The New York Times International - 29.08.2019

T HE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL EDITION THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2019 | 3

World

Most of Hong Kong’s newspapers car-
ried the same photo on their front pages
early this week: a police officer in riot
gear, his eyes wide, pointing a revolver
at protesters. The photo, also beamed
around the world on satellite television,
captured a single, electrifying moment
in months of demonstrations, which
have often been described as “paralyz-
ing” and “roiling” this city of seven mil-
lion people.
But other images tell another, less
tantalizing version of events: that de-
spite the protests, life is proceeding rela-
tively normally.
In a video recorded by a New York
Times reporter, students in a baking
class barely batted an eye last weekend
when black-clad protesters surrounded
their classroom in a shopping mall. In a
photo that spread across social media
this month, a man at a street stall non-
chalantly purchased fish balls, a popular
snack, as smoke from a tear-gas canis-
ter swirled around him.
In short: This bastion of capitalism on
China’s southern coast is still going
about its business. The A.T.M.s are dis-
pensing cash. The stock market is filling
orders, although it has lost $300 billion
in market value since June and many
economists predict the territory could
soon fall into recession.
High-end restaurants are taking res-
ervations. Street vendors are hawking
their wares. With few — but very nota-
ble — exceptions, the trains are running
on time. And the airport, the world’s sev-
enth busiest, is operational. (Protesters,
however, have vowed to disrupt the air-
port again on Sunday.)
Lawyers, civil servants, accountants,
teachers and aviation employees have
all held demonstrations in recent weeks
— an indication of broad antigovern-
ment sentiment — only to return to their
jobs after a few hours, a sign that show-

ing up to work is still a priority. Citywide transportation shutdowns and dayslong general strikes have yet to materialize. The school year is set to start next week, right on schedule. “Yes, of course people are still eating and working,” said Jeffrey Mok, 33, an employee at a fish ball shop in the Kowloon district. “Those office workers who buy their breakfast here still come every morning, and they go to work just like that.” “Just because Hong Kong has a huge problem now doesn’t mean we have to put our lives on hold,” he said, summing up the sentiment of many. “We are all worried, but life goes on.” The worries are real. Most residents have seen nothing like this in their life- time. The “one country, two systems” arrangement under which China took back the onetime British colony in 1997, promising decades of freedom and rela- tive autonomy, looks very fragile.

And yet the city goes on. So confident are the protesters that its ubiquitous 7- Elevens and McDonald’s outlets will stay open, no matter the chaos, that the former is relied on as a dispensary of umbrellas (surprisingly good at repel- ling tear gas canisters), while vouchers to the latter are often distributed at marches to feed and hydrate weary protesters. For many of the hundreds of thousands of residents who have joined the protests, demonstrating is a weekend activity. Come Monday, everyone goes back to work. “Our lives are actually still very nor- mal on weekdays,” said Karen Lau, 22, a university student. “Just last Friday, I went to do my nails with my close friend and then we had Japanese food. It sounds funny, because the very next day we were facing tear gas and risking our lives in Kwun Tong. I think this is what’s unique about our protest this time. We

are all ordinary people living our ordinary little lives.” Hong Kongers may be willing to rock the boat, but for now, they are unwilling to capsize it. Beijing also seems unwilling to push the envelope too far, advanc- ing a policy of stalemate rather than risk a bloody crackdown. Even the local government seems torn between describing the protests as a growing menace and a contained exer- cise. Soon after the State Department is- sued a warning to American travelers visiting Hong Kong, officials here said the city remained a welcoming place for visitors and had a long tradition of peaceful protests. “The impact of these illegal confronta- tions is confined to a limited area near the procession routes, and is not wide- spread,” the government said in a statement. Despite Beijing’s claim that the protesters are attempting to foment a “color

revolution,” similar to those that up- ended governments in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, there are, as of now, no signs of the political instability or breakdown in civil society that were hallmarks of those events. None of which is to say that the protests have been small or unsuccessful. Nor is it to say they have not taken a toll on the economy or descended into vio- lence.

Shops may be open for business, but those catering to foreign tourists and mainland Chinese visitors have been particularly pinched. Luxury brands, hotels and airlines have seen, or expect to see, a decline in business. Visitors are expected to put off traveling to the city because of the protests, which the au- thorities have characterized as “riots.” “Recent events in Hong Kong over the past two months did not substantially impact our passenger business in July,” Ronald Lam, a spokesman for Cathay

Pacific, the territory’s flagship airline, said in a statement. “However, we antic- ipate a much more significant impact to our revenue in August and onwards.” Thousands of residents have taken to the streets since early June, when the first large demonstrations were held against an unpopular bill that would al- low extradition to mainland China, where the Communist Party controls the courts. Since then, the protesters’ demands have expanded to include uni- versal suffrage and an investigation into allegations of police brutality. Most of the protesters have been peaceful, with rally organizers applying for permits and marchers mostly stick- ing to routes approved by the police. The protesters grabbing headlines of late have not been the hundreds of thousands of peaceful demonstrators, but a subset of several hundred who are willing to block roads, destroy property and fight the police. The officer in the ubiquitous front- page photo, which ran Monday, was pointing his gun at protesters with sticks who were charging at him and his fellow officers. He didn’t shoot anyone. But someone fired a warning shot.

