"Why Tango in Paris, when you can Foxtrot in Kowloon?"
  • Walter's Blog.
  • Home
  • Introduction
  • About Walter
    • 1980 Joining Up - Grafton Street >
      • Arrival and First Impressions
      • First Week
      • Training
      • Passing Out
    • Yaumati Cowboy >
      • Getting on the Streets
      • Tempo of the City
      • Jumpers, pill poppers and the indoor BBQ
      • Into a Minefield.
    • Why Tango in Paris, when you can Foxtrot in Kowloon? >
      • Baptism By Fire
      • Kai Tak with Mrs Thatcher.
      • Home; The Boy Returns
  • 1984 - 1986
    • PTU Instructor & Getting Hitched
    • Having a go: SDU
    • Starting a Chernobyl family
    • EOD - Don't touch anything
    • Semen Stains and the rules
  • 1987 to 1992 - Should I Stay or Go?
    • Blue Lights, Sirens & Grenades
    • Drugs, Broken Kids & A Plane Crash
    • 600 Happy Meals Please!
    • Hong Kong's Best Insurance
    • Riding the Iron Horse
  • Crime in Hong Kong
    • Falling Crime Rates - Why?
    • Triads
  • History of Hong Kong Policing
    • History 1841 to 1941
    • History 1945 to 1967
    • Anatomy of the 50 cent Riot - 1966
    • The Fall of a Commissioner.
    • History 1967 to 1980
    • Three Wise Men from the West
    • The Blue Berets.
    • The African Korps and other tribes.
    • Getting About - Transport.
    • A Pub in every station
    • Bullshit Bingo & Meetings
    • Godber - The one who nearly got away.
    • Uncle Ho
  • Top 20 Films
    • 2001 - A Space Odyssey.
    • The Godfather.
    • Blade Runner
    • Kes
    • Star Wars
    • Aliens
    • Ferris Bueller's Day Off
    • The Life of Brian
    • Dr Strangelove.
    • Infernal Affairs
    • Bridge on the River Kwai.
    • This Is Spinal Tap.
    • Chung King Express
    • An Officer and a Gentleman
    • PTU
    • Contact
    • Saving Private Ryan
    • Family Guy Star Wars
    • Zulu
    • Hard Day's Night
  • The Long Read
    • How The Walls Come Down
    • War in Ukraine - the narrative and other stuff.
    • The Hidden Leader
    • The Big Game
  • Walter's Blog.
  • Home
  • Introduction
  • About Walter
    • 1980 Joining Up - Grafton Street >
      • Arrival and First Impressions
      • First Week
      • Training
      • Passing Out
    • Yaumati Cowboy >
      • Getting on the Streets
      • Tempo of the City
      • Jumpers, pill poppers and the indoor BBQ
      • Into a Minefield.
    • Why Tango in Paris, when you can Foxtrot in Kowloon? >
      • Baptism By Fire
      • Kai Tak with Mrs Thatcher.
      • Home; The Boy Returns
  • 1984 - 1986
    • PTU Instructor & Getting Hitched
    • Having a go: SDU
    • Starting a Chernobyl family
    • EOD - Don't touch anything
    • Semen Stains and the rules
  • 1987 to 1992 - Should I Stay or Go?
    • Blue Lights, Sirens & Grenades
    • Drugs, Broken Kids & A Plane Crash
    • 600 Happy Meals Please!
    • Hong Kong's Best Insurance
    • Riding the Iron Horse
  • Crime in Hong Kong
    • Falling Crime Rates - Why?
    • Triads
  • History of Hong Kong Policing
    • History 1841 to 1941
    • History 1945 to 1967
    • Anatomy of the 50 cent Riot - 1966
    • The Fall of a Commissioner.
    • History 1967 to 1980
    • Three Wise Men from the West
    • The Blue Berets.
    • The African Korps and other tribes.
    • Getting About - Transport.
    • A Pub in every station
    • Bullshit Bingo & Meetings
    • Godber - The one who nearly got away.
    • Uncle Ho
  • Top 20 Films
    • 2001 - A Space Odyssey.
    • The Godfather.
    • Blade Runner
    • Kes
    • Star Wars
    • Aliens
    • Ferris Bueller's Day Off
    • The Life of Brian
    • Dr Strangelove.
    • Infernal Affairs
    • Bridge on the River Kwai.
    • This Is Spinal Tap.
    • Chung King Express
    • An Officer and a Gentleman
    • PTU
    • Contact
    • Saving Private Ryan
    • Family Guy Star Wars
    • Zulu
    • Hard Day's Night
  • The Long Read
    • How The Walls Come Down
    • War in Ukraine - the narrative and other stuff.
    • The Hidden Leader
    • The Big Game
Search by typing & pressing enter

