Rival groups of demonstrators clashed in Hong Kong and police made arrests in another weekend of mass protests after months of political unrest.
Dozens of pro-Beijing protesters waved Chinese flags and chanted “support the police” at a mall in Kowloon Bay yesterday as pro-democracy demonstrators gathered, clad in black and wearing masks.
After a standoff, members of the two sides began to fight, throwing punches and hitting each other with umbrellas before police separated them. At least one man was seen bleeding from the head.
Photo: AFP
Groups of anti-government and pro-government protesters yelled at each other and scuffled by a nearby “Lennon wall” — murals of protest art set up by demonstrators.
In one incident, protesters surrounded a woman they accused of filming them and refused to let her leave. Police were seen tackling and subduing several people, some of whom said they were local residents going to the mall.
As Hong Kong enters its fourth month of mass protests, tensions between supporters and critics of the pro-democracy movement have escalated.
Earlier yesterday, fights broke out between residents in Fortress Hill and a group of pro-government demonstrators in blue T-shirts, after a Lennon wall had been torn down.
Video footage showed groups of men using Chinese flags to beat mostly younger men.
In one scene, a group chased and kicked a young man until a passerby shielded him with his body.
Hundreds of anti-government protesters in masks and all-black outfits were also marching in Tin Shui Wai, a neighborhood in Hong Kong’s New Territories, defying a police ban on the planned event.
Bus lines to the area were shut as riot police faced off against protesters who were building barricades on the streets.
Yesterday marked the 15th consecutive weekend of mass protests in Hong Kong, where demonstrations against the government have deeply divided society. The protests, triggered by an extradition bill that would allow suspects to be sent to mainland China, has turned into a broader pro-democracy movement.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) promised to permanently withdraw the bill, but protesters have vowed to continue until all their demands are met.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong (黃之鋒) on Friday urged US President Donald Trump to include a “human rights clause” in any trade agreement with China, and sought Washington’s backing for the territory’s democracy movement.
The 22-year-old called on US politicians to pass a bill expressing support for the pro-democracy campaign during a speaking engagement in New York, a few hours after arriving in the US.
“It’s significant to add a human rights clause in the trade negotiations and put Hong Kong protests under the agenda of the trade negotiations,” Wong told reporters afterward.
The world’s two biggest economies have been locked in a bitter trade dispute for the past year, resulting in tit-for-tat tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars in two-way trade.
Trade talks between Beijing and Washington are scheduled for next month.
Wong said it is crucial Hong Kong is factored into the negotiations, adding that the territory faces the threat of emergency laws “similar to martial law” and fears that China could send troops to the semi-autonomous region.
“If China has no intention to safeguard Hong Kong’s economic freedom and open business it will also affect and damage the world economy,” he said.
Wong arrived in the US after visiting Germany as he seeks global support for Hong Kong’s widening pro-democracy protests.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
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
RSS