Rush-hour traffic yesterday streamed through the heart of Hong Kong for the first time in more than two months after police cleared the territory’s main pro-democracy protest camp with mass arrests, but activists vowed that their struggle would continue.
The east-west artery through the business district had been blocked since September by the sprawling protest site, in a campaign that demonstrators say has changed the territory’s vexed relationship with Beijing and which has polarized public opinion.
Police swept through the Admiralty site on Thursday, clearing the multilane highway and arresting more than 200 protesters.
Photo: AFP
The demonstrators are calling for fully free elections for the territory’s leader in 2017, but Beijing has insisted a loyalist committee vet the candidates, which protesters say would ensure the selection of a pro-China stooge.
Demonstrators say their lengthy occupation has put the democracy movement on the map with Beijing and the local administration, after it brought parts of the territory to a standstill and saw tens of thousands on the streets at its height.
However, it has achieved no political concessions from either Hong Kong’s leaders or Beijing, who both branded the protests “illegal.”
Protest leaders said they would continue to push for reform.
“If we fight a long war we definitely do not have the ... resources the government has,” teenage student leader Joshua Wong said on Thursday.
Instead the movement needed to galvanize the support of young voters, many of whom engaged in politics for the first time during the mass protests.
“If we win the support of the young people regarding democracy ... there is a greater chance to achieve universal suffrage,” Wong said.
“If the problem of political reform is not handled appropriately, I believe [that in] the next phase there will be new resistance actions,” Occupy Central campaign group leader Benny Tai (戴耀廷) said.
Tai handed himself in to police last week in a symbolic bid to get the protests off the street in the wake of violent clashes, only to be turned away without being charged or arrested.
Analysts said the pro-democracy movement — from students to legislators — would have to become more coherent if it is to achieve any political concessions.
“They need to pull together to create a viable coalition of stakeholders,” Chinese University of Hong Kong political analyst Willy Lam said. “They need to act together to lobby and negotiate with the [Hong Kong] administration and Beijing. That would also give the Hong Kong people the impression that they speak with one voice and are much more organized.”
Public support for the movement waned as the weeks of protests wore on and the campaign splintered in different directions.
Some in Admiralty yesterday expressed their support for the police clearance action.
“I think it was correct, because they broke the law,” said one 46-year-old civil servant, who gave his name as George.
However, others expressed disappointment and the need for the movement to continue.
“I am so depressed it’s gone,” 34-year-old Kim Lo said. “I think now we have to sit down and think what we want. We need to spread the message, to help the seed grow. I don’t think we should go back on the streets yet.”
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
GLOBAL PROJECT: Underseas cables ‘are the nervous system of democratic connectivity,’ which is under stress, Member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said The government yesterday launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improved security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world. The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to “bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei. The project would be known as “RISK,” an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform and knowledge building, he said at the seminar, titled “Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum.” Taiwan sits at a vital junction on
LONG-HELD POSITION: Washington has repeatedly and clearly reiterated its support for Taiwan and its long-term policy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday said that Taiwan should not be concerned about being used as a bargaining chip in the ongoing US-China trade talks. “I don’t think you’re going to see some trade deal where, if what people are worried about is, we’re going to get some trade deal or we’re going to get favorable treatment on trade in exchange for walking away from Taiwan,” Rubio told reporters aboard his airplane traveling between Israel and Qatar en route to Asia. “No one is contemplating that,” Reuters quoted Rubio as saying. A US Treasury spokesman yesterday told reporters
RSS