WTO @ Hong Kong (pictures, daily update)

[Fidelbrand]

Daily picture-updates of WTO protest in hong kong.
I'll add descriptions as much as possible.

cheers,
Fb.

12/12/2005

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This yank writes " Go Home WTO protestors!". As reported, he supports capitalism.
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[Fidelbrand]

13/12/2005

The Koreans are the most vicious participants. They say they'll level-up their protests on this coming Saturday.
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Who's that on the left? ... Yeah... Gael Garcia Bernal, he really looks bit like "Che".
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Korean farmers jump into the sea and protest
http://www.mpinews.com/img/51213antiwto_sea.jpg

Suffering from the evil Capsicum spray
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A Hong Kong police officer stands guard as her colleagues carry a barricade near a venue for the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong December 12, 2005. Hong Kong is bracing for potential violence as about 10,000 anti-globalisation activists converge on the southern Chinese city for the conference to be held on December 13-18, 2005. About 9,000 police have been mobilised in the city's biggest ever security operation. (Lee Jae-Won/Reuters)

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An anti-World Trade Organisation (WTO) protester pumps his fist while floating at Victoria Harbour near the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the main venue of the WTO conference, December 13, 2005. REUTERS/Claro Cortes IV

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A man dressed as Supermen protests in front of policemen during an anti-WTO protest in Hong Kong December 13, 2005. I don't know why, he reminds me of Ian.

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Hey boy, the future is all yours. Junk WTO!
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[rioters bloc]

thanks for the updates :)

and great photos!

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Great pics comrade.

Be sure to be the first to let us know when the Molotovs start flying.

[Fidelbrand]

Rioters bloc and CompaneroDeLibertad,

You are welcome.
I guess Molotovs won't be used. The police is very strong here, and the general hong kong public, given their lack of interest in international politics, have strongly urged the police to do their job well-done and they also urged protesters to "behave".
I'm going on Friday or Saturday when the negotiations reach the last stage.

More on 13/12

I was very happy to see this report, since in general, the youth in Hong kong are quite materialistic and individualistic, in some sense, very unpolitical too... but.. :

13 year old Lam Hak Man (translation of his name) said he went on net and search for info. regarding the WTO : " "Farmers are being seriosuly exploited. Countries involved have the resposibility to strive for and maintain fair trade."

What an adorable kid! :(

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Confrontations:
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Capsicum in the air:
http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20051214/Article_news/14la1p102.jpg
Now.... blowing ciggy smoke into the sufferers' eyes is a way to soothe irritation?
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Che flag:
http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20051214/Article_news/14la3p5.jpg
nice panaroma:
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baby:
http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20051214/Article_news/14la7p3.jpg

[Correa]

Gotta love it when the masses come out! Great pics!

[Fidelbrand]

14/12

As anticipated, the Koreans are the most active protesters. Today they had strong collisions with the police and successfully confiscated 14 of their shields (haha). But the Koreans are very nice people, 1) they greet those looking at them when they go parade, 2) they pick up ALL rubbishes on the roads they passed, 3) and... they return the 14 shields to the police courteously to show that the police is not their main target, but WTO .

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They "confiscated" the police's shields... :D
http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20051215/Article_news/15la1p103.jpg

And fights can be vicious, side-kicks, everything...
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Well, but even a hand-shake at times...Actually, both the police and the Koreans think they respected each other.
http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20051215/Article_news/15la2p1.jpg

Banner on nose
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Apolitical hong kong people, look at their responses:
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[Noah]

Absolutley awesome photos FidelBrand, this stuff really gets to me emotionally when I see people uniting and showing the world what they really want. :blush:

[bolshevik butcher]

Nice pics. Would be great to be there.

