Editorial | Violence at airport must be condemned and offenders brought to justice

Condemn is a strong word, one repeatedly heard in Hong Kong as protests escalate. But it has to be used again in the toughest terms to describe the actions of some demonstrators who overstepped the mark of basic decency at the airport on Tuesday night, harassing, haranguing and even resorting to violence towards two mainland men. Earlier, passengers trying to leave the city were blocked from departing, pregnant women and people with children among them, leading to angry outbursts, pleading and tears. The city’s reputation for being safe has taken another blow, perhaps the most serious so far in the more than two months of dissent, making mere apologies far from enough to repair the damage.

Airports, by their nature in a world of challenging politics, need to be safe and secure. Violence is intolerable in such an environment and yet protesters who claim to be seeking to protect Hong Kong’s freedoms and rule of law resorted to what can only be described as hooliganism. The victims, accused of being agent provocateurs, were verbally and physically abused. One fainted amid the chaos, yet every effort was made to prevent him from receiving medical treatment and a humiliating sign was placed above his head; the other, a journalist for the nationalist Global Times, was tied up and beaten.

Suspicions are rife among the protesters, who are unsure whom to trust. But that is of no concern to passengers who saw the violence or the Chinese and international media who reported the event; the message is that even people passing through Hong Kong International Airport and innocent bystanders, perhaps on the street, could at any time be attacked.

There is now global understanding why flights were cancelled for two days as protests grew to unmanageable proportions. The city’s image has been damaged, perhaps irrevocably, and tourists, convention-goers and businesspeople may now be reluctant to visit. Mainland public outrage towards the protesters has skyrocketed.

Those involved were a radical minority among a peaceful mass who had been protesting at the airport since last Friday. Efforts were made by fellow demonstrators to prevent the violence and a statement claiming to represent the movement gave sincere apologies and spoke of supporters being angry, frightened and exhausted and prone to being easily agitated and overreacting. But there is no viable excuse for the violence exhibited.

A court order has brought calm back to the airport. People’s right to protest has been catered for through the setting up of two zones in the arrivals hall. The cause of the protesters has taken a serious knock. But unfortunately, so too has Hong Kong’s image – and for that, the radicals have to be condemned and face the full force of justice.