Tingo | Confessions of a Frontliner — Between Violence and Rationality
Tingo is a Hongkonger in his 30s, who quit his job in April and started his own business. Find out why, despite having earned enough to have more free time whilst being self-employed, he chose to spend his time and energy as a frontliner.
“If we lose this time, our children will be the ones who suffer the most. For them, think about what else you can do and do your best. Not only the ‘five demands, not one less’, but there must also be ‘not one less’ fellow supporter of this movement.”
Journalist: Jack Forest
Photographer: Jack Forest
I’ve spent a long time writing out my story, not because I was considering anything in particular, but because the time and energy spent on this movement is a lot more than anyone can imagine. The reason I decided to write this story is more or less because I hope that before a certain fate comes, a record will exist no matter what.
My name is Tingo. I am a frontliner who can ‘be disappeared’ and ‘be suicided’* at any time.
I am a 30-something year-old Hong Konger. In the past, I would never be considered as very active in social movements, let alone going to the front line of one. In April, I quit my job and started my own business. The savings from my previous job were enough for me to live comfortably and I get a lot more free time being self-employed, which essentially fulfills the criteria of a ‘harvest period’. Yet, I have chosen not to cop out, and to take a step that many others have hesitated to and held back from.
Not the same after June
On 12 Jun 2019, I originally planned to come out to express my stance and return home like a regular marching protester. During the march, I saw some youth transporting supplies and I thought I could help out too, so I went to the front line. I never thought that upon arriving at the front line, one sentence would change my life; I dropped the goods off, and a very young person in front of me said: “We’ve helped out for over 20 hours. Can you help us out for a bit?”
When speaking of a frontliner, the first words that come to mind for a lot of people would be ‘brave’, ‘renovation’, ‘vigilante’, and images of attacking police officers might even pop up. All these are inseparable from the frontliner image. However, my experience says otherwise. In fact, from June till now, I participated in my first ‘renovation’ only yesterday. I have never committed any other so-called violent behaviour. The reason I say this is not to put myself on a higher moral ground, but to express that every step of mine is quite passive. There are actually very few participants of ‘vigilantism’. First of all, we will not just attack anyone. Almost all incidents of ‘vigilantism’ stem from self-defence. For example, it is said that someone merely taking photos was beaten. This is basically impossible. The demonstrators at the frontline are tense and mentally strained, and particularly sensitive to being photographed; yelling at the photographer to delete the photos they’ve taken is already the greatest forbearance. But when the photographer’s attitude is unyielding and the photographer even pushes and shoves, the resulting physical conflict shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Real experiences of a frontliner
I have not been attacked by ordinary people myself. Although there have been ‘vigilante’ situations near me before, there was no room for participation and I could only stand and watch. As for the direct police conflicts, that is even more difficult to encounter. The main reason for this is that the current strategy of the police is different from before. Since 12 Jun and 1 Jul, they have not given protesters the opportunity to get up close to them. They usually fire tear gas at a distance and then launch full-on attacks. The previous situation of pushing and shoving is no longer seen; it has become a situation where one party is doing the beating while the other is being beaten. News clips that show individual police officers who have rushed out too far and were beaten by protestors, are extremely rare incidents. The vast majority of frontliners are equipped with just a gas mask and helmet, which are definitely not weapons. When the police charge at us equipped in full gear, why would we fight them recklessly?
Of course, even if I retreat as soon as I see the police attack, inevitably I will still have taken some of the shots, and not baby (low level) ones such as tear gas, but high-firepower ones such as rubber and sponge bullets. I have been seriously injured three times, all from bullets, of which one was to my face. Even if the eye mask absorbed most of the force, my face was still bleeding; the bullet then ricocheted to my chest, and the pain was suffocating. Yet, this pain has strengthened my will. This strength is not from a so-called ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ spirit, but a more pure kind of ‘love’. On the front line, you will be surprised to find that most people are not really physically strong and athletic. I am a ‘football fan’ (fanatic), and I am used to exercising so it is easy for me to gauge the physical fitness of a person. Some of these frontliners are young children who are still going through puberty. There are also many people who are not used to running. They may be brave enough to throw debris at the police, but the damage they can do is minimal. On the contrary, when the police charge at us, these people are caught in a very dangerous situation.
Because of this, I knew very early on that my role was not to ‘attack’, but to be a protector.
My role
Every time I go out to protests now, the most important equipment is an umbrella. When watching those young kids, you know that they will do whatever it takes to rush forward and attack. I stand next to them holding an open umbrella, trying my best to shield them - sometimes blocking bullets, sometimes blocking batons: the only goal I want to achieve is to minimise the harm they receive.
Images on the news often focus on the most intense conflicts. But has anyone ever thought that most of the so-called front line do not, in fact, have intense hatred? Has anyone ever thought that many people are actually like me, silently defending and protecting those who don't know how to protect themselves? I, like many others with similar thoughts, am not impulsive and do not have a deep-seated hatred. We are very clear that our actions are to give the society and the politicians a message: destruction is neither our intention nor appeal. What we are facing is a government deaf from the very outset, one bent on having its way while disregarding others' opinions, as well as a disciplined service greatly abusing its authority and powers to use force.
Fellow protestors
However, there is still indignation in our hearts, not against the government, but rather other indifferent people. Many people know that the frontline manpower has been decreasing. We have been propping it up, without knowing how long we can endure. We really hope that more people will come out to support us. The government’s refusal to issue Letters of No Objection does have a deterring effect, causing many people who agree with our philosophy to retreat because of that bit of fear and to use their family and children as excuses. But I want these people to know that the frontliners are a group of such young children, and sometimes there are more girls than boys. In contrast, some similar to me in age and physically fit, such as those with whom I play football, have retreated to a point where they don’t even speak up in their daily lives - in their hearts, they want to resist, but in reality, they don’t even give encouragement or support. I really wish to tell them that we need more people to speak up. We need support from more people, regardless of how they do it, and however much they can. Those who participate in marches and rallies, but then pretend that things resume as normal, are the ones my heart aches for the most.
At this point of the social movement, there are still people who dream that Hong Kong can return to the glory days of the past. This is quite a naive idea. These young people swore to fight to their death, fighting for the future of Hong Kong, and fighting for an even younger generation. In contrast, middle-aged people are sitting in the comfort of their homes and reaping that success. Please remember, if we lose this time, our children will be the ones who suffer the most. For them, think about what else you can do and do your best. Not only the ‘five demands, not one less’, but there must also be ‘not one less’ fellow supporter of this movement.
Let’s work hard together! Come on, Hong Kongers!
“My name is Tingo, I am a HKer.”
- February 2022
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Glossary/terms:
*be suicided: forced suicide or disguised murder