Two-million person protests quickly and compassionately give up their position in the streets for the sake of the injured.
Hong Kong is just about always crowded, what with roughly seven and a half million people crammed into just over 1,100 square kilometers (425 square miles). Conditions have been especially congested over the past few weeks. however, as protesters have been holding marches and demonstrations in opposition of a proposed change to the semi-autonomous region’s legal system which would allow for extradition of Hong Kong citizens to mainland China.
The most recent estimates of the crowd sizes place the number of protesters at roughly two million, and as you might imagine, that’s far more than the capacity of the city’s sidewalks. But while demonstrators have no qualms about taking to the streets in order to make their voices heard, they were incredibly willing to relinquish their occupation of the roads so that an ambulance could get through the crowd in order to save someone who needed medical assistance.
In the video above, posted by Twitter user and Hong Kong university student Agnes Chow Ting (@chowtingagnes), the crowd of protesters suspends its chanting and quickly clears a path, with the liquid-like effect looking as though a dark sea is parting. As the ambulance makes its way through the crowd, the protesters applaud the paramedics, then quickly form up again as soon as the vehicle passes them and renew their chanting.
The orderly display doesn’t seem to be an isolated incident, either. Other videos from the protests show similar behavior during daylight hours.
While the Hong Kong protests don’t appear to have crossed the line that would cause one to call them a riot, it’s simply not possible for that many people to gather in one place, with heightened emotions, and not have a certain number of injuries occur. It’s likely that the demonstrations will be continuing for some time, as legislators have yet to completely back away from the extradition-enabling legislation, but it’s good to know that the protesters are willing to back away from the roads when there’s an ambulance coming.
Source: Twitter/@chowtingagnes via Hachima Kiko
Featured image: Twitter/@chowtingagnes
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