Hong Kong riot police swept into several shopping malls yesterday, chasing off and arresting some anti-government demonstrators who had gathered to press their demands in the peak shopping weekend before Christmas.
In a mall in Yuen Long, close to the Chinese border, hundreds of black-clad protesters marked the five-month anniversary of an attack in a train station by an armed mob wearing white T-shirts that beat up bystanders and protesters with pipes and poles.
Police have been criticized for not responding quickly enough to calls for help and for not arresting any alleged culprits at the scene.
Photo: Reuters
They later made several arrests and said the assailants had links to organized criminal gangs, or triads.
The protesters demanded justice for the attack, shouting: “Fight for freedom,” and “Stand with Hong Kong.”
“The government didn’t do anything so far after five months... I deserve an answer, an explanation,” said a 30-year-old clerk surnamed Law. “Yuen Long is no longer a safe place ... and we all live in white terror when we worry if we will be beaten up when dressed in black.”
As dozens of riot police stormed into the mall to chase protesters off, a sushi restaurant had its window smashed and shops were forced to close.
Protests in Hong Kong are now in their seventh month, albeit in a relative lull.
Residents are angry at what they see as China’s meddling in the territory’s freedoms guaranteed under the “one country, two systems” formula when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Many are also outraged by perceived police brutality, and are demanding an independent investigation into allegations of excessive force. Other demands include the release of all arrested demonstrators and full democracy.
On Friday night, police arrested a man who fired a single shot with a pistol at plainclothes officers in the northern Tai Po district. No one was injured.
A search of a nearby apartment revealed a cache of weaponry including a semi-automatic rifle and bullets.
Steve Li, a senior police officer on the scene, told reporters that police had information that the suspect planned to use the pistol during a protest to “cause chaos and to hurt police officers.”
In Tsim Sha Tsui yesterday, groups of protesters also converged on a mall popular with Chinese luxury shoppers.
“We can’t celebrate Christmas when our city is taken over by the police. When you see the police outside the mall, do you feel like shopping for presents?” said Bob, 17, a protester.
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
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
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