#CivilTourismBoard #VictoriaPark

The Road to Freedom: First Stop, Victoria Park

Sitting on the northern coast of Hong Kong Island, the 19-hectare Victoria Park is a 2-minute walk to the west from Exit A2 of Tin Hau MTR Station. Besides having a two-hectare lawn at its centre, the park has six seven-a-side football pitches. Since 1990, it has been the venue of the annual June 4 candlelight vigil, held by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China. In 2019, the 30th year after the massacre at Tiananmen Square, as many as 180,000 people participated in it.

On February 13, 2019, the Hong Kong government announced the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019, dubbed locally ‘the law that gets you to zung1’—short for China, ‘zung1’ also means ‘death’. The bill received universal criticism, and thus began the anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill movement. On March 31, the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) led a march joined by 12,000 people. On April 28, the CHRF organized another march, involving 130,000 people. On June 9, a third CHRF march was held, starting at none other than Victoria Park. This time, the turnout was a record-breaking 1.03 million.

On June 15, Chief Executive Carrie Lam ‘suspended’ the second reading, but she refused to withdraw the bill. Later that day, protester Marco Leung fell to his death for the movement. Citizens assembled again at Victoria Park the next day, taking part in the CHRF’s fourth march against the bill. There were two million and one Hongkongers in the procession, that one free soul being the martyr himself.

As David stood up to Goliath, the empire that is China tightened its grip. With sheer brutality, the police swept through the land. One of the many low points was August 11, when they shot a female first-aider in the eye. The people were enraged, and another march was planned for August 18 by the CHRF, only to be banned by the police. The authority merely allowed a rally at Victoria Park. That day, however, Hongkongers managed to be water in a remarkable feat: 1.7 million of them poured through the park, where they briefly presented themselves as one of the many against Chinese oppression at what was legally a gathering, as the rain came pouring down itself. That day, the roads of Hong Kong Island were flooded with defiant citizens streaming ceaselessly to and from the park side by side in a most astonishing scene.

But the park was more than just the site of rallies or marches. On September 18, a group of football aficionados gathered around it. Though wearing jerseys to which they had pledged allegiance, they were not rivals that night. Hand in hand they formed the Hong Kong Way, a human chain modelled on the Baltic Way, and sang the protest anthem ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ with an athletic inflection.

Over the next few months, however, the police imposed severe restriction on assemblies in Victoria Park. And when the restriction was finally relaxed and the CHRF’s march on New Year’s Day 2020 was permitted, it was cut short by the authority three hours in. The many citizens who had waited to join the procession for four, five hours at Victoria Park were given a mere 30 minutes to leave. In any case, the organizer estimated the turnout to be around the 1.03 million recorded on June 9, a figure proving that Hongkongers are still standing strong against China.

Text：Sap
Photo：Deutsche Welle, Epoch Times, Stand News, Kevin Cheng Photography

抗爭之行——維園

（－）維多利亞公園（簡稱「維園」）位於香港島北部，可由港鐵天后站A2出口往西行兩分鐘到達。全園面積達十九公頃，包括佔地兩公頃的中央草坪、和六個硬地七人足球場。自一九九○年起成為支聯會（全稱「香港市民支援愛國民主運動聯合會」），每年六‧四燭光晚會的場地。二○一九年悼念天安門大屠殺卅週年，多達十八萬人參與。

（二）二○一九年二月十三日，香港政府展開《2019年逃犯及刑事事宜相互法律協助法例（修訂）條例草案》、亦即俗稱「送中條例」的立法程序，引來各界反對，「反送中運動」隨之展開。民陣（全稱「民間人權陣線」），於同年三月卅一日的一萬二千人遊行、及四月廿八日的十三萬人遊行之後，再於六月九日迎來第三次的反送中遊行，達破紀錄的一百零三萬人參與。

（三）至十五日，特首林鄭月娥宣佈「暫緩」二讀但未肯「撤回」。當晚義士梁凌杰為「反送中」跳樓身亡。至十六日，香港人再到維園表達「反送中」訴求，達二百萬零一人參與，多出的一人象徵香港人與梁義士一同見證歷史。

（四）八月十一日，全港多區爆發警暴事件，一名女醫護被射眼更引發全城震怒。至十八日，警方不批准民陣遊行，民陣遂於維園開創了史無前例的「流水式集會」。一百七十萬人冒着風雨，穿過會場「報到」之後離去，令馬路出現相反方向並行的人潮。

（五）但維園亦不限於集會遊行。九月十八日，一班足球迷放下成見，穿上各自隊伍球衣、圍着園內足球場拉成人鏈，合唱《願榮光歸香港》，成就了一次別開生面的「香港之路球迷大和解」，與卅年前東歐抗暴的「波羅的之路」人鏈，遙相呼應。

