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Hong Kong commercial centres paralysed as protesters, police exchange petrol bombs and tear gas

By Simon Gardner and Jessie Pang

 

Riot police use water cannon to disperse anti-extradition bill demonstrators during a protest in Hong Kong, China, August 31, 2019. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

 

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong police fired tear gas and water cannon on Saturday and pro-democracy protesters threw petrol bombs in the latest in a series of chaotic clashes that have plunged the Chinese-ruled city into its worst political crisis in decades.

 

Police fired round after round of tear gas and protesters took cover behind umbrellas between the local headquarters of China's People's Liberation Army and the government. Protesters also threw bricks dug up from pathways at police.

 

Many shops and restaurants in protest areas popular with tourists were shuttered, while curious visitors peered out from windows of some luxury hotels overlooking the demonstrations.

 

Protest numbers had dwindled by the early hours of Sunday, with just a few hundred demonstrators and some riot police visible.

 

The water cannon unleashed blue-dyed water, to make it easier for police to identify protesters.

 

Riot police then marched on foot towards the neighbouring Admiralty district, followed by 20 police cars, where protesters had thrown fire bombs from flyovers, some landing close to police. Others shone blue and green lasers at police lines.

 

There were unconfirmed reports of an off-duty policeman being wounded.

 

In the neighbouring Wanchai bar and restaurant district, police fought running battles with protesters, some beating them with truncheons, according to Reuters witnesses. There were several arrests.

 

"We have to keep protesting, we cannot let China take back Hong Kong now," said Evelyn, a 25-year-old asset manager, chanting "gangster" at police outside a subway station across the harbour from the central business area in Kowloon district.

 

Asked what she would do if authorities did not respond to protesters' demands, she said: "Maybe I will leave Hong Kong. I absolutely cannot live under Chinese rule."

 

The protests, which at one point blocked three key roads, came on the fifth anniversary of a decision by China to curtail democratic reforms and rule out universal suffrage in Hong Kong, a former British colony that was returned to China in 1997.

 

"The behaviours of the radical protesters gravely breach the public peace and pose a serious threat to the safety of police officers on duty and members of the public at the scene," the government said in a statement.

 

The People's Liberation Army on Thursday rotated its troops in Hong Kong in what it said was a routine operation. Their Hong Kong HQ was the former base of the British military garrison.

 

Senior Chinese officials have warned that if the turmoil persists, "the central government must intervene".

 

Police were targeting MTR subway trains to make arrests, with TV footage showing people being beaten as they cowered on the floor behind umbrellas. Some rail lines were closed.

 

HAND SIGNALS

 

Thousands took to the streets of the Asian financial hub for a largely peaceful, meandering rally in the afternoon rain. Many of them joined a "Christian march" from Wanchai and congregated next to the Legislative Council, which was stormed by activists in an earlier protest.

 

Other protesters, many wearing black and face masks, marched in the bustling tourist area of Causeway Bay. The crowds grew after dusk in Wanchai, where demonstrators built roadblocks and banged iron sticks. Firemen battled a huge blaze outside a Methodist church in the main Hennessy Road where water cannon moved in.

 

It was the same pattern all evening. Police advanced steadily, protesters retreated. Pedestrians yelled out “black cops”, “gangsters” and "get fucked" as police passed.

 

There were also standoffs in North Point and Fortress Hill, to the east of Causeway Bay, and police fired tear gas at fire-bomb throwing protesters over the harbour in Tsim Sha Tsui.

 

"I was at home but when I saw them beating and arresting anyone they saw on the train I rushed down," said Joanna Wong, one of several hundred people shouting abuse at riot police blocking one subway station. "I will keep protesting even if I go to jail," she said, her voice shaking with emotion.

 

Some people in cars passing through one protest area honked their horns in support of protesters.

 

The protests have gone on for three months, sometimes turning violent, and have targeted the airport, the legislature and the Liaison Office, the symbol of Chinese rule.

 

Police arrested a number of prominent pro-democracy activists and three lawmakers on Friday, seeking to rein in a movement that began with anger over planned legislation allowing extraditions to mainland China, where courts are controlled by the ruling Communist Party.

 

It soon broadened into calls for democracy amid fears China is squeezing Hong Kong's freedoms.

