Opinion | Hong Kong protest movement must cut out the violent faction

Hong Kong’s protesters legitimately worry that Beijing’s repression of freedoms of speech and information might spread to Hong Kong. In expressing that concern, they have had a policy of solidarity with all elements of the protest movement, embodied in the pledge of “no splitting and no condemning”.

On Thursday evening, a 70-year-old man who was hit on the head with a brick, during what was reported as a clash between anti-government protesters and residents in Sheung Shui, died of his wounds. Video recordings at the scene suggest he was merely taking pictures.

On Monday, a 57-year-old father of two daughters who was angry about the trashing of his neighbourhood was doused with a flammable liquid and set on fire by protesters. He remains in critical condition with burns over 44 per cent of his body.

Meanwhile, protesters have been enraged by the death last week of a 22-year-old Hong Kong University of Science and Technology student, Chow Tsz-lok, who fell from the third to the second floor of a car park. The only known connection to police action was that police had fired tear gas 120 metres away.

Although the tragic incident could not be directly traced to police action, it has sparked vehement anti-police reactions from violent and non-violent protesters alike, while the incidents of the man hit on the head with a brick and the man deliberately set on fire have sparked little condemnation.