Visions of AsiaSeeing things differently.
The journal / Visions of Asia
It was a couple of weeks ago that we found ourselves in one of the most intense fights of the time between protesters and police in Hong Kong (where even Wanchai looked tame). For six to seven hours, I was literally in the war zone, between relentless assaults by protesters equipped with molotov cocktails and […]
Since about August 2019, the Hong Kong Protests have incorporated targeted vandalism as part of their modus operandi, as well as targeted violence towards police foces. Often directed towards the MTR, the local metro, or against mainland-related companies, the issue of “redecoration” as protesters rebaptized these acts sometimes leave uneasy. The Beginnings: MTR shuts down […]
The protests on 28 September 2019 promised to be a tough confrontation between police and protesters. Both parties knew it would be a “general rehearsal” for what would take place on October 1st, 2019, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the People’s Republic of China. And we were not disappointed, […]
Things have been a bit busy for me, as I posted an article for insider on the protests. But since my last post, things have only worsened in Hong Kong. On Friday, 4 October, the HK government decided to invoke the Emergency Regulations Ordinance, a law dating back to the colonial era to ban all […]
Friday 13 September, on the occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the peaceful and cheerful celebrations on several mountains of Hong Kong gave a glimmer of hope and peace. Within the same week-end, however, we moved from mid-autumn lanterns to days of fire in Hong Kong. In the case you would understandably lose track of the […]
My latest posts may induce in confusion and let you believe this has essentially become a political analysis and news bulletin. Not totally though. Before I was stuck at the airport, I spent a few days in Cebu. During that stay, we went to the Northern island of Malapascua. It could be said that is […]
We mentioned about tensions rising during that long march from To Kwa Wan to Mongkok and how it ended in police operations to disperse the protesters. The day after, everything changed again, as the population responded en masse to a protest, thus proving that support for frontline protesters had not changed, despite the incidents at […]
Although I live in Hong Kong, somehow I never got personally affected by the protests (except when I went to cover them). This time however, the blockage of all the operations on 12th August at the HK airport got me stranded abroad in Cebu. A sudden decision While everyone was aware of the trouble the […]
An interesting article published in the South China Morning Post this morning talks about the reaction in China to the Hong Kong Protests. What emerges from the account is a tale of how Beijing lost sight of the reality on the ground in Hong Kong. Deficient “intelligence gathering” It seems that the intelligence apparatus of […]
The Hong Kong protests took a familiar but delicate turn on Sunday 14 July, when I covered the protests of Shatin. Everything went fine, until the moment that one masked woman asked me if I was “press” as I was flying my drone. As I confirmed I was not she became aggressive and said “no […]