 

But the latest protests have no leaders. The slogan is "be like water", meaning be flexible. Marchers on Saturday were marching here and there, wherever streets took them, communicating with different hand signals and chanting "stand with Hong Kong" and "fight for freedom".

 

BANNER VANDALISED

 

China denies the charge of meddling in Hong Kong, which it says is an internal affair. It has denounced the protests and warned of the damage to the economy.

 

China is eager to quell the unrest before the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on Oct. 1 but protesters vandalised a long red banner celebrating the event to cheers from the crowd.

 

Beijing has also accused foreign powers, particularly the United States and Britain, of fomenting the demonstrations.

Hong Kong returned to China under a "one country, two systems" formula that allows it to keep freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, like the freedom to protest and an independent legal system.

 

“After 20 years of 'one country, two systems', we are finding out that it is a lie. We don’t accept the Chinese dictatorship,” said Noel, 24, an artist and recent philosophy graduate as fellow protesters screamed “Triads” at riot police.

 

“We protesters are fighting for values. I have to say I am not overly optimistic. But fighting dictatorship is the right thing to do.

 

“If China sends troops to shoot us, then Hong Kong is fucked. Hong Kong will end.”

 

There have been frequent clashes between protesters and police, who have fired tear gas and rubber bullets amid accusations of excessive force.

 

"A lot of people from the outside think it is the police who escalate (the violence) first," a police officer told a media briefing. "This is not true."

 

An off-duty policeman was attacked on Friday night by three unidentified men with a knife, suffering wounds to his limbs and back, police said. The news was a top-trending topic on China's Twitter-like Weibo.

 

With Hong Kong facing its first recession in a decade, speculation has grown that the city government may impose emergency laws, giving it extra powers over detentions, censorship and curfews.

 

Lawmaker Fernando Cheung said the arrests of the three legislators were probably aimed at causing more chaos to justify the use of emergency laws.

 

(Additional reporting by James Pomfret, Marius Zaharia, Jessie Pang, Joe Brock, Farah Master, Clare Jim, David Lague, Simon Gardner, Twinnie Siu and Anne Marie Roantree; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Stephen Powell)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-09-01

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[Pedrogaz]

Time for the Chinese army to step in. This protest snit about the extradition bill that was dropped many weeks ago....it is about what will happen in 2047.

 

The agreement is very clear....HK potentially loses its autonomous status and becomes part of China, wholly ruled from Beijing, if Beijing so decides. But what is clear is that the agreement ensures it is totally Beijing's decision and western powers and Hong Kongers have no say at all. 

 

The West now wants to change these agreements made long ago, but there is, as usual, no legitimate reason for thier meddling in China's internal affairs for an event that hasn't even happened yet. Throwing petrol bombs would not be tolerated in any Western city without a huge response from the police and/or military. It is time enforce the laws and restore stability and to crush the protest forcefully, in my opinion.

 

[topt]

22 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

The West now wants to change these agreements made long ago,

So you are saying it is not local protesters (IE mainly Hong Kong Chinese) causing these issues but the fault of western troublemakers.........

[ncc1701d]

40 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

Time for the Chinese army to step in. This protest snit about the extradition bill that was dropped many weeks ago....it is about what will happen in 2047.

 

The agreement is very clear....HK potentially loses its autonomous status and becomes part of China, wholly ruled from Beijing, if Beijing so decides. But what is clear is that the agreement ensures it is totally Beijing's decision and western powers and Hong Kongers have no say at all. 

 

The West now wants to change these agreements made long ago, but there is, as usual, no legitimate reason for thier meddling in China's internal affairs for an event that hasn't even happened yet. Throwing petrol bombs would not be tolerated in any Western city without a huge response from the police and/or military. It is time enforce the laws and restore stability and to crush the protest forcefully, in my opinion.

 

The rise of self determination in Hong Kong is not new and it is certainly not being fueled directly by western interests. I don’t see anyone of significance from the west saying Hong Kong should separate from China - they are saying that China needs to find a peaceful solution - which is not the same as what you are saying.

 

Self determination was brought up regularly under British rule and almost got through many years ago - however it was blocked by lobbying from business leaders who were of the opinion the right to self govern would be detrimental to their business interests. The irony in that logic is certainly being played out now - as the economy is taking a significant hit. The reason why it never reached the same level of protests as we are seeing now is that during british rule (by design or by luck I can’t say), the people always had a chance to buy into the property market for example and live a life of a lot less hardship than what youth are under now. 

