![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.novonon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/hk_clip6637379776281821723.png?resize=625%2C347&ssl=1\")
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All that prelude is to say, coming in to the Hong Kong protests from a
\nless developed country like the United States is disorienting. If you
\nhave never visited one of the Zeroth World cities of Asia, like Taipei
\nor Singapore, it can be hard to convey their mix of high density,
\nmazelike design, utterly reliable public services, and high social
\ncohesion, any more than it was possible for me or my parents to imagine a
\nreal American city, no matter how many movies we saw. And then to have
\nto write about protests on top of it!<\/p>\nIt\u2019s hard to write articulately about the Five Demands when one
\nkeeps getting brought up short by basic things, like the existence of
\nclean public bathrooms.<\/p>\nThe time and location of protests are set via social media
\nalchemy; once you get notified about one, you descend through a spotless
\nmall onto a bright and clean train platform, get whisked away by a
\ntrain that arrives almost immediately, step out into another mall, then
\nfinally walk outside into overwhelming heat and a gathering group of
\ndemonstrators.<\/p>\nWhen it\u2019s over, whether the demonstrators have dispersed of their
\nown will, or are running from rubber bullets and tear gas, you duck
\ninto another mall, and another train, and within minutes are back in a
\nland of infinite hypercommerce, tiny alleys and posh hotels with their
\nlobby on the 40th floor of a skyscraper.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n