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.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from