 

The Chinese way of rule is completely foreign to the Hong Kong people - but they certainly know what it’s like under such rule and why anyone would want to willingly enter into such a society is beyond me. 

 

When peoples freedoms are under threat - regardless of who the government is and what anyone thinks their right is to control their citizens, there will always be protests if it is believed their way of life is under threat.

 

[DrTuner]

Last light in China will be snuffed out soon. Pooh bear will just roll the tanks in to save face and manages to isolate China from the world. Then all we need to do is to wait for the commies to implode as they always do. In 70-80 years might have the next chance to get out, after it collapses USSR style.

[quadperfect]

Throwing petrol bombs. Did you know hong kong has the highest price for petrol in the world. 1.82 usd per litre.

I say the chinese gov just extinguish these rioters. Put em down and then put then in concentration camps. Make them slaves for a year. For the trouble.

[ExpatOilWorker]

The HK police is starting to act very brutal towards civilians.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-49540751

[mikebike]

5 hours ago, Pedrogaz said:

it is totally Beijing's decision... ...and Hong Kongers have no say at all. 

Good thing American revolutionaries didnt have that can't do attitude...

[timendres]

3 hours ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

The HK police is starting to act very brutal towards civilians.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-49540751

From that article:

Quote

 

But several people complained of excessive force used by the authorities.

"The train stopped. Police boarded and hit me twice with a baton," an unnamed man told the South China Morning Post newspaper.

"They didn't arrest me. They were just venting their anger by hitting me."

 

In the video from that article, it is clear that the police are losing control. Very sad to witness.

[phantomfiddler]

Why not just get together a select crew and take out that evil sphincter with the benign half-smile ? The ultimate bully in the world today ????

[Jingthing]

Friends working in HK told of bad time, businesses are suffering, student don't care, heavy rents does not allow weeks of business closure.

Who is behind these protests ?

People not wanting to live under a dictatorship.

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[Jingthing]

Good thing American revolutionaries didnt have that can't do attitude...

Yeah but I don't like the Hong Kongers odds.

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[from the home of CC]

7 hours ago, DrTuner said:

Last light in China will be snuffed out soon. Pooh bear will just roll the tanks in to save face and manages to isolate China from the world. Then all we need to do is to wait for the commies to implode as they always do. In 70-80 years might have the next chance to get out, after it collapses USSR style.

there would be a nuclear war prior to that happening imo.. 

[Morch]

1 hour ago, rhyddid said:

Friends working in HK told of bad time, businesses are suffering, student don't care, heavy rents does not allow weeks of business closure.

Who is behind these protests ?

 

Interesting. My imaginary friends aren't as critical of the protestors.

 

[DrTuner]

1 hour ago, from the home of CC said:

there would be a nuclear war prior to that happening imo.. 

Wasn't the last time Reagan was at it. But yes the risk of nukeout is again raising it's head.

[DrTuner]

2 hours ago, phantomfiddler said:

Why not just get together a select crew and take out that evil sphincter with the benign half-smile ? The ultimate bully in the world today ????

For some reason that rarely happens. Not for the lack of trying, Walküre etc. I guess too many people benefit from a scuffle. In any case there's no shortage of Mao educated cadres to fill the void, it's been only just over forty years since he kicked the bucket, plenty of brainwashed from back then in the line to be the next one.

Edited September 1, 2019 by DrTuner

[gunderhill]

12 hours ago, Pedrogaz said:

crush the protest forcefully, in my opinion.

Your opinion stinks is  my opinion.

[Guitarzan]

6 hours ago, Morch said:

 

Interesting. My imaginary friends aren't as critical of the protestors.

 

Excellent time for Taiwan to declare independence! The Chinese Communist Party won’t survive 2 more years! 

[Guitarzan]

7 hours ago, gunderhill said:

Your opinion stinks is  my opinion.

Your opinion is correct. Although he might change his mind if he had an organ harvested. 

[Morch]

3 hours ago, Guitarzan said:

Excellent time for Taiwan to declare independence! The Chinese Communist Party won’t survive 2 more years! 

