Written by Gigi…

In most western media, coverage about the ongoing Hong Kong protests are often focus on the massive crowds, peaceful protesters mixed in with aggressive ones, while police puts up barricades, fires tear gas and rubber bullets. So far, the multi-week saga has little impact to our family’s daily lives as “expats”. Naomi started school today, we are organizing and decorating the apartment, trying out new restaurants, visiting churches, and so on…

A bit of background… About 10 weeks ago, 2 million people marched against the extradition law (that is almost 30% of the city’s population — talking about civic participation!), of which the government responded positively and “indefinitely postponed” the legislation. However, the unrest continues… and is escalating on both sides.

The other night, Naomi asked some good questions for the grown ups to reflect on, “Why are people still on the street if the government has back down and apologized about the bill?”, “Shouldn’t police be protecting the people as opposed to hurting people?” I see that Hong Kongers are furious and sadden about police brutality and very worried about Chinese government imposing stronger control and losing the freedom the city had enjoyed. On the other hand, the local government sees the events as “riots” and the central government is using terms like “foreign influence” and “terrorism” to describe the protests (seriously?). Since yesterday, the protesters have moved into the HK airport, with massive sit-in, forcing airlines to cancel flights.

The way things are, it’s unclear when and how this unrest will play out. Personally, I still have nightmare images from Tiananmen Square. We pray furiously for peaceful resolution. May this be a historic moment for the people of Hong Kong, and possibly the greater China.

Most protesters have 5 specific demands (starting from blue cycle going clockwise): 1) Investigate police brutality, 2) Abandon extradition legislation, 3) Pardon all offenses of protesters, 4) Rescind the “riot” classification, 5) Establish a “real” voting system.