Arson, Punch-ups As Lennon Wall Tussles Continue

Heated exchanges over anti-extradition law "Lennon Wall" posts threatened to descend into violence once again on Friday, after a night which saw one such wall set on fire and scuffles break out at another.

Police were called to the wall in Tai Po on Friday where they separated rival groups arguing over whether it is right for protesters to be smothering walls across the city with anti-government messages and posts encouraging the demonstrators.

"It’s illegal for them to stick these notes on the wall. We find it very disturbing. It reminds us of the violence protesters used to storm the Legco and how they insulted and attacked the police,” one woman said.

But a Tai Po resident surnamed Ho said it is "pathetic" that some people can’t even tolerate such a peaceful way for protesters to express their views.

“If you really think the notes affect you, you can make a report to the relevant authorities instead of tearing them down. The youngsters have exhausted all means to express their views but got no response,” Ho said.

“They were accused of causing inconvenience when they held protests and rallies. They were accused of being violent when they stormed the Legco. It’s pathetic if people can’t even allow tiny memos to be stuck on the wall,” he added,

No arrests were made during Friday's arguments.

On Thursday night similar disputes at the same location saw two men tearing down messages before getting into fights with others at the scene. One man was sent to hospital after suffering an injury to his arm.

Meanwhile, a man was arrested for allegedly trying to set fire to a Lennon Wall in Aberdeen.

Police said the man lit a note on the wall near a bus stop on Wu Nam Street at around 11pm.

A woman who has been volunteering to guard one of the walls in Kowloon Bay told an RTHK programme on Friday that she had been verbally abused, but is trying to avoid arguing with people to prevent further conflicts.

She also said that people with different views, including those who support the extradition bill, are welcome to write on the walls as well.

Speaking on the same programme, Democratic Party lawmaker Roy Kwong noted that a volunteer at the Kowloon Bay wall had repeatedly been punched by another man.

Kwong said it is “unacceptable and unbearable” that people who are just expressing their views in “mild ways” are being oppressed.

He also said protesters should walk away if people try to attack them, adding it doesn’t matter if the notes are torn down and “people can put up ten new notes if one is ripped away”.

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