 

It would be an even more excellent time for some posters to get acquainted with ROC position regarding the concept of "independence". '

 

Kinda doubt you could seriously substantiate the second claim. More like wishful thinking.

Edited September 2, 2019 by Morch

[metisdead]

A post containing an offensive Hitler reference has been removed. 

[ExpatOilWorker]

13 hours ago, from the home of CC said:

there would be a nuclear war prior to that happening imo.. 

Not necessary. The Chinese have a long history of slaughtering their own.

5 of the 10 biggest conflicts by casualties have all been in China. 6 in you include Mao's little step forward.

 

https://borgenproject.org/top-12-deadliest-wars-in-history

Edited September 2, 2019 by ExpatOilWorker

[Rimmer]

A troll post removed

[from the home of CC]

3 hours ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

Not necessary. The Chinese have a long history of slaughtering their own.

5 of the 10 biggest conflicts by casualties have all been in China. 6 in you include Mao's little step forward.

 

https://borgenproject.org/top-12-deadliest-wars-in-history

exactly, they would have little fear sacrificing millions in a nuke war if they thought they'd win..

[Roadman]

Regardless of what level or lack of morality that China has the reality is Hong Kong via those protestors who can't stay within the bounds of peaceful protest is already a lost cause. Only difference is full Chinese rule will come sooner than later. Its amusing to watch protestors running amok to in their words "gain worldwide attention" and then listen to a constant stream of p!ssed off "worldwide" travellers calling them for the idiots they are. 

[Traubert]

21 hours ago, timendres said:

From that article:

In the video from that article, it is clear that the police are losing control. Very sad to witness.

The depth of anger at an off duty colleague being stabbed multiple times by 'protestors' (or vicious thugs as they are known around the world) may have stiffened the police attitude. There are currently five police officers in intensive care but you wont read about that, only the brave protestors who put them there.

 

Ask yourself who took the gloves off first.

Edited September 2, 2019 by Traubert
Addition.

[Selatan]

6 hours ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

Not necessary. The Chinese have a long history of slaughtering their own.

5 of the 10 biggest conflicts by casualties have all been in China. 6 in you include Mao's little step forward.

 

https://borgenproject.org/top-12-deadliest-wars-in-history

Of course China would always occupy the most in that list. Reasons? 1 Huge country with huge population. 2 Longest unbroken history.

[Selatan]

On 9/1/2019 at 3:08 PM, DrTuner said:

Last light in China will be snuffed out soon. Pooh bear will just roll the tanks in to save face and manages to isolate China from the world. Then all we need to do is to wait for the commies to implode as they always do. In 70-80 years might have the next chance to get out, after it collapses USSR style.

China is no USSR. Luckily for China, it had discovered very early on, through Mao's disastrous Great Leap Forward project, that the Soviet economic model was faulty and so the CPC quickly reformed to favour their own local solutions. Too bad Mao resented the loss of face and sought to regain power and prestige through the Cultural Revolution. Again, the CPC had learned from this mistake and reformed further and look at what China had achieved in the last few decades.

[timendres]

46 minutes ago, Traubert said:

The depth of anger at an off duty colleague being stabbed multiple times by 'protestors' (or vicious thugs as they are known around the world) may have stiffened the police attitude. There are currently five police officers in intensive care but you wont read about that, only the brave protestors who put them there.

 

Ask yourself who took the gloves off first.

As outsiders, it would be very difficult to know how everything unfolded.  And there is a long history here leading up to current events. And it gets more polarized over time - police fearing protestors, citizens fearing police. There is nothing good about upheaval like this. But I very much sympathize with the Hong Kong citizens not wanting to be under the communist rule. It is unfortunate that the CCP could not find the way to let HK continue on it's path as it was.

[timendres]

3 minutes ago, Selatan said:

China is no USSR. Luckily for China, it had discovered very early on, through Mao's disastrous Great Leap Forward project, that the Soviet economic model was faulty and so the CPC quickly reformed to favour their own local solutions. Too bad Mao resented the loss of face and sought to regain power and prestige through the Cultural Revolution. Again, the CPC had learned from this mistake and reformed further and look at what China had achieved in the last few decades.

This is an important point. The poor of China have seen their lives improve dramatically over the last few decades. Many are very happy with things as they are. And will be for some time to come. But communism has it's fatal flaw, and at some point it will become a failed experiment, in my opinion.