Thousands gather for vigil in central Hong Kong to mourn death of student Chow Tsz-lok then disperse peacefully
- Gathering at Tamar Park, and another near the scene of Chow’s injuries, sombre and subdued compared with recent street clashes
- But there are still flashes of anger against police, and calls for revenge
Thousands of Hongkongers flooded Tamar Park on Saturday night for a peaceful vigil to mourn the death of a university student who fell from a car park floor in unexplained circumstances near a police dispersal operation.
As dusk fell, the crowd, mostly wearing face masks and black outfits, poured onto the site carrying white and yellow chrysanthemums and lilies which they placed by the hundreds in front of a small stage. Many laid colourful paper cranes as others gave out black ribbons.
Compared with the rash of violent protests across several districts on Friday evening, which led to the firing of tear gas and a live round, Saturday’s turnout at Tamar and an impromptu gathering of mourners at Tseung Kwan O were sombre and subdued.
The Admiralty event was the first public rally to mark the death of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology student Chow Tsz-lok for which police had given approval.
At Tseung Kwan O, inside the car park where Chow was reported to have fallen four metres to the second floor last weekend, a stream of strangers and friends showed up to pay their respects before a shrine of flowers and lit candles, which expanded as the evening wore on. Many hung paper cranes over the balcony of the car park and pasted condolence messages on the walls.
Chow, 22, a second-year computer science undergraduate, suffered a severe brain injury from the fall in the early hours of Monday and died from cardiac arrest at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Friday. He was the first person to die after injuries sustained during a police operation in the city’s five months of social unrest.