Hey! Welcome back to my blog!
So as I mentioned in my introduction, I will be blogging about "Human Rights and Freedom in Asia". So I've decided to start off with my most comfortable place, almost like home...HONG KONG!
For those who don't know about Hong Kong. It is an SAR (Special Administrative Region). It used to be a British Colony from 1842-1941. Now it is under the Chinese government and it has caused many disagreements and conflicts. I'd like to focus on a more recent riot. It happened on February 8th, the first day of Chinese New Year, there was a pretty big problem. The residents of Hong Kong were protesting because of the elections and how they wanted to have a better choice of candidates. They were fighting for freedom. Because they couldn't get that, they decided to protest. The protesters didn't like the authorities and the police were a sign of authority, so they threw water bottles and trash cans at the police. It became a huge riot and even the police had to fight back with pepper spray! The authorities fired gun shots as warning but that wasn't enough to stop the people. The people even took out certain bricks from the pavement to throw at the police. It was a huge mess right at the beginning of the New Year!1,4,5
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| Here's a resident throwing a garbage bin at a police. And yes, that is how big the garbage bins in Hong Kong are. |
Personally, I don't think there's anything wrong with what the people think. They want to have freedom so they're acting up in order to make a statement. BUT...I don't think they should have hurt the police. Many of the officers were hurt, injured, and could even have been killed. I mean, anyone could die if a brick was thrown at the head. Was there absolutely no way in talking things out? Maybe this could have happened some other day even. The Chinese are really superstitious people and having a disaster happen right on the first day of New Year isn't exactly what I'd call a great way to start off the year. The people even started fires. And not only did they hurt the police, they ended up hurting the reporters, journalists and even other residents. I just think that this shouldn't be the way to express opinion because they are hurting each other and I'm sure many of the police officers were confused and innocent but being punished for things they didn't do. They just so happened to be part of the authorities. Everything was really well elaborated though, I have to give them credit for that.
In the end, even though I think it's important to express yourselves and to fight for rights and freedom, this should not be the way. And just because the residents of Hong Kong have done this, that doesn't automatically make them bad people and a bad place. They are not the type of people to just start a riot and definitely should not be judged for one thing that they've done.
下次再見...
(See you next time...)
Sources:
2- My mom 3- A news broadcast that I watched with my mom
4- http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/hong-kong-activists-police-clash-over-holiday-food-stalls-1.2769991
5- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong
Hey Wynonna! I had no idea this happened on Chinese New Year! I didn't see anything on my news sources (Facebook Trends - LOL). Yeah, I do agree with what you said: there should have been a civilized conversation about this. The protesters were a minority, no? What does a Special Administrative Region have that other countries don't? Does it have to do with them being a British colony until 1941? Anyway, I hope to learn more about human rights in Asia! Keep us posted!
ReplyDeleteHey Camelia! Most people don't really know about this unless you're updated with all the things that happen in China. The protesters were just normal people like us. Some were adults and some were teenagers even (older teens though). Well to answer your question on the Special Administrative Region, it is because Hong Kong is a British colony. Thanks for reading my blog :)
DeleteHi there, what I liked about your blog is that you are doing something that is comfortable to you and that you actually care about doing research and information on it. You're not just doing it for the sake of a school project. I also like how you display your emotion of the subject that you're doing inside your blog it makes it very interesting to read unlike others... But anyways, I like your blog, keep posting!
ReplyDeleteHi there, I think that I'm pretty comfortable on this subject as well. But I also think that I have a lot to learn about the different places in Asia and how they treat situations differently. My opinion just as important as anyone else's opinion. But opinions are essential and as you said, interesting. Thanks for your support :)
DeleteHey Wynonna, I really enjoyed reading this post as I haven’t heard anything at all about this event… I like that you chose a place that you’re familiar with because I think it will be explained in a way anyone could understand. Thank you for the post and I’ll be keeping up with the rest of your posts! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHey Natalie, it's nice that you've enjoyed my post. I know many people haven't heard about this event, which is one of the other reasons I wanted to share this with everyone. Hopefully I will be able to explain my next posts well enough for everyone to understand. Thank you for your encouragement and thank you for taking the time to read and comment on my blog :)
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