tentseller

I was concern weeks back when they were approaching Canal Rd flyover with petrol bombs.

For those not in HK or CWB/WanChai often enough, there are petrol stations under the flyover with petrol storage tanks. There are retail with residential flats above buildings along this concrete canyon.

helvetic

The guy had prior attacked protesters by attempting to throw acid on protesters. There is another video circulating showing the moments prior to the fire incident. An important piece of context.

helvetic

Many are calling the shooting down of unarmed protesters by police officers this morning murder with intent.

Either way, this is politics and not appropriate for this thread. You have an opinion about who's in the wrong here, but it's entirely subjective and get easily devolve into a flamewar. Please refrain from posting non-factual opinions.

Hydro88

Why is that important?

EDIT: helvetic, percy, that video doesn't appear to exist. The guy just confronted the protesters verbally, he did not throw acid - fake news. Not that it would matter (see below, I find it despicable that you even attempted to justify this act of intentionally setting someone on fire).

percysmith

The fire incident was thus provoked.

Hydro88

And inhowfar does that lessen the "impacts of demonstrations on travel"? Also, are you implying that that would render the attack less horrific?

percysmith

I tried looking for said acid pre-event video but couldn't find it.

But he did try to assault protesters in MOS MTR station.

(this line of discussion should be moved to the Omni/PR Hong Kong Protests thread or deleted anyway)

Hydro88

I think it's a rather significant event for this thread (as is the alleged pre-event) but I agree that the justifications are unhelpful.

Kilian Zoll

Today's events are yet another reminder for non-HK based travellers to stay away from HK for the foreseeable future unless you absolutely have to.

889

The fire onboard an occupied MTR train at Kwai Fong station this Monday morning was caused by two petrol bombs thrown into the carriage. There were no injuries and staff extinguished the blaze.

Under normal conditions this would be front-page news. Now you have to search to find it. But it's significant because it put at risk "civilians" -- those not involved and distant from the troubles -- and represents another sign that the situation is escalating.

As to fires generally, the roadblocks set up by protesters and police increase the danger significantly, as does the bad blood that's developing between the police and the fire services, which also runs the ambulance service.

helvetic

In more travel related news, it seems that while there are no official travel waiver, flying on CX does come with a certain level of understanding as to the situation. I was scheduled to return home to HK today, but woke up with a horrific case of food poisoning (making the idea of a flight unbearable), and given the protests in HK today, CX waived the change fees entirely. They just offered it up directly. I didn't even have to ask. Calling the HK call center where agents are more likely to know the situation on the ground might have helped.

For anyone that has a similar situation and is flying CX and want to post-pone a flight in on a day with flare-ups like today, you might be in luck.

helvetic

You have to remember that while all this is going on, it's still a tiny fraction of the population participating on either side and a small fraction of the districts of HK.

It's quite possible to be in HK and remain safe. You might encounter some inconveniences on a day like today, but the majority of people in HK were not affected more than they might've been by bad weather. For the vast majority of people, life goes on.

JNelson113

Again, I really appreciate these updates from those of you there. It is so hard to get a picture of the situation if you just read media reports. I feel that there is a much more balanced view here.

Clipper801

Many posts here are subjective. Please read with caution and common sense.

889

Tuesday 9am and the first tear gas of the day has been fired, with protests and MTR disruptions starting to break out again throughout the city. Some schools are closed. A repeat of Monday seems in the offing. University areas are particularly affected.

If this continues, District Council elections on November 24 will almost certainly be canceled, and that will make the situation worse.

EDIT: Around noon, protesters started slashing bus tires -- 50 buses are stranded on Nathan Road in Mongkok -- paralyzing transport in the area since Mongkok and Prince Edward MTR stations are closed. This is a new tactic.

Objects thrown on the tracks have caused more and more train disruptions today. The MTR has warned that this poses serious risks to passengers, "civilians" in my parlance. It is indeed very dangerous.

The Japanese consul is looking into reports that a Japanese tourist was attacked in Mongkok yesterday Monday. Taking photos of the events, he was apparently mistaken for a Mainlander. If true, I believe this would be the first attack on a tourist.

The TST MTR station in the heart of the tourist belt was closed a bit before 8pm due to damage.

And a little after 8pm another petrol bomb was thrown into an MTR carriage, this time at Sheung Shui. Passengers evacuated. Great danger if these attacks continue.

Carrie Lam gave a news conference yesterday in which she took a defiant "not budge an inch" stance and unreservedly praised the police. So today's continuation of the chaos is not surprising.