China warns Hong Kong protesters not to 'play with fire'

[snoop1130]

China warns Hong Kong protesters not to 'play with fire'

By Cate Cadell

 

Yang Guang (C) and Xu Luying (R) of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council attend a news conference on the current situation in Hong Kong, in Beijing, China, August 6, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee

 

BEIJING (Reuters) - Radical protesters in Hong Kong must not mistake China’s restraint for weakness, China’s Hong Kong affairs office said on Tuesday, vowing that the “violent criminals” pushing the city towards a “dangerous abyss” would be brought to justice.

 

Hong Kong has suffered weeks of sometimes violent protests that began with opposition to a now-suspended extradition law, which would have allowed suspects to be tried in mainland courts.

 

But the protests have swelled into a broader backlash against the government of the Asian financial hub and its political masters in Beijing.

 

“I would like to warn all of the criminals: don’t ever misjudge the situation and mistake our restraint for weakness,” the Chinese government’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office said in a document issued during a briefing in Beijing.

 

A small group of violent radicals were at the forefront of the protests, with “some kind-hearted citizens who have been misguided and coerced to join,” according to the document attributed to two officials, Yang Guang and Xu Luying.

 

It said anti-China forces were the “behind-the-scenes masterminds” who had “openly and brazenly emboldened” the protesters.

 

“We would like to make clear to the very small group of unscrupulous and violent criminals and the dirty forces behind them: those who play with fire will perish by it,” the office said.

 

“At the end of the day, they will eventually be punished.”

 

China has been quick to label U.S. officials as “black hands” instigating unrest in Hong Kong in an attempt to contain China’s development, but it has not provided any concrete evidence.

 

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers on Friday urged the Trump Administration to suspend future sales of munitions and crowd-control equipment to Hong Kong police, which have been accused of using excessive force.

 

Police on Monday fired tear gas at protesters in the former British colony after a general strike hit transport and the city’s Beijing-backed leader, chief executive Carrie Lam, warned its prosperity was at risk.

 

The protests surpassed earlier shows of dissent in scale and intensity, seemingly stoked Lam’s refusal once again to meet any of the protesters’ demands, including for her resignation and independent inquiries into police use of force.

 

The protests are the greatest political threat to Hong Kong’s government since the territory returned to Chinese rule in 1997, and one of the biggest popular challenges to Chinese leader Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.

 

‘CIVILISED POWER’

 

China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in Hong Kong has remained in barracks since protests started in April, leaving Hong Kong’s police force to deal with the massive demonstrations.

 

Last week, the PLA garrison there issued a video showing “anti-riot” exercises, and its top brass warned violence is “absolutely impermissible”.

 

Diplomats and foreign security analysts are watching the situation closely, but believe there’s little appetite in Beijing for the PLA to be deployed on the streets of Hong Kong.

 

So far, the central government and the PLA have said only that there are clear provisions in law covering the prospect of the force’s intervention in the city.

 

During the briefing, Yang called the PLA “a strong force that defends every inch of its sacred territory”, and said the central government would not allow any “turbulence” beyond the control of the Hong Kong government to threaten national unity or security.

 

“The PLA is a force of power but also a civilized power,” Yang said.

 

“As long as it has the strong support of the central government and the Chinese people, the Hong Kong government and police “are fully capable of punishing those criminal activities and restoring public order and stability”, he said.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-08-06

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[Calach]

I'm pretty sure the new bridge between HK and the mainland has been designed to allow the passage of tanks. 

[tifino]

the islanders forget that the mainland can simply arrest every single one of them...

 - taking them all back to mainlaind prisons in accordance with the original 'protested about' plan that started all this.

 

a vicious circle.

 

 

 - and repopulate the entire island with their own.

an unlimited supply of spare bods await!!

 

Edited August 6, 2019 by tifino

[bristolboy]

It looks like another Tiananmen square is in the offing.

[tifino]

I'm thinking that the orignal plan will go ahead... but with one major change!

 

Hong Kong becomes 'the' Prison island itself

[zydeco]

So, Reuters says the protesters range between "radical" and "violent criminals." Is somebody in Peking writing Reuter's news copy these days. Or do they just voluntarily describe everything from the Communist Party point of view?

