Anti-government protesters vow to stick with new strategy after increased weekday violence brings Hong Kong to partial standstill
- Observers say aiming for citywide strike on Monday had a bigger impact than the usual weekend violence
- But the government has warned it is ‘wishful thinking’ that it would cave in to further mayhem
Hong Kong’s protesters vowed to keep up their new strategy of weekday escalation of violence, after causing widespread traffic disruption on Monday that brought the city to a partial standstill by forcing shop closures and curtailing the working day for many residents.
Political scientists said the latest actions – though probably unsustainable – had dealt a bigger blow to the city than the usual weekend violence, which Hongkongers had already adapted to as the anti-government unrest entered its sixth month.
To ensure minimal time for police to plan ahead, they only announced the list of gathering spots an hour in advance, through encrypted messaging channel Telegram, calling on others to block roads once they could form a group of 20.
Their actions paralysed road traffic and forced the gradual closure of 32 railway stations throughout the day.
On Reddit-like site LIHKG – the de facto virtual command centre of the movement – users were excited about the disruption they had brought and quickly planned a similar operation for Tuesday morning.