[Fidelbrand]

15/12

Today, the protesters used a very creative way to express their feelings and dedication. Within 5km, between 2 cities, they walk 3 steps, groaned "down down WTO " and bow once to kiss the floor. Besides showing their dedication to oppose WTO, they say kissing the floor means their love for mother nature; and that nature belongs to the people, not WTO. Theydid this all the way and some peole were clapping for them.

http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20051216/Article_news/16la1p101.jpg

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Indonesian fisherman jumping in to the Harbor
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[Fidelbrand]

16/12 - Gael Garcia Bernal


Woooo. I feel Che in him.
" I'm young. I have that young person's tendency to speak out about what I think is wrong, and I try to stand up for what is right. "-- Gael Garcia Bernal


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with his cam, in the parade:
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[Entrails Konfetti]

Originally posted by [email protected] 16 2005, 06:20 AM
15/12

Today, the protesters used a very creative way to express their feelings and dedication. Within 5km, between 2 cities, they walk 3 steps, groaned "down down WTO " and bow once to kiss the floor. Besides showing their dedication to oppose WTO, they say kissing the floor means their love for mother nature; and that nature belongs to the people, not WTO. Theydid this all the way and some peole were clapping for them.

They must've gotten ALOT of good exercise for their back mussels!

[Correa]

When we say "Koreans" are we talking about North or South? I think this might be a dum question since I don't think Kim would let anyone out for any reason.

[Fidelbrand]

Originally posted by [email protected] 17 2005, 09:36 AM
When we say "Koreans" are we talking about North or South? I think this might be a dum question since I don't think Kim would let anyone out for any reason.
It's the South Koreans.
I guess the North Koreans won't be that free to travel out of their hermit paradise.

[Fidelbrand]

16/12

The Koreans crashed into the US Embassy and raged into the Korean embassy. They broke through the police defence line and people were clapping and shouting like it is Red October. I'm going out now, hopefully will give u guys more personal reflections as regards to the protests. Bye for now.

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hk people give Koreans wine and bread to boost their morale:
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in the subway/underground train:
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local students showing their support of the protesters:
http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20051217/Article_news/17la6p22.jpg

[Gidoot]

Great pics, and good story there Comrade! Keep us up to date!

[bolshevik butcher]

Looks great. Wish the G8 protests had been that good.

[coda]

it's an International Communist Revolution!! Could it ever be squelched now? NEVER!!!!!!!!

Excellent photos, FB! ---Keep 'em coming.



Protesters Fight With Police at WTO

By MIN LEE


HONG KONG (AP) - Hundreds of protesters broke through police lines and came close to storming into the WTO's meeting venue Saturday, but security forces scattered the crowd with tear gas.

It was the worst street violence Hong Kong has experienced in decades, and police quickly locked the doors to the convention center, where trade ministers from around the world were in the final hours of a six-day negotiation.

A government statement said 70 people - including 10 police - were sent to hospitals fr treatment and three of them were admitted.

Police Commissioner Dick Lee said police have detained 900 people and were determining whether to formally arrest them. ``If necessary we will make arrests. We will not let them go easily,'' he said.

After the violent protest, about 300 to 400 people held a sit-in for several hours on one of the busiest streets in central Hong Kong. But early Sunday, police told the demonstrators that they would be arrested and began dragging them away and loading them in buses.


Elizabeth Tang, spokeswoman for the group organizing the marches, said she would not rule out calling off Sunday's march, which was to be the biggest one during the World Trade Organization meeting.


``We are still discussing it with members. Some members may not agree to marching,'' said Tang of the Hong Kong People's Alliance on WTO.


Security forces spent much of the afternoon fighting running street battles with the protesters, who included South Korean farmers, Southeast Asian groups and activists from Europe and America.


The demonstrators oppose the WTO's efforts to open up global markets.


The protesters hit police with bamboo sticks and used a metal barrier to ram a line of officers armed with riot shields. The police fought back with clubs, pepper spray and water cannons that shot water mixed with a chemical that burned the skin and eyes.


Police used the tear gas just minutes after Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee went on television and warned the public to stay away from the area.


``The police will take robust action to dispel these illegal and violent actions,'' Lee warned.


The tear gas dispersed the protesters and the police were able to retake the area around the convention center.


Lee Sang-jeong, a South Korean farmer, said, ``Hong Kong police are violent. I had no weapon, only my body.''


Protest organizer Tang criticized the police for using tear gas.


``The use of tear gas was too violent,'' she said. ``Police knew lots of citizen onlookers and press were there and they didn't give any warnings beforehand.''


Several European Union negotiators were meeting in hotels when the violence began, and they were unable to return to the WTO venue because police blocked off the neighborhood.


