A lone figure sat quietly on the ground in front of a row of Hong Kong riot policemen armed with helmets, vests and shields.
Even as night fell, the woman sat there meditating.
Pictures of her have made the rounds on the Internet as the Hong Kong protests against an extradition Bill gathered widespread media coverage.
Dubbed “Shield Girl”, a BBC report identified her as 26-year-old Lam Ka Lo who went to Admiralty district, where the protests took place, hours ahead of the rally last Wednesday (June 12).
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“No one really dared to stand so close to the line of police officers,” she told BBC.
She added that she did not fear the police but worried that other protesters might be injured.
She began to meditate and chant a mantra as tensions spiked.
“I just wanted to send my positive vibes,” she said. “But protesters also hurled insults at the police. At that moment, I just wanted fellow protesters to sit next to me and not to chide them.”
#Badiucao Cartoon 【HK Picnic】#巴丢草 漫画 【香港野餐】
Massive turnout for #NoChinaExtradition protest again today！What are you waiting？Lets go picnic in Legco！
Link for Free download for protest. https://t.co/J6GFggGEQZ
香港市民加油！你们的无畏和勇敢会被世界记住！#反送中 pic.twitter.com/jMFyQFcxoU— 巴丢草 Bad ї ucao (@badiucao) June 12, 2019
Ms Lam had previously spent days in the streets during the 2014 Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong, the BBC report said.
Several Twitter users responded to pictures of Ms Lam on social media, calling her “amazing” and “brave”, and offering her encouragement.
#NoExtraditionToChina #HongKong #香港
Brave young 🇭🇰girl !
勇敢的🇭🇰女孩! https://t.co/7eCs6rv7g5— 𝕌𝕟𝕦𝕤𝕦𝕒𝕝 @̷ Ƒ𝐮𝓃𝐛𝔞𝕪 (@tianshi07007) June 12, 2019
Chinese artist Badiucao was inspired to create an artwork based on her.
One Twitter user called the artwork “a touching illustration of the courageous soul” of the people in Hong Kong.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BymbCRsgB1a
Last Wednesday, thousands of protesters surrounded the government headquarters in Admiralty, resulting in clashes that saw police deploy tear gas and rubber bullets.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced on Saturday that the Bill would be indefinitely postponed, and also admitted that she had misread the public mood.In an hour-long press conference, the Chief Executive also defended the police, who had earlier said they had no choice but to use force against violent protesters last Wednesday.
But protest leaders say the move to suspend the Bill indefinitely is simply an attempt to kick the issue into the long grass.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
