2019 lives on in Hong Kong

The first day of 2020 looked a lot like many of the days that made up 2019. Protestors took to the streets of Hong Kong in the tens of thousands to once again demonstrate their resolve.

Wan Chai, Hong Kong: Protestors jump a small barrier in the street as they organize in preparation for a confrontation with the police. On the first day of 2020 Hong Kongers made their intentions for the new year known, by taking the streets by the tens of thousands. January 1, 2020-Hong Kong-Photo by Aaron Guy Leroux

In my small portion of the day, which I spent in Wan Chai, Central and Causeway Bay there was a largely peaceful demonstration…until the sun went down and the riot police took the opportunity to get on the offensive. The South China Morning Post has reported that some 400 people were arrested in the area last night.

I found myself at the eastern edge of Wan Chai with the police pouring into the streets as the peaceful march dissipated. Curious as to what the police were up to considering that there was no one around me, I followed them eastward as they pressed into Causeway Bay to confront a group of Black Bloc protestors.

Causeway Bay, Hong Kong: Black Bloc protestors at the front prepare of the imminent attack by the HK police. On the first day of 2020 Hong Kongers made their intentions for the new year known, by taking the streets by the tens of thousands. January 1, 2020-Hong Kong-Photo by Aaron Guy Leroux

Once I arrived at the front, I slipped through the phalanx of police and traversed the one hundred and fifty meters of Hennessy road that separated the police and the Black Bloc. Protestors had, as ever, littered the road with brick and small piles of garbage that were to be lit on fire as they fell back deeper into Causeway Bay.

Causeway Bay, Hong Kong: Black Bloc protestors set fire to a pile of cardboard they had previously placed in the center of the street. As they retreated from oncoming police, they would leave burning piles of cardboard and garbage in their wake. On the first day of 2020 Hong Kongers made their intentions for the new year known, by taking the streets by the tens of thousands. January 1, 2020-Hong Kong-Photo by Aaron Guy Leroux

For a few moments I stood in eerie silence with the protestors as they waited to see what the police would do next. It is not a mystery of course. Riot police and their tactics have become predictable in the extreme; as have the tactics of the protestors. The two groups are locked in a danse macabre from which neither can escape. While the police continue their seemingly futile attempts to demonstrate their strength and legitimacy through violence and forced compliance; the protestors continue to demonstrate their unyielding resolve by showing up continually in mass peaceful demonstrations, and with acts of civil disobedience that often list into violence. Ironically the riot police and the protestors share the same weakness: neither group is equipped to solve a political problem.

The riot police charged the barricades on foot, and then sent the Mercedes water cannon charging ahead, while the protestors set their fires, and fell back to a second set of barricades they had hours prior.

Causeway Bay, Hong Kong: A protestors orders others to hold their position until the proximity and pace of the police advance can be determined. On the first day of 2020 Hong Kongers made their intentions for the new year known, by taking the streets by the tens of thousands. January 1, 2020-Hong Kong-Photo by Aaron Guy Leroux

Causeway Bay, Hong Kong: After a sprint, protestors fall back and catch their breath at a second set of barricades they built before the onslaught by police. On the first day of 2020 Hong Kongers made their intentions for the new year known, by taking the streets by the tens of thousands. January 1, 2020-Hong Kong-Photo by Aaron Guy Leroux

Catching their breath in this fall back position, protestors were on their phones getting information as to ascertain the positions of riot police units.

Causeway Bay, Hong Kong: A member of the Black Bloc contacts other protestors to get information on the movements of riot police. They suspect they are being encircled, and are looking for an escape route out of Causeway Bay. On the first day of 2020 Hong Kongers made their intentions for the new year known, by taking the streets by the tens of thousands. January 1, 2020-Hong Kong-Photo by Aaron Guy Leroux

Given the slightest opportunity the police have very often moved to surround the protestors and make arrests in one big push. They have been using this tactic regularly since June. After fifteen minutes of resting, arguing, and gathering information in a small intersection, the protestors as a group became aware of this fact…riot police were indeed taking up positions around them.

Causeway Bay, Hong Kong: A member of the Black Bloc sets out to cause some animosity. On the first day of 2020 Hong Kongers made their intentions for the new year known, by taking the streets by the tens of thousands. January 1, 2020-Hong Kong-Photo by Aaron Guy Leroux

Arrests were made while others fled into the night. More to come as 2020 unfolds here in Hong Kong. Rest assured that the broad strokes will largely remain the same, barring some as yet unseen force with enough energy to move either the protestors or Beijing from their positions. Protestors will take to the streets. Injuries and injustices large and small will be perpetrated upon citizens. This will fuel further protests. Beijing, and by extension the government of Hong Kong cannot be seen as compromising with people who demonstrate against the government. Hong Kongers cannot surrender their freedoms and submit to the brutal authoritarian surveillance state of the PRC.