More Hong Kong protests planned as metro limps back to business

[webfact]

More Hong Kong protests planned as metro limps back to business

 

People are seen at Yau Ma Tei metro station, after the nearby Mong Kok was closed due to vandalism during protests, in Hong Kong, China October 9, 2019. REUTERS/Susana Vera

 

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong's metro rail system will shut early again on Thursday to allow time to repair damaged facilities, its operator said as the city braced for more anti-government demonstrations after a string of violent protests in the Asian financial hub.

 

MTR Corp, whose network carries about 5 million passengers a day, said a line servicing a densely populated area in the city's New Territories would not operate and all lines would close by 9 p.m. (1300 GMT), more than three hours earlier than normal.

 

The usually efficient service was forced to shut down after arson attacks by anti-government protesters on Friday night, paralysing transport across the Chinese-ruled city. It has operated only partially since.

 

The closures also come ahead of more protests on Thursday and others planned for the rest of the week.

 

The unrest started more than four months ago in what began as opposition to a now-withdrawn extradition bill but has since widened into a pro-democracy movement amid fears that China is encroaching on Hong Kong's freedoms.

 

Those freedoms were guaranteed under a "one country, two systems" formula when Britain returned Hong Kong to China in 1997, a formula that allows wide-ranging autonomy not enjoyed on the mainland.

 

However, the unrest has pushed the special administrative region into its worst political crisis since 1997 and poses the biggest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.

 

Demonstrations planned for Thursday include some in support of Taiwan on its National Day and rallies against perceived police brutality, with protesters expected to wear eye patches to show solidarity with a young protester who was injured in clashes with police.

 

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said in a National Day speech Hong Kong was "on the edge of disorder" because of the failure of "one country, two systems", and she vowed to defend Taiwan's sovereignty as Beijing ramps up pressure on the self-ruled island.

 

Beijing regards Taiwan as a renegade province and there had been suggestions in China after Hong Kong's 1997 return that Taiwan could be brought back into the fold under a similar formula.

 

SENSITIVE POLITICS

Hong Kong is still recovering from a long weekend of violent clashes between police and tens of thousands of protesters.

 

Scores of shops remain boarded up after being trashed or torched, anti-government graffiti is scrawled over bus stops and buildings, and some streets are still strewn with broken glass and twisted metal debris.

 

Protest violence has often targeted the MTR mass transit system, which has been accused of closing stations at the government's behest to stop demonstrators gathering.

 

The city's economy has been hammered by the protests as it faces its first recession in a decade. The tourism and retail sectors have been hit particularly hard as visitors stay away.

 

Shopping malls and businesses have been forced to shut repeatedly, while a slew of events and conferences have moved to other locations, including Singapore.

 

The political sensitivities of the protests have also ensnared international businesses, with the U.S. National Basketball Association (NBA) the latest example after Chinese organisers on Wednesday cancelled a fan event over a tweet by a team official supporting the Hong Kong protests.

 

Luxury jeweller Tiffany & Co and U.S. sports brand Vans have also withdrawn an advertisement and shoe design seen as favouring protesters.

 

Apple Inc <AAPL.O> on Wednesday removed an app that protesters in Hong Kong have used to track police movements, saying it violated its rules because it was used to ambush police and by criminals who used it to victimise residents in areas with no law enforcement.

 

China has warned foreign governments to stay out of the protests which they deem as an internal affair and have accused some, including Britain and the United States, of fanning anti-China sentiment.

 

(Additional reporting by Yimou Lee in Taipei and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Writing by Farah Master; Editing by Paul Tait)

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-10-10

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[yellowboat]

10 hours ago, webfact said:

China has warned foreign governments to stay out of the protests which they deem as an internal affair and have accused some, including Britain and the United States, of fanning anti-China sentiment.

It is anti Carry Lam.  The Hong Kong people, no big surprise, have NO confidence in her, and most likely will have to leave Hong Kong once she is no longer is Governor.   Removing her and finding a person both sides trust, things can return to normal.  

[yellowboat]

7 minutes ago, rhyddid said:

Bring in the China Red Army and in a couple of weeks everything will be calm and pacific, no more well trained guerrilla style "protesters" and HK economic hub will be back on track.

Nope, that is exactly what the protesters want: make Hong Kong as affordable as Shenzhen.   All that foreign money leaves with all those expats.  The property market will plummet.  You do not have to live with your parents until you are

40 years old anymore.  There are only a handful of property developers in Hong Kong, and the locals hate them.  It plays to Beijing's advantage if they let the Hong Kong government resolve the problems.     

 

[tonbridgebrit]

The above picture is from the demonstraters in Hong Kong. Now, notice the silly sticker that is on this woman's forehead.

It says "If we burn, you burn with us".  How ridiculous can a person be to have such a message.


From the OP  "Scores of shops remain boarded up after being trashed or torched, anti-government graffiti is scrawled over bus stops and buildings, and some streets are still strewn with broken glass and twisted metal debris."  This was the damage that had been done during last weekend. The rioters are also vandalizing the MTR, that's Hong Kong's underground.

