For all our sakes, do not cross that line
- Violence is escalating between protesters and police, and face-offs have to stop before someone is killed
This is Hong Kong’s version of the chicken-or-egg question. Protesters say they are provoked into fighting back when police go after them. Police, not unreasonably, counter that they do not respond if the protests are peaceful.
What we do know is that young protesters, with their cop-hating subculture, and the police, who are increasingly frustrated and angry, make up a toxic, explosive combination. Must we see someone die before we pull back?
The escalation of violence has been steady and is progressively worsening. We have crossed another threshold. More Molotov cocktails were thrown at police over the weekend, and clashes on Sunday witnessed the most used in a confrontation to date.
Cornered by dozens of violent protesters armed with long poles and metal bars, several officers pulled their revolvers and one of them fired a warning shot into the air. What goes up must come down. A falling bullet could be just as deadly in a crowd.
Thankfully, no one was hit. The officers showed extraordinary restraint and professionalism even though they were all injured to varying degrees. But the whole incident could have had a much worse outcome. Both sides are tempting fate if we allow them to keep repeating such violent face-offs.
Suppose someone throws a petrol bomb at a police van, which catches fire. An officer doesn’t get out in time and is burned to death. Or suppose a trigger-happy officer fires live ammunition into a rioting crowd and kills someone. We can all imagine how the other side will react.
All gloves are off, it’s open season on the enemy. Who’s the enemy? Well, anyone who wears black and a mask or goggles; or anyone who wears a police uniform.
We are not there yet. But we would be deluding ourselves if we think we are not moving closer and closer to the abyss. We don’t need the People’s Liberation Army or People’s Armed Police. We ourselves are perfectly capable of shedding blood. But that’s the line we don’t want to cross – because there is no turning back.
Maybe we can all blame Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and Beijing. Maybe they are responsible. But the chain of responsibility will be long. Some of us support the protesters; some the police. We all have friends and families who belong to both camps. We will all have blood on our hands.
Let’s not go there.