In the past week, not a single day went by without protesters damaging MTR station facilities in some way. In many cases, ticketing machines and entry turnstiles were smashed or dismantled. I heard one protester at
Tung Chung station justifying his actions by saying only objects had been damaged, not human beings. He was implying he should not be judged as long as he wasn’t assaulting people.
Some people demanded an explanation from MTR staff for why certain stations were closed. A station manager who was off duty was
surrounded and attacked by young men wearing masks and black T-shirts at Po Lam station.
On September 6, there were news reports about protesters gathering around
Prince Edward and Mong Kok stations,
where they damaged ticketing machines, destroyed equipment and started fires nearby. The latter is a criminal offence. There was more of the same on September 8 at
Central MTR station. The unrest spread to other areas such as Causeway Bay and Wan Chai. Such stand-offs between protesters and police cause widespread disruption to the lives of ordinary people, many of whom dare not venture out of their homes on weekends.
I do not know what these protesters hope to achieve by committing these acts and crimes. This is mob rule. They keep destroying property, committing arson, throwing petrol bombs, endangering lives and challenging law and order on the pretext of forcing the government to respond to their five demands.
By challenging law and order, they are blatantly disregarding the very rule of law which has been heralded as a core value of Hong Kong, and which we have all been proud of. What is most disappointing is the failure of the so-called peaceful protesters and pan-democrats to dissociate themselves from the hooligans. The violent protesters, after throwing petrol bombs at the police, disappear into the crowd of peaceful protesters, who in effect give them cover.
