Hong Kong student leaders of pro-democracy protests were blocked from flying to Beijing as they sought to meet with Chinese leaders to press their case for open elections for the territory’s chief executive in 2017.
Three members of the Hong Kong Federation of Students were told by airline personnel that they could not board because Chinese authorities canceled their so-called “home return permits,” federation Secretary-General Alex Chow told reporters at Hong Kong International Airport yesterday, in comments broadcast live on Cable TV Hong Kong.
The students had planned to seek talks with Chinese officials on their own after requests to former Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa (董建華) and Rita Fan (范徐麗泰), a Hong Kong deputy to China’s National People’s Congress, to arrange a meeting apparently went unheeded. The federation wants Beijing to reverse its decision to vet candidates for Hong Kong’s chief executive election in 2017, the group said in a statement on Facebook.
Photo: Reuters
Hong Kong Police Commissioner Andrew Tsang (曾偉雄) yesterday said that his force would help clear protest sites that have blocked main roads and disrupted the territory for more than seven weeks after a judge dismissed demonstrators’ appeals against orders to remove them.
The street occupations are illegal and protesters should not interfere when the removal of blockades begins, Tsang said in a press briefing broadcast live on Cable TV Hong Kong. He did not say when that would be.
Hong Kong High Court Chief Judge Andrew Cheung Kui-nung’s (張舉能) ruling means that bailiffs can remove obstructions at two protest sites in Mong Kok on the north side of Victoria Harbour. An injunction was also granted against protesters in Admiralty, where the city’s government headquarters are located. Under the injunctions, police are authorized to assist in the clearing and to arrest anyone who interferes.
The ruling risks reigniting violent clashes between police and protesters as government talks with student leaders are stalled. Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) last week expressed support for Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying (梁振英) while hosting the APEC summit in Beijing.
The protests were sparked by China’s decision to control the nomination process for the city’s first leadership election in 2017, issuing the biggest challenge that Hong Kong has posed for China since its resumption of sovereignty over the territory in 1997.
The protest movement that has occupied Hong Kong’s streets in main commercial districts since September is losing momentum amid dissent among its leaders and dwindling crowds. Hong Kong Chief Secretary Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) has ruled out more talks with the students.
The Mong Kok injunctions were brought by taxi and bus drivers who said that their business has been impaired by the blockage of key roads by the students.
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday. The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than the tariffs imposed on Japan, South Korea and the EU (15 percent), as well as those on the Philippines (19 percent). A Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter said it is a "phased" tariff rate, and negotiations would continue. "Once negotiations conclude, Taiwan will obtain a better
FLOOD RECOVERY: “Post-Typhoon Danas reconstruction special act” is expected to be approved on Thursday, the premier said, adding the flood control in affected areas would be prioritized About 200cm of rainfall fell in parts of southern Taiwan from Monday last week to 9am yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Kaohsiung’s Taoyuan District (桃源) saw total rainfall of 2,205mm, while Pingtung County’s Sandimen Township (三地門) had 2,060.5mm and Tainan’s Nanhua District (南化) 1,833mm, according to CWA data. Meanwhile, Alishan (阿里山) in Chiayi County saw 1,688mm of accumulated rain and Yunlin County’s Caoling (草嶺) had 1,025mm. The Pingtung County Government said that 831 local residents have been pre-emptively evacuated from mountainous areas. A total of 576 are staying with relatives in low-lying areas, while the other 255 are in shelters. CWA forecaster