A cook caught up in a vicious assault at a subway station in Hong Kong on Sunday night has told of the horror of being beaten by nearly 20 thugs, leaving him with serious injuries.
Calvin So, 23, was on his way home from work at a restaurant in Yoho Mall, which is connected to the Yuen Long metro station, at about 9:45pm when he was attacked by a mob of men in white T-shirts near an exit.
He was assaulted with sticks and canes by about 20 people, who ignored his pleas for mercy. He told local media that he was chased and beaten for about five minutes before he was able to flee the scene and call for help at a nearby convenience store.
Pictures of Mr So’s wounds show his back severely injured with torn skin and horrifying red streaks sprawled across his shoulders. His arms and feet were bruised and swollen from the beating.
Calvin So, a 23-year-old victim of Sunday’s Yuen Long attacks, shows his wounds at Tuen Mun Hospital. Mr So said he was assaulted with sticks and canes by about 20 men, who ignored his pleas for mercy
Calvin So, 23, was on his way home from work at a restaurant in Yoho Mall, which is connected to the Yuen Long metro station, at about 9:45pm when he was attacked by a mob of men in white T-shirts near an exit. Above, Mr So’s wounds on his arms
He was assaulted with sticks and canes by about 20 people, who ignored his pleas for mercy. He told local media that he was chased and beaten for about five minutes before he was able to flee the scene and call for help at a nearby convenience store
Men in white T-shirts with poles are seen in Yuen Long after attacking anti-extradition bill demonstrators at the train station
He added that after he fell to the ground, he was doused in alcohol and other unknown liquids, according to Ming Pao Daily. He remained under treatment at Tuen Mun Hospital.
The financial hub’s roiling political unrest took a dark turn late Sunday night when rampaging gangs of men – most wearing white T-shirts and carrying bats, sticks and metal poles – set upon anti-government demonstrators as they returned from another huge march earlier.
Footage from the attack circulating on social media showed people screaming as the gangsters beat groups of protesters, commuters and journalists in Yuen Long subway station and inside trains, leaving pools of blood on the floor. One pregnant woman was seen beaten to the ground and passing out.
Hospital authorities said 45 people were wounded in the assault, with one man in critical condition and five others with serious injuries.
Six men, some with links to triads, have been detained by Hong Kong police.
Pictures of Mr So’s wounds show his back severely injured with torn skin and red streaks sprawled across his shoulders
The financial hub’s roiling political unrest took a dark turn late Sunday night when rampaging gangs of men – most wearing white T-shirts and carrying sticks and metal poles – set upon anti-government demonstrators (above) as they returned from another huge march earlier
Six men, some with links to triads, have been detained by police late Monday. Senior police official Chan Tin-chu said the men, aged between 24 and 54, were held for ‘unlawful assembly’ and are being investigated for taking part in the attack
Former sportscaster for local television TVB, Ryan Lau Chun Kong, is seen bleeding after a mob of suspected triad gangsters attacked pro-democracy protesters returning from a demonstration earlier in the day at Yuen Long train station
Senior police official Chan Tin-chu said Monday the men, aged between 24 and 54, were held for ‘unlawful assembly’ and were being investigated for taking part in the attack.
Some of them are villagers, and their occupation range from drivers and hawkers to renovation workers, he said.
‘Some of them have triad background,’ he said. ‘I believe that more … will be detained soon. Police will not condone any form of violence.’
‘They were beating everyone,’ Mr So recalled of the horrendous attack. ‘I told them I was just passing by. I was not even wearing black,’ referring to the colour often worn by protesters.
‘But they ignored me and kept beating me,’ he said, adding that he also lost his phone and glasses during the attack.
‘They weren’t drunk or anything. They really intended to hurt people,’ he said.
