Occasional news
TVB doesn’t seem to like the anti-WTO chicken.
An TVB crew member pulled the chicken away from the front of a TV camera as he used a loud-hailer to interrupt filming, saying that “99% of the protesters are peaceful,” that the use of a helmet by the reporter was unnecessary and that they should report the issues, not just the police build-up. A struggle ensued between the crew member and the chicken, 22 year-old Tom Grundy from England.
Over the previous hours, hundreds of police in full riot gear blocked one of the exits, forming a wall of plastic shields. Most of those around the ‘wall’ were reporters.
Grundy demanded the name of the crew member who pulled him away from the reporter. The crew member refused to give it.
During an interview, a photographer yelled “Why don’t you report it? There are quite a lot of police around!” referring to the wall of riot police. Grundy talked to one of them, without any luck.
When TVB tried to file another report, he again interrupted, saying that he had been assaulted. They later allowed him to make a statement to their cameras, during which he repeated that he had been assaulted.
The incident "should be headline news," said Grundy, as the only violence had come from a journalist accredited by the WTO against a protester.
He said that two ATV reporters had earlier “tackled” him for interrupting one of their broadcasts.
(Pictures to come)
An TVB crew member pulled the chicken away from the front of a TV camera as he used a loud-hailer to interrupt filming, saying that “99% of the protesters are peaceful,” that the use of a helmet by the reporter was unnecessary and that they should report the issues, not just the police build-up. A struggle ensued between the crew member and the chicken, 22 year-old Tom Grundy from England.
Over the previous hours, hundreds of police in full riot gear blocked one of the exits, forming a wall of plastic shields. Most of those around the ‘wall’ were reporters.
Grundy demanded the name of the crew member who pulled him away from the reporter. The crew member refused to give it.
During an interview, a photographer yelled “Why don’t you report it? There are quite a lot of police around!” referring to the wall of riot police. Grundy talked to one of them, without any luck.
When TVB tried to file another report, he again interrupted, saying that he had been assaulted. They later allowed him to make a statement to their cameras, during which he repeated that he had been assaulted.
The incident "should be headline news," said Grundy, as the only violence had come from a journalist accredited by the WTO against a protester.
He said that two ATV reporters had earlier “tackled” him for interrupting one of their broadcasts.
(Pictures to come)
Hi there, I'm the WTO "chicken man" Tom Grundy and have written the following to the local press - a special web address is included at the bottom:
Dear X,
The scare-mongering sensationalist media circus, the over-the-top policing and bleeding hearts about Hong Kong's broken history of peaceful protest have all became quite tiresome.
I spent the week and preceding month touring the city in a chicken costume to raise awareness of the WTO's true nature. I worked to trivialise and undermine media attempts to create a climate of fear by decorating riot shield lines with Christmas decorations, I also subverted live TV broadcasts as the anchors went to air donning helmets especially to exaggerate the level of danger, when there was absolutely no threat.
I was amongst the 99% of completely peaceful demonstrators (who were still tear gassed without warning!). Those who caused disturbance were NOT 'rioting' in a chaotic 'war zone', smashing up shops and infrastructure or beating up civilians and policemen. They were simply trying to get to the Convention Centre and the police were an obstacle. This 'militant mob' picked up litter and returned police shields after their protests and it was never more than a few dozen activists at the front using force to break police lines.
If a country invites the WTO to their city, authorities should not be surprised if some of the millions of desperate people it affects turn up to express their anger. I was shocked by the diabolical lack of journalistic integrity and fairness shown by reporters and have set up a website detailing my observations at www.tvb.wxs.org.