the
march illegal, on public safety grounds but attendees were undeterred. Many joked,
saying they were just shopping, sightseeing, praying or on a Pokémon hunt.
“I am shopping for justice,” says Edward Ng
Ka-fung a quietly spoken IT consultant waiting in the shade of a municipal
building for the march to start. Ng says he has been on every recent protest
march with his wife but with this one declared illegal by the authorities and
with widespread fear of clashes with local villagers and Triad thugs, she has
stayed at home this time.
“I don’t want to get beaten up but I just
want to send the message that we not accept it (the violence of last
week-end),” he says as we set off with thousands of others down Castle Peak
Road, towards Yuen Long railway station. Many marchers wear hard hats, many
wear black masks and most carry umbrellas to shield them from the fierce
afternoon sun. There are young people, old people and I count at least three people in wheelchairs.
Yuen Long resembled one of those remote
cowboy towns in classic Hollywood Westerns. Shutters pulled down on shop
fronts, buses parked up and driverless at the bus station and shopping malls
deserted except for protesters enjoying the chilly air conditioning. Only
tumbleweed blowing down the street was missing from the scene.
The crowd had started gathering near the
sports stadium opposite Yuen Long police station, a large concrete compound
with conical watch towers on each corner like a fort. The cavalry who failed to
arrive last week-end at Yuen Long MTR station, were safe and secure inside.
As always, the march started peaceful and
orderly, despite the absence of any obvious leadership, the posters were witty
and the shouted slogans subversive.
“Har-geng-haw-zee,” was a popular chant,
meaning shame on the police.
Those attending made little or no reference
to the unpopular Extradition Bill which triggered the latest wave of mass
protests. Instead, they condemned what they see as police collusion with
criminals and they call for the “liberation of Hong Kong” from Beijing-backed
crony capitalism. In case you hadn’t noticed this is more than a protest now, it’s
a revolution; the hard hat revolution. A revolution of our times.
During a brief refreshment break, I am
approached by an “independent observer” from the Mainland, a euphemism for a
PLA spy. He tells me how Western governments are influencing events on the
streets. He speaks very polished English with a Beijing accent and says he is
an export businessman from Guangzhou, specializing in trailers. He has all the
sincerity of those scammers who hang around the Imperial Palace in Beijing and
invite tourists for a cup of coffee, so their daughter can practice her
language skills and then rip you off.
As he leaves, the hardcore protesters are
preparing to get “geared up” in alleys and side streets. A ripple of
spontaneous applause from bystanders greets one platoon of black-suited
activists in masks and hard hats and armed with metal poles, as they march past
purposefully.
It’s approaching party time in Yuen Long. As the main crowd surges in silence towards
the Yoho Mall which is adjoining the MTR station, it’s time to put a hard hat on, just in case.
