US$284,600 raised for 2 Hong Kong families

Media organizations, including Shanghai-based The Paper, Hong Kong’s Ta Kung Pao and the Ta Kung Wen Wei Media Group, have teamed up with Shanghai Charity Foundation and raised 2 million yuan (US$284,600) for two Hong Kong families caught up in riots in the city.

By 11:14pm, 31,798 people had donated 2 million yuan through a fundraising platform designated by the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

On November 13, a group of black-clad rioters had set up roadblocks near North District Town Hall in Sheung Shui.

They clashed with residents who tried to clear the road, throwing iron rods, bricks and other objects.

A 70-year-old man surnamed Lo who was filming the incident on his phone was hit on the head by a brick. He was knocked unconscious. He died the next day.

Lo, who worked for the city’s food and environmental hygiene department, was on his lunch break.

It was the first fatal case of an innocent civilian since the unrest erupted almost six months ago.

On November 11, a 57-year-old man surnamed Lee was beaten up on a footbridge in the Ma On Shan area following an argument.

He was doused in a flammable liquid and set on fire.

The man remains in critical condition at hospital with second-degree burns on 40 percent of his body.

People left encouraging messages on the platform.

“I don’t know you two personally, but we are all Chinese, and Chinese people help each other,” one anonymous poster wrote.

Ti Gong