YOUR CART

Walter's Blog

"But how can you live and have no story to tell?" Fyodor Dostoevsky
Picture
Reflections on recent events, plus the occasional fact free rant unfiltered by rational argument. 

"If you want to read a blog to get a sense of what is going on in Hong Kong these days or a blog that would tell you wh at life was like living in colonial Hong Kong, this blog, WALTER'S BLOG, fits the bill."  Hong Kong Blog Review

19/4/2020 2 Comments

Lost Youth

Picture
"The Pan Dems, and others, need to reflect on their role in drawing these gullible kids to the streets." 
Having so far contained the Covid-19 virus outbreak, Hong Kong is not out of the woods. Covid-19 may come back, plus our economy is ailing, and further violent social unrest is possible.

As the sudden surge of Covid-19 cases in Singapore demonstrated, we need constant vigilance, and we can't allow any chance for a spread. In Singapore, they had a migrant worker blind-spot that the virus exported ruthlessly; Hong Kong should learn from that lesson.

But, when the virus precautions ease here, the question everyone is asking "Will the violent protests be back?" Tempered by a weak economy and ongoing court cases, the protest movement's future is debatable.

Moreover, with supporters in the West distracted, Hong Kong could fade from their agenda. Or, more likely, we’ll become a pawn in the broader game between China and the USA. 


Indeed, Trump is looking at all means to distract attention from his shambolic Covid-19 response. Initially, he pronounced Covid-19 was “fake-news … another attempt to discredit me.”

​Then as the death's mounted, he switched tack although he's never demonstrated genuine leadership with a comprehensive strategy.

He now plays a relentless blame-game; first China, then WHO, then state governors, all along with the media. Meanwhile, he accepts no responsibility.  


In his attempts to distract, he could see the protests in Hong Kong as a useful tool with which to blacken Beijing further. Until now he's  avoided that, although he's so erratic anything is possible.

Plus, with China emerging from Covid-19 quicker than others, firing up its economy, it’s certain to rile Trump. If he can't get Covid-19 under control, and with increasing unemployment, based on his past performance, he will lash out more. 


I have no doubt the protesters will return, with or without overseas support. Although, it's uncertain what scale and character the demonstrations will take.

​With job losses mounting across many sectors, is it right to assume people  focus on economic issues? I'm not sure. With elections for LegCo in September, the omens are not favourable.


Last week, during my wandering through the hills, I found a group of six college students heading up the mountain towards Windy Gap in search of Repulse Bay.

​I pointed out there were heading in the wrong direction, then led them back down to the Tai Tam Dam to connect with the correct path. Our encounter had all the hallmarks of an allegory.


We struck up a conversation heading downhill. To cut a long story short, I revealed my past, which caused some unease, as they candidly admitted an active part in the 2019 protests. A discussion followed.

One student described the experience of the protests as 'unsettling' because those around him escalated to violence without delay. He's now withdrawn from on-street activities because he feels it's too risky. Fearing arrest, he had sleepless nights.  


This group have a melancholy air. One girl remained surly throughout, making it clear she's not going to talk to me. 
The others offered criticism of many parties and players.

Of course, the government and Police took a fair share of bile. To my surprise, the Pan Dem politicians drew contempt for providing no leadership. "Why didn't Anson Chan intervene?" Great question.


The students didn't realise that Martyr Lee sat in Beijing, negotiating the Basic Law, a fact that caused some reflection. I had to laugh when they dismissed Joshua Wong, the darling of the US politicians, as self-serving. Thus, we agreed on something. 

