Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) with AFP
https://www.hongkongfp.com/2019/08/01/hong-kong-financial-workers-stage-flash-protest/
including photos, videos....
Hundreds of financial workers braved pouring rain to gather in central Hong Kong Thursday 1 August, giving that sector’s support to mass protests that have roiled the territory for weeks.
https://www.hongkongfp.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/POWERPNT_2019-08-01_20-46-27.jpg
According to organisers on the messaging app Telegram, workers from around 80 banks gathered at Chater Gardens in the heart of the financial district and more than 700 workers posted photos of their staff cards to declare they would also join a city-wide strike called for Monday 5.
Over a thousand people flashed their mobile phone torches through umbrellas Thursday night to create a spontaneous light show, and chanted “add oil” — a slogan that offers encouragement to protesters.
Participants said they were angered by alleged cooperation between police and gangsters last month, when a gang of white-clad suspected triad members armed with poles attacked anti-government protesters and bystanders in Yuen Long, a border town near the mainland.
Police were accused of reacting too slowly to the incident and being too lenient with the thugs.
“There is too much evidence that leads to police-triad collusion,” KS Wong, who works at HSBC retail banking, told AFP.
“Foreign investors are confident in our market as they are confident in our rule of law, but if there is police-triad collusion… it means there is a big problem on our rule of law,” Wong added.
Dozens of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters appeared in court Wednesday 31 after being charged with rioting, setting the stage for further unrest in a weeks-long crisis that has rocked the global financial hub.
Semi-autonomous Hong Kong has endured more than seven weeks of unrest that began with a government bid to introduce a law that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China.
The government has shown no sign of backing down beyond agreeing to suspend the extradition bill.
The demonstrations have since evolved into a call for wider democratic reforms and a halt to eroding freedoms.
“It will definitely deteriorate the quality of the banking industry. People will migrate out of Hong Kong together with their property,” a Standard Chartered retail banking staffer, who gave his surname as Lee, told AFP.
Hong Kong protesters have a busy schedule in the coming days with :
- a civil servants’ rally planned for Friday 2 night,
- a pro-democracy demonstrations during the weekend,
- a large-scale strike on Monday 4.
Banker flash mob in Hong Kong as financial sector workers gather in Chater Garden to protest against government handling of extradition bill crisis
Ng Kang-chung (SCMP)
https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3021048/banker-flash-mob-hong-kong-financial-sector-workers-gather
Hundreds of office workers join protest against government’s handling of extradition bill crisis
On cue, protesters raise phones with flashlight on and chant slogans – then they applaud and disperse
A flashily dressed flash mob converged on a park in Hong Kong’s business district on Thursday August 1 evening, as hundreds of office workers joined a protest against the government’s handling of the extradition bill crisis.
There was none of the violence the city has become used to during protests against the bill [1], which would have allowed the transfer of fugitives to mainland China among other jurisdictions.
But the usually peaceful Chater Garden in Central was a little rowdier as the gathering chanted anti-government slogans, before marching the short distance to the IFC Mall.
Many said they were responding to an online campaign calling on those working in the financial sector to join the protest after work on Thursday.
Supposedly a leaderless movement [4], others were there distributing face masks and placards to participants. They all declined to be interviewed.
Likewise, there was no organiser to confirm a headcount, though some participants estimated there were at least 600 people there.
– One person claiming to be an organiser told the media on Telegram, an encrypted online forum popular among protesters, that 4,300 turned up.
Irene Lau, a clerk at a trading company in Tsim Sha Tsui, said she left work early to join the protest.
“It’s important for Hong Kong people to take every opportunity to voice their discontent with the government,” she said. “The police have been too violent suppressing the young protesters.”
– Ivan Ho, a bank teller in Central, said he had also asked to leave early.
“My supervisor didn’t ask many questions. We knew what it’s for,” Ho said.
Even the lingering rain from an outgoing storm that caused the city’s first No 8 typhoon signal [6] of the year to be raised a day earlier could not dampen spirits.
“The bad weather doesn’t matter. We have umbrellas,” said an attendee, who declined to give her name.
The crowd started building around 7pm, about half an hour before the scheduled start. They stood around, chatting with friends and looking at their phones.
At about 7.30pm, the protesters raised their mobile phones with the flashlight function turned on and chanted slogans that have become battle cries of the protest movement: “Hong Kong people, add oil” [7]; “Revolution of the era, reclaim Hong Kong”; and “No rioter, only tyranny”. Their shouts echoed from the district’s skyscrapers.
Living up to its flash mob label, the protest was brief. The attendees concluded it by thanking each other and applauding.
While most of the protesters left after the rally, about 100 marched about 1km to the IFC Mall. No police officers were seen during the protest.
Additional reporting by Sum Lok-kei
Links
[1] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3010273/hong-kong-extradition-bill-chaos-and-confusion-reigns-how
[2] https://t.co/ipgIOKMwil
[3] https://twitter.com/ayanchiu/status/1156887178774847489?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[4] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3015688/hong-kongs-leaderless-protest-movement-looks-minimise
[5] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3021054/hong-kong-extradition-bill-protesters-win-rare-support
[6] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3020735/hong-kong-observatory-considers-raising-typhoon-signal-no-8
[7] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/2169018/add-oil-entry-oxford-english-dictionary-just-latest-cantonese
[8] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3021045/hong-kong-extradition-bill-protests-and-us-china