Footage from the attack circulating on social media showed people screaming as the gangsters beat groups of protesters and journalists in Yuen Long subway station and inside trains, leaving pools of blood on the floor
Authorities said 45 people were hurt in the assault, with one man in critical condition and five others with serious injuries
A mob of men in white T-shirts threatening pro-democracy protesters during clashes between the two groups at Yuen Long. Witnesses of the attack said they saw a pregnant woman being beaten to the ground during the chaos and passing out
About 30 members of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club Hong Kong and journalists protested peacefully outside the press club on Tuesday morning against the violence directed at journalists when covering the protests last weekend, particularly the ‘sickening scenes of mob violence’ in Yuen Long.
At least four local journalists were attacked by the gang, according to South China Morning Post. One female reporter from Stand News, who was still in hospital, was attacked during a live online report. Her hands and right shoulder were hurt and she suffered swelling on the back of her head.
Critics rounded on the city’s embattled police force by accusing them of colluding with those who carried out the attack. Protesters said officers took more than an hour to reach the station despite frantic calls from those under attack, and failing to arrest the armed assailants who stayed in the streets around the station.
Moments following the violent attack at the station, groups of men in white with poles and bamboo staves at the village were caught on camera chatting with riot officers. The officers did not seem concerned about the weapons carried by the men.
Some men in white shirts were later filmed leaving the scene in cars with Chinese mainland number plates. One video showed pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho (above) shaking hands with the a gang members after the attack, praising them as his heroes
Critics rounded on the city’s embattled police force by accusing them of colluding with those who carried out the attack
Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam has said police were stretched thin due to the massive crowds and denied accusations that her government colluded with the assailants
Another video showed pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho shaking hands with suspected gang members after the attack, praising them as his ‘heroes’.
Mr Ho was seen applauding the alleged assailants in white shirts, giving them a thumbs up and saying ‘thank you for your hard work.’ He said in a Facebook post on Monday that he was merely passing by the area after dinner when a group of people asked for pictures with him.
Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam has said police were stretched thin due to the massive crowds and denied accusations that her government colluded with the assailants.
‘It is groundless for anyone to accuse the government of colluding with attackers,’ she said. ‘Their behaviour was infuriating. We absolutely do not allow and tolerate such behaviour. I have already requested the police commissioner spare no effort in arresting the attackers.’
An image circulating on Facebook shows a group of men dressed in white brandishing sticks posing for pictures
Moments following the violent attack, groups of men in white with poles and bamboo staves at the village were caught on camera chatting with riot officers (above)
More than 100,000 people took part in the latest rally in the city earlier Sunday to demand democracy and an investigation into the use of force by police to disperse crowds at protests
‘Violence is not a solution to any problem. Violence will only breed more violence, and at the end of the day the whole of Hong Kong and the people will suffer as a result of the loss of law and order. I call on all sectors and the public to safeguard the rule of law and say no to violence,’ she added.
Yuen Long lies in the New Territories near the Chinese border where the criminal gangs and staunchly pro-Beijing rural committees remain influential.
The assault escalated a crisis that had thrown the former British colony into turmoil after millions of people took to the streets in waves of protest against an extradition bill that would send suspects for trial in China.
Critics see it as rising Chinese influence and fear it will chip away at Hong Kong’s freedoms promised under a ‘one country, two system’ formula since it returned to China in 1997.
More than 100,000 people took part in the latest rally in the city earlier Sunday to demand democracy and an investigation into the use of force by police to disperse crowds at protests.
Riot officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters, hours after China’s Hong Kong Liaison Office on Sunday was daubed with eggs, black ink and graffiti in a vivid rebuke to Beijing’s rule
The office of pro-China lawmaker Junius Ho is seen destroyed by anti-extradition supporters on Monday
The assault escalated a crisis that had thrown the former British colony into turmoil after millions of people took to the streets in waves of protest against an extradition bill that would send suspects for trial in China
Riot officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters, hours after China’s Hong Kong Liaison Office was daubed with eggs, black ink and graffiti in a vivid rebuke to Beijing’s rule.
China’s Foreign Ministry says the behaviour of ‘some radical demonstrators’ in Hong Kong ‘touched the bottom line of the ‘one country, two systems’ principle and must not be tolerated.’