[bristolboy]

2 minutes ago, zydeco said:

So, Reuters says the protesters range between "radical" and "violent criminals." Is somebody in Peking writing Reuter's news copy these days. Or do they just voluntarily describe everything from the Communist Party point of view?

Try reading it again. They're just relating the allegations of the Chinese government.

[zydeco]

2 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

Try reading it again. They're just relating the allegations of the Chinese government.

Try reading again yourself. It's not in quotes. Do you just hang out here to make pointless and erroneous quibbles? 8800 posts in less than a year and half. What the heck do you do all day?

Edited August 6, 2019 by zydeco

[animalmagic]

14 hours ago, zydeco said:

Try reading again yourself. It's not in quotes. Do you just hang out here to make pointless and erroneous quibbles? 8800 posts in less than a year and half. What the heck do you do all day?

Radical protesters in Hong Kong must not mistake China’s restraint for weakness, China’s Hong Kong affairs office said on Tuesday, vowing that the “violent criminals” pushing the city towards a “dangerous abyss” would be brought to justice.

Sorry to make a grammatical quibble but all reports are of the comments made by the China HK Affairs office, which said the protesters were radical protesters and violent criminals; Reuters quoted this.  When using the phrase someone said something, quotation marks are not necessary; hence this is not Reuter's view but simply a reported statement.

[zydeco]

1 hour ago, animalmagic said:

Radical protesters in Hong Kong must not mistake China’s restraint for weakness, China’s Hong Kong affairs office said on Tuesday, vowing that the “violent criminals” pushing the city towards a “dangerous abyss” would be brought to justice.

Sorry to make a grammatical quibble but all reports are of the comments made by the China HK Affairs office, which said the protesters were radical protesters and violent criminals; Reuters quoted this.  When using the phrase someone said something, quotation marks are not necessary; hence this is not Reuter's view but simply a reported statement.

It's really pretty damned simple. If China HK Affairs office said it, then it goes in quotes. 

[stevenl]

1 minute ago, zydeco said:

It's really pretty damned simple. If China HK Affairs office said it, then it goes in quotes. 

No, not if the report states 'they said that ...

[car720]

Everyone is underestimating the ability of the Chinese facial recognition software.  They will all be rounded up later and punished.  Make no mistake about it.

[placnx]

19 hours ago, tifino said:

I'm thinking that the orignal plan will go ahead... but with one major change!

 

Hong Kong becomes 'the' Prison island itself

Maybe they can dredge sand on to a local reef so that HK can have its own Devil's Island prison. Otherwise they might have to spirit them across the border to ....

[animalmagic]

2 hours ago, zydeco said:

It's really pretty damned simple. If China HK Affairs office said it, then it goes in quotes. 

Incorrect -

The HK and Macau affairs office said, "...……."  or

The HK and Macau affairs office said that/the …………….

I think Reuters probably have experience in the correct grammatical presentation than we do; and its job is to present the news not to express an opinion unless in an editorial.

[mikebike]

I don't think they would be in today's predicament if the British govt didn't try to hang on to a lucrative part of the decayed empire about 40yrs too long. Shoulda let it go post WWII with Singapore et al.

[placnx]

39 minutes ago, mikebike said:

I don't think they would be in today's predicament if the British govt didn't try to hang on to a lucrative part of the decayed empire about 40yrs too long. Shoulda let it go post WWII with Singapore et al.

The problem is/was that most of the territory was on lease from the Emperor of China. Now that there's a new emperor in town, it's difficult to conceive of democracy straddling any part of China. Taiwan people are watching in apprehension, no doubt.

[metisdead]

An off topic post and an off topic reply has been removed. 

[Mavideol]

21 hours ago, bristolboy said:

It looks like another Tiananmen square is in the offing.

I did say that a couple days ago....Chinese police riot type activity practicing at the border with HK

[stevenl]

1 hour ago, Mavideol said:

I did say that a couple days ago....Chinese police riot type activity practicing at the border with HK

I would have expected them to send in the army already. Police would be softer than I would expect, and they have waited longer already than I had expected.