Hong Kong Protests Turn Violent in Standoff Over China’s Control
Channel: the free Bird Roch
Date: 2019-06-12

Hong Kong Protests Turn Violent in Standoff Over China’s Control

HONG KONG—A standoff over China’s encroachment on this city’s legal autonomy deepened, with hundreds of police firing tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters, as the financial center’s Beijing-backed government showed no signs of yielding during a second day of widespread demonstrations.

Wednesday’s protest, which followed a mass demonstration by as many as a million people on Sunday, is the biggest outbreak of public unrest in years and comes as the administration of Chinese President Xi Jinping moves to bring the former British colony closer to the mainland. At issue is a widely unpopular bill that would allow extradition of alleged criminals to China from Hong Kong, which critics fear will be abused by Beijing for political ends.

Mass protests in 2003 and 2012 forced the government to back away from proposed laws on national security and patriotic education in schools. Since 2014, when authorities were unmoved by a 79-day street occupation demanding Beijing grant the city greater democracy, the pendulum has swung toward the government and reduced belief among opposition groups that mass demonstrations can sway policy makers.

But the extradition bill has struck a nerve among local people who fear their freedoms are being eroded, and revived an opposition movement many had written off as dead. Many protesters said they are unwilling to give up, even if they believe their defiance is futile.

The clashes, which came after thousands of people blocked key roads, reflect a widening chasm between many Hong Kong residents and their government, which they accuse of trying to rush through fundamental changes to their independent justice system at the behest of China’s leaders.

The protesters occupied streets from dawn on Wednesday and forced the city’s legislature to postpone a debate on the bill as the swarms of people blocked entrances and exits to government headquarters. A session to debate the bill had previously been scheduled to begin Thursday morning, while the organizers of Sunday’s march have urged continued action until the bill was withdrawn.

By afternoon, plumes of tear gas filled the air as officers drove back the crowds of mostly young demonstrators, some of whom were wearing masks, goggles and helmets. Police declared a riot and accused protesters, who were largely unarmed, of hurling metal rods and bricks at officers.

At 10 p.m., 72 people were injured, including two seriously, ranging in age from 15 to 66, according to the Hospital Authority. By midnight, protesters regrouped, with the main arteries of the central business district shut down. Hundreds of demonstrators waited behind metal barriers they had moved to cordon themselves off from lines of police in riot gear.

By early Thursday, most remaining protesters had left, some on the last trains and others on cars that had previously been used to block main roads.

Hong Kong From Above
A view of the North side of Hong Kong island, where street protests were held in opposition to a proposed China extradition law.

BANK OF

CHINA

HONG KONG GOVERNMENT

COMPLEX

HSBC

LEGISLATIVE

COUNCIL

PEOPLE’S LIBERATION

ARMY BARRACKS

TAMAR

PARK

VICTORIA HARBOUR

Source: Google Maps
“Our mission today has finished,” one protester told colleagues, saying they needed to conserve energy and regroup.

China’s government on Wednesday signaled its continued support for the proposed law, which would allow authorities to send anyone who sets foot in Hong Kong to mainland China for trial for certain alleged offenses. Critics say it would subject every person in the city to the mainland’s more opaque judicial system, leaving them subject to arbitrary detention and torture.

“As I’ve repeatedly said here, the Chinese central government firmly supports the Hong Kong SAR government in its work to advance the amendment” of extradition legislation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.



Protest scenes were reminiscent of the 79-day street protests that paralyzed parts of downtown Hong Kong in 2014.

Police fire teargas at protesters occupying roads in front of the Central Government Offices, during a protest against a proposed extradition law in Hong Kong, on Wednesday. Hong Kong's legislative chief postponed the debate on legislation that would allow extraditions to mainland China after thousands of protesters converged outside the chamber demanding the government to withdraw the bill.

A protester shields himself as he is approached by police in riot gear during a protest against a proposed extradition law in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

Protesters take shelter under umbrellas during a downpour as they occupy roads near the government headquarters in Hong Kong on Wednesday. The protest, which followed a mass demonstration by up to a million people on Sunday, is the biggest outbreak of public unrest in years.