Lily Kuo - Hong Kong: why thugs may be doing the government’s work // 'We saved ourselves': Hong Kong train attack victims describe 30-minute ordeal

By Dilip -
NB: Chinese government appears in its true colours: as hoodlums. DS
At a pro-government rally on Saturday, one speaker made a disconcerting proposal for disciplining Hong Kong’s young protesters. “Do we have canes at home? Bring out your canes,” said Arthur Shek, a co-founder of the Economic Times newspaper. “Find a long one to beat your son. If you don’t have a cane, what do you do? We can still go to a hardware shop to buy a 20mm PVC pipe.”

The next day, dozens of men in white T-shirts and masks descended on a railway station in Yuen Long where they beat commuters with long bamboo rods and pipes. Footage showed several men punching and kneeing demonstrators returning from an anti-government march. Photos showed commuters with bloodied faces and blood smeared on the station floor. At least 45 people were taken to hospital. Shek has since apologised for his comment made in jest, but it is one of several details linking the attack to pro-government camps, at least in intention.

 'We saved ourselves': Hong Kong train attack victims describe 30-minute ordeal

Protesters and opposition politicians have not only accused the government of looking the other way when the attacks took place – police arrived well after the assailants had left – but of facilitating them. Galileo Cheng, 34, a Catholic church worker, was among those injured when he attempted to help a female journalist who was being beaten. He was taken to hospital and suffered bruises on his back and arms. An injury to his face may require plastic surgery.

Cheng said it was common knowledge that organised crime societies, or triads, were active in areas such as Yuen Long in the outskirts of Hong Kong. “Normally, they won’t attack local citizens,” he said. “Utilising triads to assault citizens, threatening them to withdraw from the social movement, is a common tactic used by the Communist party, qunzhong dou qunzhong” – ‘the masses fighting the masses’. It seems the government has no way to stop the protests.”

A video showed the pro-Beijing legislator Junius Ho meeting the men in white in Yuen Long, shaking their hands, and giving them a thumbs-up. When one praised Ho, he responded: “You are all my heroes.” In response to accusations that he had hired the men to go after protesters, Ho said in a press briefing on Monday that he had nothing to do with the attack and only warned residents to be safe and avoid violent protesters... read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/22/why-hong-kong-thugs-may-be-doing-the-governments-work

Verna Yu - 'Don't mess with us': the spirit of rebellion spreads in Hong Kong

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