Protesters do their bit for small business
To minimise damage done in districts where the Occupy Central protests are taking place, demonstrators have come up with measures to help small businesses.
To minimise damage done in districts where the Occupy Central protests are taking place, demonstrators have come up with measures to help small businesses. On a Facebook page called "Occupy supports small enterprises", they have put up a map listing small retailers and restaurants that support the movement, and asking people to help out these businesses. Some have also been helping Wan Chai restaurants carry rice boxes to Admiralty for sale. And outside McDonald's in the Admiralty Centre, where many protesters have been stationed for days, some were heard shouting: "Stop visiting big chains! There are small shops that support Occupy, let's support these small shops!"
Occupy protesters in Mong Kok should fear the police and their opponents no more - because an ancient Chinese general is at the scene to protect them. On Tuesday, All Around Town spotted a plaque featuring Kwan Tai, popularly known as the God of War, at the Mong Kok protest site. Kwan Tai, a Han dynasty (202 BC to 220 AD) general, is regarded as a symbol of loyalty and integrity, and is widely worshipped by the police and triads in Hong Kong. "Kwan Tai does not allow the Hong Kong police to help a tyrant victimise people," read a poster beside the plaque. The God of War is not the only spiritual power Occupy protesters have turned to in recent days. One protester, Marco Ho, said he drew a divination stick for the pro-democracy movement at a Sha Tin temple, which read: "The students will win a little and the government will lose a little." Ho, 40, a renovation worker, said: "The guy in the temple … also said there would not be big casualties." Ho said he joined the movement when students began their class boycotts late last month and he has gone to work just twice since then. He had no regrets because he felt the need to protect the students, he said. He added that the central government was unlikely to grant Hong Kong true democracy and hoped the Federation of Students would not be "too greedy" in their discussions with the government.