[Wounds Of Hong Kong] Young man, whose metacarpal bone was smashed by police baton: “At least I can still come out, I'll get over it.”

In the late hours of 25 September 2019, there were no protests outside Prince Edward MTR station but only scattered vigils. A team of riot police came out of nowhere and K could not get away in time. The metacarpal bone of the middle finger of his right hand was smashed by a police baton, and required surgery afterwards.

“Absent on 7.21! Beaten to death on 8.31!” Among Hongkongers, this chant is a cryptic message. Whether it is during a rally or simply out on the street, if one recites the first half of the chant, there will always be others finishing it off. On 21 July, a mob of people dressed in white tops armed with bats attacked the public at the West Rail Line Yuen Long Station and the police turned a blind eye. On 31 August, riot police stormed into the Prince Edward MTR station, indiscriminately attacked the public and ordered reporters and first aiders to leave the scene.

Since then, terror attacks have become common street scenes. As the public firmly believe that missing persons on 31 August were killed, there have been numerous vigils and people burning incense (a Chinese ritual done as a sign of respect for the deceased) at the Prince Edward station. On 25 September, after saying goodbye to his friends, K went to exit B1 to pay respects to the victims before going home. “After chanting a few slogans, someone at the back suddenly shouted, ‘Riot police! Run!’” K said. He fled in the direction of Allied Plaza and was outflanked by another team of heavily armed CID coming from the side lanes. He was pressed to the ground with a shield and beaten heavily by the police. The scene was broadcast live by Radio Television Hong Kong on the internet.

Eight men and two women, not known to each other, were arrested at the scene. K asked the police officer, "I haven’t done anything, why do you want to beat me to death?” The reply he got was “You damn cockroach sabotaging deserve to be beaten to death.” K asked to see a lawyer to no avail and a statement was promptly taken. The police found the lyric of "Glory to Hong Kong" printed on a card in K’s possession and said “Bingo!” - as if he hit the jackpot. It will be used as evidence in court. “What does a card prove?” K asked. He was charged with unlawful assembly and released on HK$5,000 bail.

While waiting to be released, K was in severe pain and had to support his right hand with the left hand. A police inspector yelled at him, "Is your hand broken? Want to see a doctor? You will go straight to court after a full 48 hours wait." As it turned out, he was sent to an emergency ward after 13 hours.  K was involved in a serious traffic accident when he was 13 and his left forearm was implanted with a metal plate and screws. There is no strength in his left arm which is a permanent disability.  “If my left arm were hit again, for sure I’m going to lose this arm. To protect my head, I could only use my right arm and spare the left arm,” said K.

After the assault, K became depressed: “The old injury has great impact on my work.  Now that both hands are impaired, what can I do in future? I may have to be a watchman, standing and walking around. I cannot go out to the streets anymore and this is hard. I feel like I’m failing other Hongkongers who are willing to come out. I only sleep 2 or 3 hours a day. When I close my eyes, I see images of being chased, beaten, pushed into a police emergency unit vehicle and not allowed to give my name to the press. I am so angry that I cannot sleep. When I was small, I thought the police were so righteous, but this experience has completely changed my perception of them.”

What has also completely changed is K's view of Hong Kong people. Being injured, he was wearing an orthopaedic brace on his right hand. A stranger on the street gave him an Octopus card and said she would like to treat him to dinner. One day, he felt so much pain from his injuries that he had to sit on the curb shivering. A passerby saw him and took him for an acupuncture treatment. “I used to think Hong Kong people were selfish, but in the past few months, I have felt the empathy of many," said K. With the help of 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, K had surgery in a private hospital and his right hand is making good recovery progress. “My injury is nothing compared to those who were shot, or detained at Sun Uk Ling Detention Centre. At least I can still come out, I'll get over it.”

"Wounds of Hong Kong", the work of Hong Kong photojournalist Ko Chung-ming, won the 2020 Sony World Photography Awards in the Open Competition and Documentary Photography categories. The album captures the trauma of Hong Kong people during the protests. Unfortunately, the World Photography Organisation said some of the images were "likely to be provocative to some people". Thus out of the ten submitted photos, six were removed. Those removed are photos showing visible scars and injuries.

Ko Chung-ming has completed his recent fundraising campaign and the funds raised will be used to publish a photo album entitled “Wounds of Hong Kong”, which will be displayed at exhibitions in Hong Kong and around the world. The Hong Kong exhibition is currently held at Openground. To purchase the album, you may send a private message on Ko's Facebook page. It is also available at Openground and specific “yellow” (pro-democracy) stores and restaurants. 

The photos and texts in "Wounds of Hong Kong" belong to all of us. Any media, organisation or individual is welcome to reproduce or use them for wider distribution, as long as the source is acknowledged. Some of the photos have been used by the Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong group and All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) in "Evidence of Human Right Abuse" campaign, urging the UK Parliament to investigate human rights issues in Hong Kong. Twenty-four people were interviewed and Stand News is the first media to publish some of the stories.

Source: Stand News, 3 July 2020, https://bit.ly/2CGNZNz