Some placards and slogans at Hong Kong's latest pro-democracy protest were inappropriate and not conducive to stability and harmony, a senior Chinese official in the territory was quoted yesterday as saying.
Chanting "return power to the people," hundreds of thousands of people poured onto the streets of Hong Kong on Thursday to challenge Beijing's refusal to allow them to elect the city's chief executive and to vent their frustration at Chinese rule.
"Some protest organizers used placards and slogans that were inappropriate and not conducive to Hong Kong residents' common desire for stability, development and harmony," said an official identified only as the "person in charge" at the central government's Liaison Office in Hong Kong.
China's official Xinhua news agency did not say what the placards or slogans were, but analysts said Beijing sees the chorus to "return power to the people" as a veiled call for independence.
"We hope these people can follow the desire of a majority of Hong Kong people and play a genuinely constructive role to maintain stability and prosperity," Xinhua quoted the official as saying.
The demonstration, on the seventh anniversary of the former British colony's return to China, gave Beijing a taste of what it fears most, a mass show of public dissent.
But Hong Kong pro-democracy activists were quick to stress that what Hong Kong people wanted was more freedom under Chinese rule.
"We are here today to fight for democracy," veteran campaigner Legislator Martin Lee (
However, the Hong Kong government was warned yesterday to respond to Thursday's massive pro-democracy march or face a summer of social unrest.
Legislator David Chu (
Organizers said as many as 530,000 people joined the protest, well over the 300,000 they had expected. But final police estimates were much lower, at 200,000.
Chu said the government had to respond to people's aspirations for democracy or the stability of the former British colony would be at stake.
"If we don't accommodate for this change quickly, there will be big instability."
One of the march's organizers, Legislator Lee Cheuk-yan (
Beijing-appointed Tung held a briefing after the march to reiterate what he has said before -- that any moves toward universal suffrage in Hong Kong must be gradual and must have China's consent.
Also see story:
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,
REASSURANCE: The US said Taiwan’s interests would not be harmed during the talk and that it remains steadfast in its support for the nation, the foreign minister said US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would bring up Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea this week. “I will be talking about Taiwan [with Xi],” Trump told reporters before he departed for his trip to Asia, adding that he had “a lot of respect for Taiwan.” “We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us. I think we’ll have a good meeting,” Trump said. Taiwan has long been a contentious issue between the US and China.
Taiwan’s first African swine fever (ASF) case has been confirmed and would soon be reported to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) yesterday. The Ministry of Agriculture’s Veterinary Research Institute yesterday completed the analysis of samples collected on Tuesday from dead pigs at a hog farm in Taichung and found they were ASF-positive. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency Animal Quarantine Division chief Lin Nien-nung (林念農) said the result would be reported to the WOAH and Taiwan’s major trade partners would also be notified, adding that pork exports would be suspended. As of Friday, all samples
RSS