Stuart McDouall, former Senior Superintendent of Hong Kong police, gives his views on the situation in Hong Kong over Christmas.
Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day were all marred by riots.
The South China Morning Post (SCMP) led with the headline ‘More than 300 arrested during Christmas chaos’, reporting ‘Anti-government protestors ended a third straight day of Christmas demonstrations and confrontations with police that led to 310 arrests, but vowed to return to the streets in force for a mass rally on 1 January to ring in the new year.’
The Government issued three statements on Christmas Eve in an attempt to deter illegal demonstrations and to reject media and activist accusations of state repression and police brutality. First up was the Hong Kong Police chief at an early morning impromptu press conference given in the embattled area of Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, as he visited tired policemen who had spent most of the night dispersing rioters. He urged the young demonstrators to give peace a chance, go home, spend the festive holidays with their families and make way for the rest of Hong Kong’s residents enjoy time with their loved ones. That message fell on deaf ears.
Later that same days the CE Carrie Lam and her security Chief broadcast appeals for calm, adding that refusal to enter into talks with government was a total derogation of social responsibility in a hopeless cycle of violence threatening the stability of Hong Kong and the lives of its people.
And that never-ending cycle continued with gatherings of the demonstrators, in their now traditional black garb and improvised body armour, gas masks and helmets, rucksacks packed with weaponry and wrecking equipment, emerging on the streets and in major shopping malls from about 2:00 pm onwards, shouting their slogans, waving banners for independence and freedom, pushing and shoving their way through throngs of people out with their families and friends. One or two inconvenienced bystanders voiced their dissent and paid the price by being assaulted. Wary and weary shopkeepers and some restaurants and cafes pull down their shutters. The newspapers are estimating that 3,000 small to medium enterprises have closed down, either temporarily with staff laid off, or permanently, some declaring bankruptcy, in the last six months.
And, on cue, the press, also wearing protective clothing, helmets and even gas masks, hurry to vantage points and conglomerate around any action. By this time the audience is growing quickly, also herding to places where they can safely watch the proceedings. Enter the police and the actors are all on stage. The play commences with the protestors obstructing police, embarking on destruction of public and private property, at which point they are legally defined as rioters and the police take action. In buildings they use pepper spray and batons against crowbars, bricks and handy missiles. As the police push the rioters out of the buildings into the streets, arresting some of them and pretend journalists and genuine members of the press aiding and abetting the rioters. In the skirmishes, running fights ensue with police deploying tear smoke and water canon to restore law and order.
On Christmas Eve, in a luxury shopping mall in Kowloon, a rioter beat a policeman to the ground, turned and fled in order to evade capture. But two officers pursued immediately and, cornering the culprit on a first floor balcony, the latter made the instant decision to leap the railing, jumping down to the ground floor. He landed badly, breaking a leg and suffering other injuries, fortunately not life threatening.
The same day, in Kowloon’s San Po Kong district, detectives, acting on information, raided a flat and arrested a student, seizing some sophisticated bomb making equipment including plastic explosives, radio/telephone ignition systems and casings designed to inflict injury. Christmas day and Boxing day saw more destruction, prizing the steel shutters of a branch of the HSBC, pouring in petrol and igniting it. They did the same to two MTR (tube) stations that, at the time of writing, remain closed for repairs.
I have been asked to comment on the views of the Church to a world, not just Hong Kong, torn apart with strife. One doesn’t need to look any further than the content of Christmas messages this year from church leaders.
On Christmas Day, in St John’s Cathedral, the Anglican Archbishop of the Church of Hong Kong and Macau presided over the morning service in which the Dean gave a sermon contrasting the socio-political scene surrounding the birth of Christ some 2,000 years ago and the troubles in Hong Kong, and in numerous countries around the world. In the former, Mary and Joseph were under stress, having to obey a Roman edict for a national census and travel many arduous miles to Bethlehem where Mary gave birth in a stable and then, the next day, being forced to flee to Egypt in order to escape King Herod’s massacre-of-the-innocents. In the latter, hatred, violence and the breakdown of law and order in Hong Kong. Neither of these two scenes bear any relationship to the joyous, peaceful festivities of family reunions, exchanging gifts and making merry over traditional feasts that we associate with Christmas today. And the Dean’s message was that Christ is in control, that there is hope and peace, through Him, for all mankind.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, preached that “…the language of hatred, tribalism, rivalry, materialism, pride, greed, and so many more…” are all too common among nations across the world, imbuing a sense of foreboding and hopelessness in the hearts of the many. He opined that we all must put aside worldly desires in favour of righteousness in order to bring about peace.
Pope Francis, in his Christmas Urbi et Orbi message from The Vatican, urged toleration for all, no matter what race, creed, colour or status; that the world-wide dispersion of refugees can be met with compassionate action both at source and by developed nations.
In a nod to Greta Thunberg’s popular movement for the protection of the environment, Her Majesty the Queen was struck by the sense of purpose in younger generations, making small steps, not giant leaps, to bring about lasting change in the world. She talked of an urgent need for peace and goodwill among mankind where we must “…come together in a spirit of friendship and reconciliation”.
The theme of all these messages echoes the stance of Christian Churches in Hong Kong towards the demonstrations of the last six months; neither for nor against any political party or protest movement. And that does not label the Church as being neutral either, for it stands strongly for God, for peace and love for all mankind.
My wife and I returned to our home in England at the end of last week – so this ends my series of personal reports from Hong Kong. Wishing you a peaceful and prosperous new year.
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