2019 Yuen Long attack
The 2019 Yuen Long attack, also known as the 721 incident, refers to a mob attack that occurred in Yuen Long, a town in the New Territories of Hong Kong, on the evening of 21 July 2019. It took place in the context of the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests. A mob dressed in white stormed the MTR's Yuen Long station and attacked protesters returning from a demonstration in Sheung Wan on Hong Kong Island as well as bystanders.
Despite over 24,000 calls to the 999 emergency hotline, the police arrived 39 minutes after the attacks and one minute after the mobs had left the station. Around 30 non-police tactical unit trained police officers were assigned to standby at Tuen Mun Police Station for contingency. At least 45 people were injured in the incident.
The government condemned the violence. There was widespread criticism of the police for its poor response to the incident and disputed narrative of the events. As of September 2022, eight assailants have been convicted. Attacked passengers and protestors were later charged with riot as well, with at least one found guilty., 21 people have been convicted for rioting over the attack, 13 of whom belonged to the white-clad group and the remaining eight being other people at the scene; seven of the latter have appealed their convictions and sentences.
Background
against the controversial extradition bill had been going on since March 2019. Most of the demonstrations in the days were turned into clashes. On the one hand, government supporters who favoured the extradition bill praised police as defenders of law and order. On the other hand, there is also the increase of reports alleging that the police have adopted violent strategies against the protesters.Threats and warning
On 11 July 2019, Lei Gai-ji, head of the New Territories section of Beijing's liaison office, mobilised villages of Yuen Long to evict protestors during the inauguration ceremony of Shap Pat Heung. He offered only a smile after the attack when asked if he incited so.Four days later Junius Ho of the Legislative Council issued similar warning to protestors over the possible protest in Yuen Long. In a response nearly a year after the attack, Ho said he was only "boasting" sentimentally.
16 July Yuen Long
On the evening of 16 July, it was reported that some local protestors had held a public screening of video clips on the alleged police brutality in public order events at the Fung Yau Street North Sitting-out Area. Towards the end of the screening, several people dressed in white confronted the group in black. Local councillor claimed some of those in white shirt were triad members.Soon after, there were online posts calling for people to "Liberate Yuen Long" and to take part in a public meeting to be held on 21 July at Yuen Long. The identity of who first spread the information was disputed. A self-claimed police wife was said to have first posted the poster on Chinese Weibo which was then shared by government supporters. Pro-China media, on the other hand, cited police sources saying the image was published in a Telegram public group an hour earlier than the police wife. Nevertheless, the majority in the popular LIHKG forum backed the protest by Civil Human Rights Front in Hong Kong Island, instead of protesting in Yuen Long.
The controversial report by Independent Police Complaints Council concluded that there were online posts "calling for people to 'Liberate Yuen Long' and to take part in a public meeting to be held in Yuen Long on 21 July in protest against those disrupting the screening on 16 July; and in response online posts urged Yuen Long residents to "protect their homeland and to expel protesters with warnings of potential violence targeted at protesters".
20 July
During the "safeguard Hong Kong" rally of the pro-China camp condemning violence during protests and showing support for police, Arthur Shek Kang-chuen, co-founder of Hong Kong Economic Times, called for action against violent protesters, likening it to disciplining children.A Yuen Long indigenous resident who also joined the rally vowed "there will be a good play in Yuen Long on 21 July."
21 July Yuen Long
According to BBC and RFA, the night before 21 July Yuen Long residents were warned by relatives of police against wearing black shirts on the day, and were told that around 500 triad members, wearing white with red bracelet, will gather at night in Yuen Long targeting black-shirted men, after Yuen Long villages decided to launch an attack.21 July Sheung Wan
On Sunday 21 July, the CHRF organised a protest from Causeway Bay to Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island, with black being the dress code again. Police risk assessment of the procession was relatively high. Around 138,000 people participated in the procession organised by CHRF.Like most other processions since 1 July, it started peacefully but erupted into violent clashes between protesters and the Police outside the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Western District from around 18:30. Many protestors, however, did not stop at the designated end point at Luard Road in Wan Chai, and continued to walk in the direction of Sheung Wan arriving at the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong close to 7:00 pm. Protestors then proceeded to block roads, set objects on fire, throw eggs and black ink at the building and defaced the National Emblem on the building. The rally devolved into a violent clash between the protestors and the police. According to the police, the police force was mainly focused on the public procession on Hong Kong Island, while Yuen Long was manned on a "skeleton" basis.
