Are Yuen Long attacks a sign of deepening fractures

from scmp.com by Gary Cheung

in Hong Kong society that could lead to anarchy amid extradition bill crisis?

Analysts pin blame on government’s ‘flaccid’ response over ongoing unrest, expressing fears neighbourhood crisis will spread and spiral out of control
They urge an independent inquiry into actions of protesters and police

Updated: 12:00am, 24 Jul, 2019
Men in white brandishing sticks and metal rods had attacked commuters at Yuen Long MTR station on Sunday.
The unprecedented violence at a Hong Kong railway station on Sunday, when groups of white-clad men attacked protesters and passengers, has deepened tensions in a city already rocked by the extradition bill crisis, with analysts warning the chaos could bring anarchy if left unchecked.

Andrew Fung Ho-keung, chief executive of the Hong Kong Policy Research Institute, said that while the attacks at Yuen Long MTR station should not be condoned, they might signify fractures in society caused by the continuing protests.

“Some residents have been complaining about the impact on businesses and daily life as the protests have spread to new towns in the New Territories,” Fung said.

“I’m worried that the tension between residents from opposing camps will spiral, with some taking the law into their own hands.

“It is doubtful if police can get the situation under control. There is a realistic fear of civil strife and virtual anarchy.”

But Fung and security consultant Steve Vickers said the government was to blame for failing to devise a solution to the political crisis, sparked by the now-suspended extradition bill. The legislation would have allowed the transfer of fugitives from the city to jurisdictions with which it has no extradition deal, including mainland China.

Witnesses said no police officers were in sight as dozens of men suspected to be triad members stormed the station close to midnight on Sunday and forcibly opened closed entrances.

They hurled objects at protesters and travellers alike, and assaulted members of the public.

Among victims were protesters returning from an anti-government mass march against the extradition bill on Hong Kong Island earlier in the day, which also ended in clashes with police and tear gas fired in the city centre.

In the Yuen Long case, at least 45 people were injured in the late-night violence.

On Monday Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor pledged a full investigation into the skirmishes in the heart of the city and the bloody incidents in Yuen Long.

Fung noted that weeks of protests had heightened tensions in the city, with government supporters removing Post-it notes containing messages of support for demonstrators at Lennon Walls in some districts.

Frustrated by what they saw as the government’s failure to respond to demands – mainly to withdraw the bill and to investigate the alleged use of excessive force by police – protesters have resorted to rallies and posting their messages on such walls, which have become a new flashpoint for confrontations.

Kin Hung Kam-in, vice-chairman of Kwun Tong District Council, said there could be a backlash against radical young protesters in some neighbourhoods.

“That’s why some residents have started to remove Post-it notes from Lennon Walls,” said Hung, who is a member of the pro-government Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong.

Vickers, chief executive of risk consultancy firm Steve Vickers and Associates, said the alleged involvement of triads in the Yuen Long attacks represented a worrying escalation to what was already a highly complex situation.

“Yuen Long has a long history of triad activities, and in the last couple of weeks there has been considerable tension between protesters and local businessmen and other luminaries who are very opposed to the demonstrators and their activities, including the establishment of a Lennon Wall there,” said Vickers, who is also a former head of the criminal intelligence bureau under the colonial police.

In October 2014, some people arrested over clashes between Occupy protesters and rivals in Mong Kok were found to also have triad ties. The Occupy movement was a 79-day civil disobedience campaign for greater democracy that brought parts of the city to a standstill.

Referring to the current administration’s stance on the extradition-bill crisis, Vickers said: “The government’s somewhat flaccid response is only angering demonstrators and essentially escalating matters.”

Professor Joseph Chan Cho-wai, a political scientist at the University of Hong Kong, said protesters should pay attention to whether their actions were acceptable to other residents in their neighbourhood.

“However, I don’t think Lennon Walls are causing serious nuisance to daily life in districts,” he said.

Chan and Fung said the government should set up a commission of inquiry to review the actions of protesters and police since last month as one way to ease tensions.

On Friday, more than 30 leaders from across civil society, including ex-ministers and leading microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung, called on the administration to launch an independent inquiry into the recent clashes between protesters and police.

On July 9, Chief Executive Carrie Lam had rejected calls for an investigation into police actions, saying the matter would be left to the Independent Police Complaints Council.

But Chan said: “Lam doesn’t have the political will to resolve the ongoing crisis.”

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