#FirstHand #May9
#Interview With District Councillor Cheung Ka Yi on Police Deployment in Plaza Hollywood Shopping Mall

View full transcript here:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/20434

#SingWithYou #PoliceState #SocialDistancing #CheungKaYi #MothersDay #DistrictCouncil

#FirstHand #May9
#Interview With District Councillor Cheung Ka Yi on Police Deployment in Plaza Hollywood Shopping Mall

2045 | Diamond Hill

Reporter: Hello, District Councillor Cheung Ka Yi, what brings you to this shopping mall today?

Cheung: I saw online that netizens have called for a "Sing with You" event 7pm tonight here in the Plaza Hollywood shopping mall, so a couple other Councillors from the Wong Tai Sin District and I came to observe the situation and the police's deployment here tonight.

Reporter: What have you observed so far?

Cheung: Local residents have told us that there was a heavy police presence surrounding the shopping mall since this afternoon, like 10 police trucks in one street block. Police in full riot gear were already patrolling the footbridges and the areas around the mall. People started gathering in the mall around 7pm, and at around 7:30pm the police suddenly rushed into the mall -- this mall has 3 floors and they came in through the 2nd floor, announcing that nobody is allowed to gather because of "social distancing guidelines", and demanded everyone to leave. They kept patrolling inside the mall. The situation started off very peacefully, but then a verbal argument began, and a constituent from my district was stopped-and-searched by the police.

Reporter: I see that shoppers are still shopping and dining in the mall. Have the police announced what their next steps would be?

Cheung: We asked the mall's management just now, and there were no plans to shut down, as you can see all shops were open for business, until the police rushed in and shopkeepers started closing their stores. Many of the people are in the mall to shop or to celebrate Mothers' Day with a nice dinner with their families, but they have caused all shops to close and lose business for the rest of the night. I have asked the mall's management, and they said there are no plans to forcibly shut down the whole mall, but in reality it has brought great inconvenience to the residents who are here just to shop and dine. The police claimed that they came in because someone called the police expressing concerns that people in the mall are not being socially distant.

Reporter: Have the mall's security guards or management been able to confirm that somebody actually called the police?

Cheung: I am still trying to understand the situation, but they haven't responded to me yet. We are following up with them to see if this actually happened, but as you know, once the police are inside, there's no way to ask them to leave.

View the recording here:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/20433

#SingWithYou #PoliceState #SocialDistancing #CheungKaYi #MothersDay #DistrictCouncil