After arrests in 2023, Hong Kong’s Songkran water-splashing festival moved off the streets
Hong Kong Free Press
Water-splashing celebrations for Songkran will be moved from the Kowloon City street that has long hosted the festivities to mark Thai new year to nearby basketball courts. Last year, three men were arrested over spraying water at police and reporters at the annual event.
The Thai festival of Songkran is traditionally observed at South Wall Road in Kowloon City, Hong Kong’s “Little Thailand,” where people splash each other with buckets and water guns to ring in the Thai new year.
But the waterworks will be moved to outdoor basketball courts at Carpenter Road Park this year, Kowloon City District Officer Alice Choi said on Saturday.
She told reporters in Cantonese at an opening ceremony that last year’s situation was “not ideal,” adding that the decision was made after a review of the previous Songkran festivities. “We want everyone to have fun… we decided, after due consideration, to move it to the basketball courts.”
There will be DJs playing music while people celebrate at the basketball courts, Choi said.
Asked about the legality of splashing water on South Wall Road, Choi called on residents to refrain from doing so, as a car boot market will be held there instead. “The street is a public place. Not everyone wants to get splashed with water walking down the street,” she added.
However, water fights were permitted at Lai Chi Kok over the weekend, where families doused each other outside the D2 Place shopping mall.
Days after last year’s festival, three men were arrested on charges of attacking a police officer and assault charges involving reporters from local outlet TVB. They pleaded not guilty last month, and a pre-trial review is scheduled for April 18.
Businesses affected
Store and restaurant owners on South Wall Road, meanwhile, lamented the new arrangements, telling local media that moving the water-splashing celebrations away from the enclave would affect business.
Thai Consul General Chaturont Chaiyakam, who was also at the opening, told reporters that some Thai residents hoped to celebrate the new year on the streets, but asked them to understand the “cultural difference” between Hong Kong and Thailand.
Those who wished to participate in the festivities at Carpenter Road Park this Saturday will have to register ahead of time, and will be allocated one of eight timeslots throughout the day, each accommodating about 200 people.
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