（六）之後警方一度阻撓在維園舉辦任何活動。二○二○年一月一日民陣舉辦「元旦大遊行」，惟開始三小時後便被腰斬。大批市民苦候四五小時，被警方要求於半小時內散去。經會方估算後，認為已出發及等候出發人數與六‧九時相若，遂宣佈參與人數為一百零三萬。印證了近半年以來的「反送中」鬥志，歷久不衰。

文：Sap
圖：Deutsche Welle, Epoch Times, Stand News, Kevin Cheng Photography

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On the Road to Freedom: Kowloon Mosque

Kowloon Mosque (short for ‘Kowloon Masjid and Islamic Centre’) is located at the junction of Nathan Road and Haiphong Road, right next to Exit A1 of Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station and Kowloon Park. The mosque is a four-storey building with extensive use of white marble on the façade, featuring an onion-shaped dome in the middle and a piercing tower of thirty-six feet on each of its four corners. Kowloon Mosque is the largest among about fifteen mosques in Hong Kong. It covers an area of over 16,000 sq. ft. and can accommodate 3,500 people.  

In 2019, the Mosque was under attack from the police’s specialised crowd management vehicle, commonly known as the ‘water cannon vehicle’. A water cannon can deliver more than 1,200 litres of water per minute and shoot with a range of over 50 metres. It incurs permanent damage on the human body if fired from a short distance. Blue dye can be added to the water and it is easy for police to mark people with blue dye shot.

On 20 October, not long after the Kowloon demonstration had started, the Police Tactical Unit (PTU) deployed water cannon vehicles to disperse protestors. One of the trucks suddenly stopped by the entrance of the Mosque and fired blue liquid at legislator Jeremy Tam Man-ho and others who were on the site. Mohan Chugani, former president of the Indian Association, was also hit by the water cannon and claimed feeling a burnt, indicating a possible addition of hazardous chemical into the liquid. Another victim, Pakistani businessman, Philip Khan, said: ‘We weren't troublemakers. The police was.’ 

The blue liquid made the entrance of the Mosque a mess. Tens of citizens dashed to the site to clean up after knowing the incident. The government took no action until night. The commander of Yau Tsim Police District led around ten senior officers to wipe the handrail at the entrance for a few minutes. On 21 October, after Chief Executive Carrie Lam had paid a closed visit to the Mosque, Chief-Imam Muhammad Arshad stated that Lam had given apologies. However, other victims of the blue spray did not receive a word of regrets. 

There are around 300,000 Muslims in Hong Kong, most of them are Sunni. The population consists of about 150,000 Indonesians, 30,000 Pakistanis and 50,000 Chinese. The Kowloon Mosque opens on Thursdays and Saturdays, 11am-6pm. Each ticket is $10. Shoe-removal and proper clothing are required upon entrance.

Text：Sap
Photo：South China Morning Post, Initium Media, Mad Dog Daily, Travelwire, Stand News, Kevin Cheng Photography

抗爭之路——九龍清真寺

九龍清真寺（全稱「九龍清真寺暨伊斯蘭中心」），位於尖沙嘴彌敦道及海防道交界、港鐵尖沙嘴站A1出口，毗鄰九龍公園。寺院以大理石建成，高四層，穹頂呈洋蔥形，四角聳立著卅六呎高尖塔。此寺為全港約十五座清真寺中最大，佔地逾一萬六千平方呎，內可容納三千五百人。

二○一九年，寺院忽然受到水炮車（全稱「人羣管理特別用途車」）攻擊。水炮每分鐘可將一千二百公升水射至五十米外，而近距離射中人體，更可致永久傷殘。水可混入藍色染料。

十月二十日，九龍大遊行起步不久，便被警察機動部隊出動水炮車驅趕。「炮車」駛經寺門前突然停下，將藍色水劑射向在場的立法會議員譚文豪及其他人。印度協會前主席毛漢稱被射中有「火燒」感覺，令人懷疑水劑混入化學物料。巴基斯坦裔商人簡浩名表示：「我們不是搞事分子，搞事分子應該是警察，不是其他人。」

藍水將寺門弄得一遍狼藉。幾十名市民聞訊後趕到現場清潔。政府則拖延至當晚方由油尖警區指揮官率領十多名高級警官，到場抹扶手數分鐘。至廿一日，行政長官林鄭月娥率領高官閉門訪問後，清真寺首席教長穆罕默德·阿沙德宣稱林鄭已道歉。但譚議員及其他藍水受害者，卻不獲道歉。

全港約有卅萬名穆斯林，以遜尼派為主，約有十五萬印尼人、三萬巴基斯坦人、及五萬華人。九龍清真寺於週四、六，上午十一時至下午六時開放，門票十元。須入寺脫鞋、衣著端莊。

文：Sap
圖：南華早報, 端傳媒, 癲狗日報, Travelwire, 立場新聞, Kevin Cheng Photography