during the July 1 march, Ip, who won a best actress award at the Venice Film Festival in 2011, urged protesters not to turn the tide of public opinion against the movement seeking to block a controversial China extradition bill. Thestar has been vocal about her support for the protests and previously joined the peaceful marches that took place on June 9 and 16, both events that organizers said exceeded a million people.
Ip’s comments came as student protesters broke into Hong Kong’s legislature and vandalized the main meeting chamber in an escalation of tactics modeled after the Sunflower Student Movement of 2014 in Taiwan. The actions have polarized public opinion as well as created divisions among supporters of the movement, which up until Monday had been notable for its large-scale civility.
Since the June 12 protest, which gained worldwide coverage for Hong Kong’s police force utilizing heavy-handed tactics against student demonstrators, tensions in the city have been high. Many citizens were horrified by police tactics and the violence that ensued that day, with others siding with the police. The splits in society have begun to surface in Hong Kong’s entertainment industry, which hitherto had remained apolitical.
I wouldn’t listen to Hollywood if they were all driving chariots pulled by pit bulls!