Beijing accused US officials on Tuesday of being behind violent protests in Hong Kong and advised them to remove their ‘black hands’ from the territory.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying made the comment at a news briefing in Beijing, when asked about the demonstrations.
Six weeks of huge protests have done little to persuade the city’s unelected leaders – or Beijing – to change tack on the hub’s future.
Six weeks of huge protests have done little to persuade the city’s leaders – or Beijing – to change tack on the hub’s future
Riot police use bean bag round to disperse anti-extradition bill demonstrators. Hong Kong has been plunged into its worst crisis in recent history by weeks of marches and sporadic violent confrontations between police and protesters
Under the 1997 handover deal with Britain, China promised to allow Hong Kong to keep key liberties such as its independent judiciary and freedom of speech.
But many say those provisions are already being curtailed, citing the disappearance into mainland custody of dissident booksellers, the disqualification of prominent politicians and the jailing of pro-democracy protest leaders.
Authorities have also resisted calls for the city’s leader to be directly elected by the people.
Protesters have vowed to keep their movement going until their core demands – such as an independent inquiry into police tactics, an amnesty for those arrested, a permanent withdrawal of the bill, universal suffrage and Lam’s resignation – are met.
There is little sign that either Lam or Beijing will budge.
Beyond agreeing to suspend the extradition bill there have been few other concessions and fears are rising that Beijing’s patience is running out.
China allows pictures of Hong Kong protest to circulate on social media for the first time ‘to fan public anger’
China has allowed the pictures of yesterday’s Hong Kong protest to be shared on social media in an apparent bid to fan up public anger after censoring the city’s ongoing anti-government demonstrations for more than a month.
One image circulating on Twitter-like Weibo shows the Chinese national emblem hung outside Beijing’s representative office in Hong Kong covered with black ink. Others capture the anti-Beijing graffiti written outside the office.
Yesterday evening, protesters descended on the Liason Office – the department that represents China’s central government during a fresh round of rallies in central Hong Kong.
Pictures of Beijing’s representative office in Hong Kong defaced with anti-government graffiti have been circulating on China’s Weibo
China’s state newspaper People’s Daily is calling web users to ‘safeguard Hong Kong’ with a poster (right) on Twitter-like Weibo while a picture showing a Chinese national emblem splattered by black ink (right) has also been allowed to make rounds on social media
The government building, situated in Sai Wan District, was pelted with eggs and daubed with graffiti. Riot police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the protesters hours after.
China’s state newspaper People’s Daily is calling web users to ‘safeguard Hong Kong’ today with a poster showing both the flag of Hong Kong and the national flag of China.
The paper – the mouthpiece of the Communist Party – said protesters attacked China’s national sovereignty and openly taunted the ‘one country, two systems’ principle.
Footage of workers cleaning the Chinese emblem has also been released by China’s state broadcaster CCTV.
CCTV said in prime-time news that ‘all walks of life in Hong Kong condemned the violent behaviour of radical demonstrators’ before citing the city’s former pro-Beijing Chief Executives Tung Chee-hwa and Leung Chun-ying.
China News highlighted a pro-Beijing rally in central Hong Kong on Saturday.
The report said more than 310,000 ‘patriotic people’ attended the event, called ‘Safeguard HK’, to condemn violence and separatism.
One expert told The Wall Street Journal that China seemed to be trying to control the narrative of the Hong Kong protests after news of the anti-Beijing rallies had reached mainland despite censorship efforts.
Hong Kong has been rocked by anti-government protests since the beginning of June.
The rallies were first sparked by a proposed extradition law which would allow criminal suspects in Hong Kong to be sent to mainland China for trial.
The large-scale protests involving millions later transformed into demonstrations against China’s ruling over the former British colony.
Mainland Chinese media had largely avoided reporting the Hong Kong protests. Pictures and footage related to the demonstrations had been hard to find on Chinese social media until today.