Attack
In the afternoon, assailants wearing white shirts and armed with sticks and wooden poles gathered in Yuen Long, while a pro-government Facebook page shared a photo of them saying "the villages are ready" and about to "discipline" the protestors. Yuen Long District Councillor reported to police over the possible confrontation, police in response claimed officers were deployed.By 10 pm, a chef, who just finished work at a restaurant despite wearing grey, was attacked by gangsters, after saying there were lots of white-shirted men. A taxi was also damaged, apparently by the gang, as four white-shirts surrounded the vehicle.
At around 10 pm, these assailants started attacking people on the street. They were reportedly targeting those wearing black clothing, the common clothing for protesters on Hong Kong Island, but also attacked journalists and bystanders. One suspected pregnant woman, wearing a long white dress, was found lying on the floor, but reports of her injuries could not be confirmed by the Hospital Authority.
At around 10:30 pm, about a hundred white-shirted assailants appeared at Yuen Long railway station and attacked commuters in the concourse indiscriminately, on the platform and inside train compartments. Two police officers arrived at 10:52 pm. However, they left the station as they judged that they were outnumbered by the assailants and did not have sufficient gear, according to the police.
Thirty police officers arrived at the station at 11:20 pm, but the assailants had left. Due to the violence, trains bypassed Yuen Long station between 10:56 pm and 11:19 pm, and the station was ordered closed at 11:55 pm. However, after midnight, white-shirted assailants forced open the station's shutters to launch a second wave of attacks on passengers. In all, at least 45 citizens were reported injured that night, including Legislative Council member Lam Cheuk-ting and two reporters; one other journalist had their equipment smashed.
Citizens made calls to the emergency hotline upon seeing the armed group assembling at around 7:00 pm, and an MTR spokesman said the first call by the MTR to the police was made at around 10:45 pm. Two police officers then arrived at 10:52 pm and left after risk assessment at scene. At 11:20 pm, 30 officers arrived to provide assistance. The local police call centre received thousands of calls between 10 pm and midnight, and some citizens could not connect to the reporting hotline as the hotlines was jammed by the sudden influx of calls. The management of Yoho Mall, a shopping centre next to Yuen Long station, also attempted to call the police but they could not get in touch with them. The police station in Yuen Long shut its gate in response to the hundreds that turned up to report the incident.
Overnight, the police set up a perimeter outside Nam Pin Wai Village. Riot police attempted to enter but retreated back to the perimeter as the white shirt mob threw water bottles. Half a dozen men wearing white shirts and carrying metal rods came forward and intimidated reporters; two riot police chatted with two of them and patted one on the shoulder before letting them go. Police then entered the village, brought a white-shirted man away, but later stated he was not arrested. Around 3:55 am, the white-shirt mob started leaving either in vehicles or by walking around the police's perimeter, none were stopped or questioned by the police. As the mob left, police confiscated dozens of wooden sticks and steel rods in the car park, though no arrests were made as they claimed they "saw no one holding weapons" and "noticed nothing criminal" in the village and claimed they could not determine the identity of the white-shirted mobsters as "wearing white shirts did not mean they would the ones attacked in Yuen Long station".
Criticism of police response
Late arrival
An MTR spokesman said station staff saw disputes taking place at about 10:45 pm and contacted police within two minutes. However, the police officers only arrived at around 11:15 pm, when the mob was gone, despite receiving many other citizens' call to 999 for help. Residents also reported being ignored and treated rudely by 999 responders, who claimed they "should stay at home if they are afraid". Upon arrival, police were surrounded by dozens of angry residents and protesters who accused police of deliberately retreating after being called to the scene for the first assault. It was revealed by RTHK that the police had sent plainclothes officers to monitor the situation prior to the attack, but they did not intervene despite the fact that some of the white-clad men were carrying weapons in front of him.Police commander Li Hon-man, who was interviewed at the scene by journalists, was asked why police had arrived late. He was recorded on video saying "I don't know if we were late" and claimed to not have looked at his watch. Police said later that dealing with the concurrent anti-government protests on Hong Kong Island had stretched their resources. The following day, contact information for Li had been removed from the government directory, along with removal of the details for 11 other lower-ranking officers from the Yuen Long Division.
Yuen Long District Council members including Zachary Wong and Johnny Mak had alerted the police on 20 July after they heard rumours from rural groups that a potential triad attack was about to take place. The police responded by saying that they were also alerted by the news and would deploy sufficient manpower to deal with the situation. Wong, in a radio programme, disclosed that a group of white-shirters assaulted him, but as he approached a group of police officers nearby for protection, the group of police left and drove away.
Meanwhile, leaked videos showed that two uniformed police officers had arrived on the scene but then left the station. Police responded that the two policemen had backed off and called for help as they considered that they did not have the equipment to deal with armed crowds.