Riot Police Called In To Save Patrick Nip

Anti-government demonstrators trapped Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Secretary Patrick Nip in his car for around 15 minutes on Sunday – ambushing him after he attended an event to celebrate the upcoming 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China in Tsing Yi.

They pelted drinks, traffic cones, sand bags, and rubbish bins at his vehicle as he sat inside, talking to someone on his phone.

Some protesters yelled at him, demanding he come out to address their concerns.

His driver had initially attempted to make a quick getaway, but a protester blocked the way by getting in front of the car. Others then placed objects in front of the vehicle’s wheels to try to block it from leaving.

At one point, a protester struck the windshield with a metal pole, cracking the glass.

Riot police arrived after around 15 minutes, dispersing the protesters and opening up a path for Nip’s vehicle to finally leave.

A witness, Louis, said he saw around 50 people surrounding the minister’s car. But he said he thought Nip should have just come out to talk to the young people about their concerns.

“If he want to come out at this public event, he should expect he will be surrounded”, he said.

The Secretary had had a rough going of it even before his vehicle was trapped.

People had thrown paper cups and other objects at him, and some people had flashed laser pointers at his face while he was speaking on stage.

And when he was talking to the press about the government’s willingness to open a dialogue with the people, a woman walked up to him, wagging her finger in his face, asking “are we having a dialogue now?”

Nip responded by saying “Be calm”, before turning around and walking away.

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