RE: I believe they got tired of hoping that peaceful protests (in the millions) will have an impact.
If these are real HK protesters, then resorting to violence to get their grievances heard is a tactic that will backfire.
Originally, we were all impressed at the orderly and peaceful protests from millions of citizens. I was even impressed when I saw how the crowds backed off when they saw an ambulance coming. The next day, we even saw pictures of protesters cleaning up the trash on the streets. *THIS* was the face of Hong Kong’s protest then.
It suddenly all changed when in July 2019 A mob of over 100 armed men dressed in white indiscriminately attacked civilians on the streets and passengers in the Yuen Long MTR station including the elderly, children, black-clad protesters, journalists and lawmakers. At least 45 people were injured in the incident, including a pregnant woman.
Up to now, we do not know the identity of these mobsters, but that was the catalyst that triggered the violence and vandalism we now see.
You lose the moral high ground if you resort to vandalism, violence and defacement of public property.
The majority of those who value law and order do not want to see this and this only gives the ChiComs a reason to clamp down Tien An Men style.
You are cutting your own throat in effect.
“You are cutting your own throat in effect.”
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With Beijing calling the shots these people are dead men walking anyway. Just a matter of time.
> “It suddenly all changed when in July 2019 A mob of over 100 armed men dressed in white indiscriminately attacked civilians on the streets and passengers in the Yuen Long MTR station ...”
There is no mystery about it anymore. It is now widely known as the 721 incident (July 21) where a mob of white-clad gangsters carrying sticks and pipes appeared in streets of Yuen Long (a HK district) and beat up anyone and everyone happened to be there. Police didn’t show up despite repeated calls. When they finally arrived, they escorted the mob to leave the scene instead of arresting them, totally different from how they had treated protesters and even ordinary citizens. The pro-China lawmaker Junius Ho was filmed near the scene patting the gang members on the back congratulating them for a job well done. Curiously, last week Ho was ‘attacked’ by a man whose physical appearance immediately reminded me of those gang members.
Then there was the horrific 831 incident (Aug 31) where a group of riot police boarded a Mass Transit Railway Car that was stopped (at the Prince Edward station I believe) and began violently beating everyone on board. It was absolute mayhem from the short footage I saw, and many people were believed to have been killed based on statements from witnesses and rescuers. The government had denied everything and had so far refused the people’s demand to release the complete surveillance tapes of the whole incident.
About the case where a man was set on fire, people have already uncovered suspicious things. Not going into detail here except to say that it is very easy to carry out a sensational false flag operation like that giving the government a strong reason to condemn the protesters.
But more than that, it is now in the government’s interest to dial up the level of violence and chaos so that they can have a perfect excuse to postpone or even cancel the upcoming district elections where all pro-China candidates (now the majority) are at risk of losing.