Jason Y Ng

As I See It | Searching for Umbrella Man

Edward arrived at the vehicle-free Connaught Road expressway and surveyed the Admiralty protest site, which, until then, he had only seen on CNN. It was October 18th, Day 20 of the largest political event in Hong Kong’s post-Handover history.

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The statue "Umbrella Man" by the Hong Kong artist known as Milk, stands at a protest site next to the central government offices in Admiralty. Photo: SCMP/May Tse

Jason Y Ng

Published: 11:28am, 29 Oct 2014Updated: 11:45am, 30 Oct 2014

Edward arrived at the vehicle-free Connaught Road expressway and surveyed the Admiralty protest site, which, until then, he had only seen on CNN. It was October 18th, Day 20 of the largest political event in Hong Kong’s post-Handover history. The 40-year-old law firm partner had just returned from a business trip in London that had kept him out of town for the past two weeks.

He climbed over the median barrier and studied the wall of pro-democracy signage written in a few dozen languages. From his elevated vantage point, he could see metal barricades blocking major arteries connecting the financial district to the rest of the city. Protestors had reinforced the roadblocks with garbage cans, wooden crates and water-filled barriers, tied together with household plastic fasteners. He took out his phone to snap a few shots, and heaved a sigh.

Xiaobing would turn 15 in a few days and Nai-nai, his grandmother, had baked him his favourite sweet buns. The evening before, Xiaobing had biked the five-kilometre distance from his home near Chang’an Avenue to Nai-nai’s place southwest of Tiananmen Square to pick up the buns. That his school had recently suspended classes had left the teenager with a lot of free time on his hands.

Beijing had been in lockdown since May, after students from Peking University began camping out on Tiananmen Square. Many streets along Xiaobing’s bike route had been blocked by makeshift barriers built by local residents using whatever materials they could find on the streets. According to Xiaobing’s father, a military officer, the roadblocks were there to stop soldiers from entering the city and harming the students.

Inside the tent city at Admiralty, Edward slowed his pace to take in the new way of life that had coagulated in the past three weeks. The sprawling maze of camping tents was flanked by shower facilities and first aid stations. At an area labelled “Study Room,” student protestors hunkered down to do homework, while volunteers patrolled up and down the aisle to offer snacks.