The police took action amidst celebreations of the Lunar New Year
As the rest of the Chinese population geared up to bring in the Lunar New Year, people in Hong Kong broke into a tussle with police forces that cleared out roadside food vendors, who had set shop illegally for the celebrations in the Mong Kok district. The food and hygiene inspectors tried to shut them down immediately, at the conjecture of Portland Street and Shan Tung Street. In the violence that followed, at least 44 people, including police officers were wounded and 23 others were taken into custody.
A senior official of the police, Acting District Commander Yau Siu-kei, commented that the officers had been forced to fire two warning shots to protect other officers, even as their batons and pepper sprays failed to bring the ‘mob’ under control. The people continuously hurled bricks and other objects at officers. The government was in deep disapproval of the people’s actions, assuring that the several hundred people involved would all be tried and brought to justice.
Food kiosks are commonplace in Mong Kok, a district famous for its street culture throughout the year and especially during the New Year festivities for its traditional snacks. Although the vendors’ lack of permits is well-known among government officials, they generally ignore it. For some reason, they decided to shut these activities off this year, which resulted in hundreds of people gathering on the streets to support the vendors. Police officers claim to have warned them to disperse before the crack down, but what followed was a violent agitation. The clash lasted past dawn on Tuesday but all was normal by mid-morning on.
Investigations revealed the involvement of several ‘localist’, ‘radical’ groups, who are anti- Beijing like 10 members of the Youngspiration party, who claimed to have been defending ‘local culture’. The demonstration spread like wildfire throughout the Internet domain, soon trending under the hashtag #fishballrevolution, after one of the delicacies that was available on the streets. The ‘#fishballrevolution’ was not much different from the last public unrest that Hong Kong faced in 2014 by pro-democracy advocates, apart from its size.
Source: BBC
Tags: Hong Kong Hong Kong riots
