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One Year On: PolyU Student Recalls Traumatic Memory of #PolyUSiege

Part 1/4

[Editor's note: The Hong Kong Police attacked the Polytechnic University for the first time on Nov 11, 2019 and intensively since Nov 17. On Nov 18, thousands of Hongkongers protested in areas nearby the university, hoping to rescue the civilians entrapped inside the campus.

The violent dispersal operation by the police had caused a stampede, injuring many along Nathan Road.

Having besieged the university for 13 days, the police arrested more than a thousand civilians and injured countless.]

It has been one year into the police's siege of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (#PolyU).

During the siege in November 2019, Citizens News had conducted an interview with the acting president of the university's student union Ken Woo Kwok-wang. The 22-year-old Ken was wearing a pair of black-framed glasses, slightly showing exhaustion on his face.

He was reserved when talking about the condition of those who stayed behind in defence of the PolyU campus. The reporter of Citizens News did not ask further, so as to not provoke the emotion of the protesters.

One year has passed, the reporter met with Ken again, hoping to learn more about what had happened.

Ken is not wearing his glasses anymore. He cut his hair short and has apparently lost some weight. It is as if he needs to look like a different person, in order to part way with that traumatic memory.

Ken admitted frankly that he is afraid of bringing it up with friends, as his friends think he has experienced a lot. Ken said, "I've seen those who were much worst than me [during the siege]. I don’t think I did anything extraordinarily well. I felt a little bit guilty. My friends and other people have some
expectation for me and think I have done something, but I don't really think so."

Whenever he hears sayings like that, he has a headache. There is something he cannot overcome, still.

Continue Reading Part 2/4:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/26748

Source: CNews #Nov14
https://tinyurl.com/y3vspxq7

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#Interview

#PolyUSiege #LastYearToday
Student Recalling Police Siege of University: No Place is Always Safe, and There's Nothing the Police Wouldn't Dare to Do

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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/26738

Part 2/4

According to the then-acting president of the Student Union Ken Woo, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (#PolyU) was the first university attacked by the police during the Anti-Extradition Bill Protest in 2019.

It happened before the Battle of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (#CUHK). On the morning of November 11, 2019, it began with the police firing two rounds of tear gas into the PolyU campus at around 6:30am.

As Woo recalled, he dashed from the campus D Core Exit to the bridge connecting to Hung Hom Train Station after he heard some noises from that direction.

When he arrived, the police were already inside the campus, passing by the Democracy Wall. An officer pointed his gun at his head and ordered him to leave.

15 minutes later, police fired tear gas inside the campus. At that point, Wu realized that there was no going back.

PolyU had become a thorn in the eyes of the police. Woo said that it was not new to have police monitoring the campus; after every demonstration on Hong Kong Island, there would always be about 60 to 70 uniformed officers at the Cross Harbour Tunnel bus stop beside PolyU, conducting bag and vehicle inspections.

On October 1st, 2019 [PRC's National Day], police were even guarding each exit of the university, searching the bags of everyone who left or entered the campus. 

Even so, Woo still felt that the university was his safe haven, until tear gas were fired into the campus. That was the moment when he realized that no place is always safe, and that there is nothing the police would not dare to do.

“The bridge was filled with happy memories of my 4 years of university life. I recalled every moment walking on the bridge with my committee members, laughing happily.” Woo said, "Witnessing that moment [the siege by the police] when everything I knew has irreversibly changed, that the campus I used to know has turned into a battle field, it was a shock."

Continue Reading Part 3 / 4
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/26777

Source: CNews #Nov14
https://tinyurl.com/y3vspxq7

#KenWoo #PolySU #Interview #HongKongProtests #ProtestersStory #AntiElab
#HongKongChronicles
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Frontliners and Supporters: Be Valiant or Be Peaceful? To Stay or to Leave? How Far Can One Go?

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Part 3 / 4

"The committee held discussions on whether to stay or to leave the campus," the acting president of #PolyU Student Union Ken Woo said.

“One of our members was a nursing student, and you could not become a nurse if you have a criminal record. We wanted those who had family responsibilities to leave and help from the outside where it's less risky, and those who were willing to shoulder the consequences to stay inside”.

The 18 members of the Students' Union did not spend a lot of time together, as each worked in their own ways towards the same goal in different places.

“I'm not the muscular type”, Ken said, “One might say that it doesn’t make much difference whether I stay at the frontline or not. But I think my participation was more of an emotional support to the frontliners. I had no reason to leave”.

When being asked whether he felt sad when he was the last among the 18 members to stay behind, Ken replied: “I actually wanted them to leave as soon as possible. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt, especially my committee members. The longer they stayed, the higher the chance of getting arrested. Moreover, staying in the campus also was a heavy burden on one’s mind.”

Source: CNews #Nov14
https://tinyurl.com/y3vspxq7

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After the Police Siege, #PolyU Student: There are stories in every corner of this campus

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Part 4/4

Ken Woo Kwok-wang was serving as acting president of the PolyU Student Union when he witnessed the anxiety, desolation, and fear inside the besieged campus in 2019. At the time, he was only 22 years old.

On the morning of Nov 11, 2019, the police fired two tear gas shots into the campus. By the dark night of Nov 23, 2019, the campus had become a ghost town.

Ken was born in 1997; he has two sisters. He considered himself fortunate, as his parents supported him and took pride in him.  His father had escaped to Hong Kong after the Cultural Revolution in China, and had deep impressions of how the authoritarian government suppressed its people, as well as the lasting harm caused by their public criticism sessions.

Ken's father told him: "Don't give  up your life; you have to outlive these cops."

After stepping out of the #PolyU campus, he was brought to Hung Hom Police Station. However, he experienced stomach cramps from not having a decent meal for a whole week, so he was soon transferred to Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

"After eating white bread for a whole week, prison food actually tastes good," he joked, obviously in dark humor.

While being trapped in the campus, he saw many people who were traumatized and emotionally on edge, including himself. However, he told himself to step up and not fear, because he knew the goal he had set for himself.

"If you want to help others, you cannot be scared. Even if you are, you cannot show it. If you are scared, how can you convince others to stay calm? You can't."

After coming out of the hospital, Ken spent 2 months to let his emotions sink in. He remembered the fear that he buried in his heart during the ordeal, and realized how scared he was. Many doubts and questions had surfaced in his mind, which made him even more depressed.

Ken sought counselling after school had resumed.  He was afraid to revisit certain areas in the campus, such as Core Y; as soon as he approaches the area, the traumatic memories return to him. "I remember that the morning was cold.  Many people were sprayed by the police water cannon the night before. There were about 20 people wrapped in blankets, shaking in the cold, desperate to escape. I'm actually still afraid to face these memories. There is a story like that in every corner of this campus."

Now that the siege of PolyU had passed, he said, agony was the only memory left in his mind.

Image: Lam Yik Fei / New York Times
Source: Cnews #Nov14
https://tinyurl.com/y3vspxq7

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