Those fighting included militant French farmer Jose Bove, best known for ransacking a McDonald's restaurant under construction near his home in 1999. Bove was briefly detained at the airport when he arrived this week, but he was allowed to enter Hong Kong after the French consul general intervened.


Mostly peaceful protests have been held daily since the WTO started meeting on Tuesday. Some have involved small-scale fighting between the police and South Koreans. But there were no arrests or serious injuries.


Previous WTO meetings in Seattle and Cancun, Mexico, were marred by large-scale violent demonstrations.


Correspondent Sylvia Hui contributed to this report.





12/17/05 14:26

[coda]

more photos and dispatches from Indymedia

http://www.indymedia.org/en/index.shtml

[poetofrageX]

this reminds me of the protests in Argentina when Bush rolled through. I'm just waitin for this kinda shit to go down in my neighborhood, so i can be on the front lines.

[Commie Rat]

YAY

i wish i had enough cash to go to all these marches :(

was so angry i couldn't get down to Forbes earlier this year

[Fidelbrand]

17/12

I woke up late yesterday, and missed the start of the parade, unable to join the group to march to the Convention Centre (fuck it!). I started off at night and the roads are all blocked by the police. I walked and with luck, I found 2 Korean farmers on the way. I know a little bit of Korean, and tried to communicate with them. They do not know English, it was hard, but I manage to figure out that they are lost and wished to find their groupmates of KBL. We walked together. I gave them a big shit roll of glap wrap, it's useful to avoid getting cpasicum spray in their eyes. On the way, some HK people invite them to take photos.

We walked down to a district called Wanchai, very near to the Convention Centre where the WTO metting is held. There are shit loads of police with their shields and armaments. The police used their speaker and said to all, " Back off or we will charge and take action!" The people are all tooshed up and walk towards the police. But generally, since we are far away from the Convention Centre where the vicious protesters gathered, I missed a lot of action. L

I managed to video-tape some clips, this one I attached here is of viewable quality (haha), you can also hear my voice. The video is a little short, sorry for that, but nonetheless.... here it is:

VIDEO:
http://s35.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0D88LQW...F70KZRXB38ITEEE (http://s35.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0D88LQWSBQQF70KZRXB38ITEEE)

Picture of newspaper:
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[Fidelbrand]

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A police captured by the crowd, but freed after being pushed around for 2 minutes.
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ok, one represents WTO, and the other represents Thailand, of course, "WTO" looses. :D
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[Fidelbrand]

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[bolshevik butcher]

Look after yourself, they look like they're turning quite violent. Are the korean prtestors actually socialsits or are they just ferverently anti-wto?

[Fidelbrand]

Originally posted by Clenched [email protected] 18 2005, 08:03 PM
Look after yourself, they look like they're turning quite violent. Are the korean prtestors actually socialsits or are they just ferverently anti-wto?
thanks mate. I actually think I didn't got into enough "action".

They are just people who fervently oppose WTO. I don't think they are socialists, just that people are venting their anger on WTO for their small share of benefits.

But anyhow, it's a good start to raise people's awareness. Socialist propaganda can set in.

[bolshevik butcher]

Yeh, the beggining of socialist thought is oppisition to large xcale capitalism.

[enigma2517]

The question is, is this really a reject of capitalism?

Many of these people don't mind the market system, most of them just want their countries to use protectionist measures and avoid liberalization.

I can't speak for everybody of course, I'm sure there are some anti-capitalists in the crowd, but I have a suspicion that just like Seattle in '99 people are out there just protecting their own wages, not calling for a brand new system.

[bolshevik butcher]

I think thats a completely unfair analyiss of seattle by the way, but they are collectivley defending there wages, which is important. I mean when a union calls a strike you could say the same. Thats not a rejection of capitalsim, no, however it is a step forward in the workers struggle and class antagonism.

[Fidelbrand]

Originally posted by [email protected] 19 2005, 12:49 AM
but I have a suspicion that just like Seattle in '99 people are out there just protecting their own wages, not calling for a brand new system.
you are right in the case of HK protests. The media and scholars and the lay public just talked about how exploitation is unfair and they feel sympathetic towards it, but advocating a new system, or even some mental room for contemplating a new system, i guess not.

However, as said in my last post, it's a good start to raise people's awareness. Socialist propaganda can set in.

[Commie Rat]

:wub:

So beautiful . . . .