I raised the issue of petrol bombing police quarters and attempts to target the children of police officers. That drew a silence. One ventured "We weren't there, did it happen? Much false news?” Who does that sound like?

I mentioned the 2014 democracy proposals, rejected by the Pan Dems; this pivotal moment is often forgotten. It signaled a change, that has led us all on the wrong path seeking a destination that cannot be reached from here.

While far from perfect, the proposals moved in the right direction. Again, this drew blank faces from the students. Clearly, the context and meaning is lost in the whirl of social media hubris. 


One lad asserted he'd go back to the streets. Although, if the protests become violent, he'll seek to leave. That's wise.

​After all, the Police are looking increasingly proficient in containing the extreme elements under the robust leadership of Commissioner Chris Tang. He displays none of the hesitance of his supine predecessor. 


Rapid interventions, flexible tactics and new 'less-than-lethal' weapons give commanders options that keep violent protesters at bay. In addition, having gone through several riots, officers are well-schooled and confident in their skills. 

Moreover, opposition attempts to demonise officers with allegations of 'brutality' and attacks of police homes are proving counter-productive. By all accounts, morale is high. 


Media reports of a surge in police resignations are over-blown. Likewise, those that left are welcome departures. I'm told most lacked the physical stamina for the job or proved 'wobbly' when confronted by the mob. Their resignations removes a burden. 

With hundreds of hard-core protesters fled to Taiwan, the evidence suggests they are struggling with the decisions they made. The Pan Dems, and others need to reflect on their role in drawing these gullible kids to the streets. 

My encounter with these young people, all born after 1997, reminded me we live in an age of amnesia. People forget that Anson Chan, Martyr Lee and many Pan Dems sat at the table in Beijing to parlay Hong Kong's future.

Then the 1989 Tiananmen killings and the misguided efforts of Chris Patten derailed progress towards more democracy. 

Even after that, Anson Chan worked with tireless fervor to sell the Joint Declaration to the people of Hong Kong, standing centre stage at the handover. 

For me, when a full accounting is made, all sides have debits — especially the Pan Dems for rejecting democracy proposals in 2014.


At least I left the students on the right track to Repulse Bay. I hope they made it.
2 Comments
Gloria Bing
20/4/2020 09:51:51 am

A very accurate and succinct of the state we are in on the edge of what might be another summer of discontent.

Reply
Latakia
20/4/2020 01:52:51 pm

Truth. Note in today's SCMP there's a story questioning why the pro-establishment politicos who enjoy a majority are sitting back passively instead of asserting their control. Instead they wait for a statement on "impatience" to waft from the Hong Kong Macau Affairs Office and other bodies overseeing Hong Kong.

The defeat of the 2015 Electoral Reform Package lies in the hands of the pro-establishment camp who bizarrely walked out before the vote mistakenly (or perhaps deliberately???) believing their absence in waiting for the late (literally) Lau Wong-Fat to attend the vote would deny the chamber a quorum.

Was this an accident? Was this a set up? The whole episode quickly passed into history and only recently has been brought up.

There is a passivity among those with power and an aggressiveness among those seeking it that creates this destabilizing factor.

When people ask me whether I live in a "police state" I have to shake my head and then patiently explain that the only fatality of the protest movement died at the hands of a rioter who threw a rock at him. Media identify him as "a man surnamed Luo" (Note mainland spelling) and focus instead on perpetuating fake news of deaths that never occurred.

Will there be further unrest this summer? My own sense is that the tide has turned. Regular working folk, those struggling with income losses during this outbreak are looking for a way out. The 'fan clubs' popping up online for Commissioner of Police Chris Tang suggest people value leadership and strength and will rally behind someone who seems to have a plan.

Initially that "someone" was the protest movement. When the idealism descended into violence, vandalism, hardship on working people, their faith in the pro-democrats to solve this has faded.

The activism behind the protests may transform into a more pragmatic activism to solve wider social issues like rebuilding the economy. The leadership void will be filled. By whom is the story to watch.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Walter De Havilland was one of the last of the colonial coppers. He served 35 years in the Royal Hong Kong Police and Hong Kong Police Force. He's long retired. 

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017

Home

Introduction

Contact Walter

Copyright © 2015