In a Working-Class Hong Kong Neighborhood, the Protests Hit Home

In a Working-Class Hong Kong Neighborhood, the Protests Hit Home
Hundreds of protesters huddle behind umbrellas on Lung Cheung Road in the Wong Tai Sin neighborhood as they face off riot police who are firing tear gas toward them, with Lion Rock in the background, in Hong Kong on Oct. 1, 2019. James Pomfret/Reuters
Reuters
Updated:

HONG KONG—From the top of Lion Rock, all of Hong Kong reveals itself: the sprawl of the Kowloon Peninsula directly below, the iconic Star Ferry plying the waters of Victoria Harbor, the moneyed heights of Hong Kong island beyond. Like a crouching beast, the craggy ridgeline stands guard over a city on edge.

In the shadow of the revered mountain rise huge monoliths, drab concrete tower blocks far removed from the glittering glass highrises of Hong Kong island’s steroidal skyline. Here, in a neighborhood of public housing estates called Wong Tai Sin, seemingly endless stacks of aging windows heave with drying laundry and hum with air conditioners sweating droplets onto the pavement below.