JNelson113

Just wondering how this past weekend has gone in terms of protests.

889

Tonight was worse than Friday and Saturday, but not as extensive as I had expected. Problems today Sunday limited to Kowloon. Some problems other days in CWB.

Those who are curious what the protests and police actions look like real-time can view streaming video on rthk.hk, the Government broadcaster's website. They have cameramen moving around various spots. HD and sometimes like watching a video game: you have to remind yourself it's real.

EDIT: Police have shot live rounds at protestors this morning Monday at around 8:30am in Sai Wan Ho, a normally quiet area on Eastern Hong Kong Island. News reports say a 21-year old protestor was shot unconscious and is now undergoing surgery.

Quite a lot of delays and disruptions Monday morning on the MTR. It looks like service isn't running on East Rail to the border stations. And Tung Chung Station has been closed since 7:30am, so don't use it to get to or from the airport. Airport Express and buses seem to be running normally.

There are protests throughout the territory this morning. Unusual for a weekday, very unusual starting so early in the day. No sense making further updates: the situation today is just growing worse. It's only noon.

If arriving at the airport today, check carefully both the transport situation and conditions at your destination before heading in.

JNelson113

Thank you for the update. Very sad to hear. Really appreciate you keeping us posted, as I'm supposed to be there next week.

percysmith

Updates to this morning
Hong Kong Police Shoot Protester Amid Clashes, Video Shows
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/10/w...al-strike.html

Lunchtime: tear gas in downtown Central (Des Voeux Road and Pedder Street, affecting lots of office workers going out for lunch).

889

Those who want to follow developments from overseas might naturally turn to the SCMP. However, the lead story on their HK section Monday afternoon 1:40pm is, "Endangered Frog Turns Up in Survey of Tai Po Wetlands." Really.

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong

You'll find rthk.hk with up-to-date reports in English, though the Chinese site has more reports. There's also the HK Standard and HK Free Press in English.

MTR closed 25 stations in one fell swoop at 1:00pm.

helvetic

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/...otesters-cause

Not sure what you're seeing, but this story has been headline item all day on SCMP with live updates from the various happenings today.

I agree that SCMP has a tendency to underreport, though I have yet to find an alternative that has easy-to-follow live coverage. You can also turn to twitter, though you'll see a lot of repeat content and some unsubstantiated claims from various netizens of dubious authenticity.

SCMP is now owned by Alibaba, a mainland business, so people have expressed concerns about their impartiality.

RTHK.hk is run by the govt, so it's not exactly reliable either.

helvetic

I'll note that even with all the chaos today, as I suggested prior would be the case, the airport remains unaffected.

889

Yes, SCMP has the story, but on the HK news page it's buried under a story about frogs, a police staffing change and an LGBT rally. The placement says everything. It's an "Oh, by the way" placement, or "under the fold" in old-fashioned terms.

As to the airport, the closing of Tung Chung station certainly has an effect, since many airport workers and cheap travellers (like me) use it. Further, debris thrown on tracks has been a major cause of today's MTR disruptions, and the Airport Express is as vulnerable as other MTR lines.

There was also a fire aboard one MTR train this morning. The guys in black are moving their petrol bombs around somehow. I doubt they've read the MTR By-Laws prohibiting carriage of dangerous goods, even though they're posted in every station.

Hydro88

And a guy was set on fire by the protesters. Not entirely clear what exactly was going on.

889

RTHK usually feeds a live stream from the streets on weekend nights, but they're broadcasting it this afternoon as well. The feed switches from place to place around the city, as shown in the Chinese subtitle.

https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/ch/live-video-news

And this is the story in Chinese of the guy set on fire. A middle-aged man who got into an argument with protestors at Ma'an Shan around 1pm this afternoon.

https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/ch/component/k2/1491330-20191111.htm

tentseller

He had the courage to tell them their methodology is wrong. The video showed many bystander put out the fire and chase after the instigator. This is MURDER WITH INTENT.

Kilian Zoll

I wish I hadn't seen the video of the guy being set on fire. Stuff of nightmares.

sidne

Thanks for the link. In HK now staying in Mongkok at Roral Plaza. Took taxis back and forth from TST this morning. Now in Stanley after another taxi ride. Drivers are going long way around and switching routes real time. I assume to avoid protests.

Haven't run into any issues myself, but have been monitoring SCMP and MTR updates since Saturday arrival.

889

You also should be able to watch the RTHK feed on Channel 32 in your hotel.

Myself, I think the risk of fire in a crowded place like Hong Kong hasn't been really appreciated by the protestors.

Note that from 7pm Airport Express will only be running between Hong Kong and the Airport.

Visconti

Regarding the incident on the person set on fire, would be grateful for any other links with additional information. Independent third party or first hand accounts would be especially appreciated.

Thanks.