Hong Kong protests: Yuen Long residents keep their heads while all about them lose theirs

As clashes broke out in Yuen Long during protests against the mob violence that rocked the town a week ago, villagers, residents and businesses remained calm.

Normally packed with food and nature lovers at the weekend, the suburb town was marred by chaotic scenes on Saturday, as thousands of protesters marched from Shui Pin Tsuen Playground to the Yuen Long MTR station.

Tensions were particularly heightened around the villages, as marchers surrounded the area amid a heavy police presence. Police had earlier rejected the organisers’ application to hold the protest.

In Nam Pin Wai, hundreds of people gathered outside the village believed to be the home of some of the more than 100 men who beat up travellers in Yuen Long MTR station last Sunday.

At least 45 people were injured by the mob in the attack, with some of the victims being those who had marched against the government’s now-suspended extradition bill. Some of the 12 people arrested have been linked with triad gangs.

“Gangsters, come out and put up a fight,” some shouted as the march was about 20 metres from the village.

Some villagers wore helmets and face masks, but one put up a sign that read: “Come and go safely.”

As tensions boiled over, police fired tear gas, and some protesters reacted by dashing towards the canisters to cover them and prevent them from emitting smoke, or even to try and throw them back at officers.

A private car was seen smashed up outside Yuen Long Station at around 9pm. Protesters smashed the windshield and broke open the trunk, where they found wooden batons, metal pipes and a samurai style sword. An army style hat was also found inside the car.

Protesters suggested the items inside the car resembled weapons used by the men responsible for the attacks last Sunday.

Democratic Party lawmaker Roy Kwong Chun-yu said it was wrong for police to fire tear gas on On Lok Road and Tai Cheung Street, as it could affect old people living in several elderly care homes in the area.

But an employee at the Friendly Home for the Aged said: “We are not affected, as we closed our windows.”

Another staff member at Fu Hong Home for the Elderly said: “Everything went on as usual here, and they [residents] are watching television.”

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But a 50-year-old unemployed woman, who only identified herself as June, said she was worried when she walked back to her home at a nearby village.

“There shouldn’t be chaos,” she said, and complained that the protests had disrupted traffic and forced her to walk 30 minutes back to her home.

Still, some residents appeared tolerant.

Rachel Lam, 35, who joined the protest with her husband, before the tear gas was fired, said it was police who triggered the chaos.

“We were walking peacefully. It was police officers who made it not peaceful,” she said.

She said the situation in the afternoon was calm, but admitted her daily life had been affected as she did not dare bring her children outside.

The housewife said she had bought food for two to three days, because she did not know whether shops would be closed on Sunday.

Another resident, retiree Sammy Lam Kin, 51, said the protests had limited impact on him because he mostly just stayed at home.

On the eve of the protests, locals had prepared themselves for any disruption, and many stockpiled food.

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By midday on Saturday, more than a quarter of shops in Castle Peak Road, around the Tai Tong Road light rail stop in Yuen Long, had closed.

Ken Lam, the owner of Dai Won Ton noodle shop, said the number of customers had fallen dramatically.

Asked whether he had seen this many businesses shutting their doors before, he said: “Only when a typhoon hits the city.”

But Mr Lui, who owns a shop that sells old Hainanese chicken rice, was more at ease, and offered free water to passers-by.

“After the violence last Sunday, if we don’t open our shop today, then it will only heighten fears further,” he said.

In a Facebook group dedicated to the Yuen Long community, there was a mixed range of views over the protests.

A user named Alan To said the march was fine and everyone was happily buying cakes, but “when police and triads arrive, it becomes this chaotic.”

Meanwhile, George Hugo called for the “rioters” to be arrested and demanded they “return me my home!”

Another user called Tai Man Chan thanked protesters for coming to Yuen Long, but added: “It’s late, please go home soon.”