Should I stay or should I go - Hong Kong [protests]

[Melburnian1]

Looks like the airport is under siege again. And violent activities in the MTR between the police and the protesters.

The MTR battles are sometimes at 'non touristy' railway stations, but MTR (no doubt at Beijing's direction) has begun to shut down multiple lines at times. Thus one's travel could be adversely affected (including as noted in the article to the airport.)

The arrest in the last couple of days (and subsequent release) of two key young players (one of each sex) with court cases to come may be further inflaming the populace:

Hong Kong activists Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow arrested

Pair released on bail vow to continue protests despite cancellation of march

asia.nikkei.com

Even hundreds in the law (solicitors, paralegals) had a march in the last few weeks. They don't support Beijing.

While advice from airlines can atrophy, quickly - this one was issued at 1600 hours AEST on Sunday 31 August - it notes that the Airport Express train is not operating:

https://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_AU/travel-information/travel-preparation/travel-advisories/traffic-distruption-to-hkia.html?cxsource=roller

 

[Happy Trails]

I'm transiting HKG just now and airside is normal, though much less busy than usual.

 

[harvyk]

I'm transiting HKG just now and airside is normal, though much less busy than usual.

Can you hear anything? Eg chanting or other demonstrations?

 

[Happy Trails]

Can you hear anything? Eg chanting or other demonstrations?

No signs of disturbance.
Outbound immigration and security appeared normal.
Reading elsewhere that protests are ongoing and the airport express line is closed.
Calls for a general strike tomorrow.

 

[33kft]

Due to the injunction, the protesters are largely outside of the airport rather than inside. Suggestion is that some flights are affected.

Hong Kong Protesters Squeeze Access to the Airport (Published 2019)

A day after clashes between the police and protesters, including inside a subway car, demonstrators tried to disrupt service at a critical Asian travel hub.

www.nytimes.com

https://twitter.com/x/status/1168083339661598721

 

[get me outta here]

From the SMH

 

[Ade]

I was in HKG yesterday - no sign of protesters in the airport. Airside was very quiet and normal. Spent 10 hours between CX and QF lounges and was on the QF128 last night

But some of the lounge staff said that they had trouble getting to work and had to transfer at different places before they could get into the airport

There was also a text message from Qantas that there is a likelihood of protests and to allow extra time to travel to/from airport

 

[Isochronous]

Interestingly when CX said that they were experiencing a downturn in a number of markets which the listed, the glaring omission was Australia - so clearly our services to HKG are still going well!

 

[Melburnian1]

Interestingly when CX said that they were experiencing a downturn in a number of markets which the listed, the glaring omission was Australia - so clearly our services to HKG are still going well!

While yields are more important than passenger numbers (in one sense), this doesn''t match with recent statements from the [redacted] CEO at QF who has said flights will be replaced with smaller aircraft (which only meant one or two becoming A332s not A333s.)

In two or three months when BITRE loadings for August are issued, we'll know one way or the other.

 

[ellen10]

My CX flight Sydney to Hong Kong was full. The following flight to Dublin was almost full

 

[Melburnian1]

My CD flight Sydney to Hong Kong was full. The following flight to Dublin was almost full

'CD' is some obscure (to me) Dutch airline. Do you mean 'CX' for 'Cathay Pacific' (or is it a reference to 'Cathay Dragon', airline code 'KA?'

 

[ellen10]

I meant CX. Typing on phone pad

 

[JessicaTam]

The extradition bill has been withdrawn: Hong Kong: Lam withdraws extradition bill that sparked months-long protests

The Hong Kong leader, Carrie Lam, formally withdrew an extradition bill on Wednesday that has sparked month of protests and plunged the territory into its biggest political crisis in decades.

 

[Melburnian1]

The extradition bill has been withdrawn: Hong Kong: Lam withdraws extradition bill that sparked months-long protests

'Will be' rather than 'has been' is what locally produced www.hkfp.cpm suggests.

Given that pro-democracy demonstrators have five key demands and the above is only one, it's hard to see these large scale protests coming to an end soon.

 

[Melburnian1]

This beating of "ordinary people" just going about their travel must be one of a few reasons why, as AFFer Hvr said in the second post of this thread, that HKG ought be avoided at present. Many Hong Kong residents must be angry at how its police force has transformed from a respected outfit under the British to what it is now (although we don't know how many of the police have been brought in from mainland China).

The repression of Marxism in full view on Kowloon:

'I thought I was about to die’: Eyewitnesses describe brutal beatings by Hong Kong police

Hong Kong riot police violence is traumatizing the population. Here's why eyewitnesses are having nightmares or cannot sleep.

www.latimes.com

 

[Isochronous]

The extradition bill has been withdrawn: Hong Kong: Lam withdraws extradition bill that sparked months-long protests

Had this been done in June after the 2m person March that would have resolved people's anger, but there has been too much abuse of power and too many wounds for this move to be sufficient to resolve the situation.

This beating of "ordinary people" just going about their travel must be one of a few reasons why, as AFFer Hvr said in the second post of this thread, that HKG ought be avoided at present. Many Hong Kong residents must be angry at how its police force has transformed from a respected outfit under the British to what it is now (although we don't know how many of the police have been brought in from mainland China).

The repression of Marxism in full view on Kowloon:

'I thought I was about to die’: Eyewitnesses describe brutal beatings by Hong Kong police

Hong Kong riot police violence is traumatizing the population. Here's why eyewitnesses are having nightmares or cannot sleep.

www.latimes.com

Well said.

 

[get me outta here]

HKG will never be the same. I liked going there, people and families all knowing how to live their lives without bothering others.

 

[Melburnian1]

This article discusses CX in more than one of its paragraphs, although AFFer Isochronous may have a different take on the CX chairman:

China is inflicting a world of defeats disguised as 'win-win' victories | Hong Kong Free Press HKFP

When your columnist started advising representatives from foreign businesses how to get into the Chinese market, the first and second things he told them was to stay out of politics and repeat the phrase “win-win co-operation” ad nauseam. Nowadays, he has to change his strategy and tell them to...

www.hongkongfp.com

 

[harvyk]

Well I'm on my way to HKG

I'll do a trip report in a few days when I get back.

 

[33kft]

I caught a segment on ABC radio this morning claiming protesters will again seek to disrupt Airport operations today, but no more detail than that, so it will remain to be seen how much truth there is to that prediction.