Thousands of students yesterday formed human chains outside schools across Hong Kong to show solidarity after violent weekend clashes between police and activists pushing for democratic reforms in the territory.
The silent protest came as the Hong Kong government condemned the “illegal behavior of radical protesters” and warned the US to stay out of its affairs after thousands of demonstrators on Sunday appealed for Washington’s support.
The government said in a statement that “foreign legislatures should not interfere in any form in the internal affairs” of Hong Kong.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) yesterday visited a subway station vandalized by protesters in an unusual public appearance. A video distributed by the government showed Lam inspecting damage and telling a commuter she was “heartbroken” to see the destruction.
“I hope Hong Kong will be calm again soon and no more violence,” Lam said.
High-school and university students yesterday formed long human chains that snaked into the streets outside their schools, following similar protests last week. They were joined by many graduates wearing the protesters’ trademark black tops and masks.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Many also rallied against what they viewed as excessive use of force by police, with one student carrying a placard that read “Stop violence, we are not rioters.”
Anger was fueled over the weekend after images of a youth being bloodily beaten up by riot police at a subway station were widely shared on social media. The boy, who did not fight back, was pinned to the floor and appeared unconscious in a pool of blood.
Police Public Relations Chief Superintendent Tse Chun-chung (謝振中) told a briefing yesterday that police have received complaints about the case and are investigating.
Photo: AFP
He said police were doing their best to handle escalating violence, with “radical” protesters attacking police and trying to snatch their weapons, adding that 157 people had been detained since Friday.
Hong Kong journalists, some wearing helmets and gas masks, complained at the police briefing that riot police had used pepper spray and threatened colleagues covering the weekend clashes.
Meanwhile, activist Joshua Wong (黃之鋒) was released yesterday, after being detained on Sunday after returning from a trip to Taiwan.
A court said Wong’s overseas trips had been approved earlier and his detention was due to procedural errors. Wong later departed for a trip to Germany and the US.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
STORM’S PATH: Kong-Rey could be the first typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in November since Gilda in 1967. Taitung-Green Island ferry services have been halted Tropical Storm Kong-rey is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon early today and could make landfall in Taitung County between late Thursday and early Friday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, Kong-Rey was 1,030km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the nation’s southernmost point, and was moving west at 7kph. The tropical storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126 kph, CWA data showed. After landing in Taitung, the eye of the storm is forecast to move into the Taiwan Strait through central Taiwan on Friday morning, the agency said. With the storm moving
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work