Katherine Li contributed reporting.

In Hong Kong, life goes on, despite tear gas

HONG KONG

Though protests have taken

an economic toll, showing

up to work is still a priority

BY RUSSELL GOLDMAN

Left, protesters in Hong Kong last month, near crowd-control barriers — filled with water to make them immovable. Above, a market in the Mong Kok district this week.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY LAM YIK FEI FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

“Those office workers who buy their breakfast here still come every morning, and they go to work just like that.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on
Wednesday announced plans to length-
en an upcoming parliamentary break, a
surprise maneuver that would make it
harder for lawmakers to prevent Britain
from exiting the European Union with-
out an agreement with the bloc.
Mr. Johnson has repeatedly said that
he wants an agreement with Brussels
before Brexit takes effect, but that Brit-
ain will leave as scheduled on Oct. 31,
with or without a deal. Economists say
such a “no-deal” exit would be chaotic
and economically damaging, and could
plunge Britain into a recession, but Mr.
Johnson and the hard-line pro-Brexit
faction in Parliament insist that it would
be fine.
Opposition politicians — and some of
Mr. Johnson’s fellow Conservatives —
reacted angrily to the news, which
pushed the British pound down sharply
in early trading.
John Bercow, the speaker of the
House of Commons, released a state-
ment calling the move “a constitutional
outrage,” one designed “to stop Parlia-
ment debating Brexit and performing
its duty in shaping a course for the coun-
try.”
Parliament, currently on vacation, is

scheduled to meet during the first two weeks of September, and then to be sus- pended for annual political party confer- ences. Parliament had been scheduled to reconvene on Oct. 9. But in a letter sent on Wednesday to all members of Parliament, Mr. Johnson, who took office last month, said he in- tended to resume on Oct. 14, with a speech by Queen Elizabeth II, laying out the agenda of his Conservative government. A new session of Parliament begins with a queen’s speech, an elaborate cer- emonial occasion that requires a significant chunk of parliamentary time, and the prime minister has great leeway in deciding on the timing. By scheduling it before the Brexit deadline, he would further limit the time available to oppo- nents of a no-deal Brexit. The queen must approve the timing, but that is usu- ally considered a formality. In a video interview on Wednesday morning, Mr. Johnson said he had made the decision in order to progress with “our plans to take this country forward” and to “get on with our domestic agenda.” “To do that we need legislation, we’ve got to be bringing forward new and im- portant bills, and that’s why we are going to have a queen’s speech and we’re going to do it on Oct. 14,” he said. “We’ve got to move ahead now with a new legis- lative program.” A majority in Parliament is on record opposing a no-deal Brexit, and many of those lawmakers hope to organize a vote that would prohibit the government from going through with it. On Tuesday, a group of opposition lawmak-

ers agreed to coordinate toward that end. Their time and room for maneuver were already limited, and a longer sus- pension would restrict them further, forcing rebel lawmakers to accelerate their efforts. Yvette Cooper, an opposition Labour lawmaker strongly opposed to a no-deal Brexit, wrote on Twitter: “Boris John- son is trying to use the Queen to concen- trate power in his own hands — this is a deeply dangerous and irresponsible way to govern.” Philip Hammond, a senior Conserva- tive lawmaker, tweeted, “It would be a constitutional outrage if Parliament were prevented from holding the government to account at a time of national crisis.” Dick Newby, leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, wrote: “Suspending Parliament to stop debate and possible defeat is what dicta- tors do. It must be resisted by every possible means.” A Brexit deal with the European Un- ion would be exceedingly complicated, covering tariffs, product standards, fish- eries, immigration, financial services, the border with Ireland and other is- sues. Mr. Johnson’s predecessor, The- resa May, negotiated a withdrawal agreement that was nearly 600 pages long, just to cover a transition period while long-term arrangements were made. Parliament rejected Mrs. May’s deal three times this year, and nonbinding votes on a range of alternatives made it appear that in fact, no particular ap- proach had majority support.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed that Britain will leave the European Union by Oct. 31.

POOL PHOTO BY DYLAN MARTINEZ

Johnson wields Brexit calendar

LONDON

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hinders lawmakers trying

to stop a no-deal departure

BY STEPHEN CASTLE

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The New York Times International - 29.08.2019

World

In Hong Kong, life goes on, despite tear gas

Johnson wields Brexit calendar

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