So, some people in Hong Kong are burning down Hong Kong, and their message to China or Beijing is "you will burn with us, if we burn".  It's more accurate if they say "we will burn ourselves because you are refusing to do certain stuff for us".

Edited October 11, 2019 by tonbridgebrit

[Traubert]

19 hours ago, rhyddid said:

Bring in the China Red Army and in a couple of weeks everything will be calm and pacific, no more well trained guerrilla style "protesters" and HK economic hub will be back on track.

The Red Army is Russian. I think you mean the PLA (Peoples Liberation Army.) They are already garrisoned in HK. These stupid kids tried to pick a fight with them earlier this week. They will only do it once.

[Boit]

rhyddid

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Posted 20 hours ago

Bring in the China Red Army and in a couple of weeks everything will be calm and pacific, no more well trained guerrilla style "protesters" and HK economic hub will be back on track. 

 

  How brain dead can a person be to reply like this?  As soon as Beijing enters HK for this reason, they will enter again only to find some/any reason then they take over, which is "killing the goose that laid the golden egg", the very thing that they originally promised not to do.  

[Traubert]

37 minutes ago, Boit said:

rhyddid

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Posted 20 hours ago

Bring in the China Red Army and in a couple of weeks everything will be calm and pacific, no more well trained guerrilla style "protesters" and HK economic hub will be back on track. 

 

  How brain dead can a person be to reply like this?  As soon as Beijing enters HK for this reason, they will enter again only to find some/any reason then they take over, which is "killing the goose that laid the golden egg", the very thing that they originally promised not to do.  

As I said earlier they're already there but garrisoned since 1997.  Beijing always had responsibilty for defence as per the agreement.

 

However if the thugs turn up again and manage to get in its Devil take the hindmost and no-one could object.

[tonbridgebrit]

25 minutes ago, Boit said:

 

• Bring in the China Red Army and in a couple of weeks everything will be calm and pacific, no more well trained guerrilla style "protesters" and HK economic hub will be back on track. 

 

  How brain dead can a person be to reply like this?  As soon as Beijing enters HK for this reason, they will enter again only to find some/any reason then they take over, which is "killing the goose that laid the golden egg", the very thing that they originally promised not to do.  

"Killing the goose that laid the golden egg". Yes, Beijing originally said that they would not do this. I really don't think Beijing will send in soldiers. But if they did, will they actually be killing the goose that lays the golden egg ?

The situation is not the same as in previous decades. Back then, cheap goods were produced in China's factories, and dealers in Hong Kong would buy the stuff from China and the stuff was transported into Hong Kong. And stored in warehouses in Hong Kong. The dealers or traders would then re-route or re-export the cheap Chinese goods to Europe and America.
Also, dealers in Hong Kong would import goods from America and Europe, store the goods in Hong Kong, and then re-route or re-export the goods to main-land China.

Basically, Hong Kong acted as trading post for China. Back in the 1970s, the vast bulk of China's trade (exports and imports) with Europe and America (and the rest of the world) was done via Hong Kong.


But what about today ? The last couple of decades ? The goods made in China are packed onto ships in Shanghai and other Chinese harbours, and the ships sail directly to America and Europe. Ships also sail directly from America and Europe (with goods from these places) to China. Hence, China is conducting lots of trade directly with America and Europe, no need to export/import via Hong Kong.
Beijing no longer regards Hong Kong as a goose that lays the golden egg.

[tonbridgebrit]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/no-one-showed-hong-kongs-070141030.html

Okay, what's the latest news from Hong Kong ? From this report from Associated Press, the protests might be grinding to a halt, due to a lack of interest.

From the artice, "Ronald sacrificed his lunchtime to join the protest in a Hong Kong park. He quivered at the prospect of communing with hundreds of like-minded office workers stirred by the organizers' rallying cry".

So, the man turned up, but nobody was there, he was the only person who turned up.


And also, from the article "Confused, shocked and more than a little sad as he gazed unbelieving around the empty park with a grand total of exactly one protester — him — the office intern drew this conclusion: Hong Kong's establishment-shaking protest movement, which has plunged the international business hub into crisis and seemed to have boundless reserves of determination, energy, creativity and popular support, might finally be losing a little steam as it enters its fifth month."

And one more sentance from the article [ "No one showed up! Only me! Wearing a mask to show off! This is quite disappointing," said the 20-year-old. ]


It might be the case, that after four months of aggro, finally, the people of Hong Kong are seeing sense. Disrupting traffic in Hong Kong, vandalizing Hong Kong's underground stations, throwing Molotov Cocktails and bricks at buildings in Hong Kong, this not going to make Beijing give the demonstraters in Hong Kong what they want.

Today is Saturday, 12th October. Let's look at today's news. Let's see how many people turn up for the protests. Let's see how many rioters turn up. Are there going to be crowds of hundreds of thousands ? Or tens of thousands instead. Please bear in mind that Hong Kong is a city-state where roughly 7.4 million people live.

Edited October 12, 2019 by tonbridgebrit

[tonbridgebrit]

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/weather-hits-hong-kong-protests-085234797.html


And this is the latest news, from Hong Kong on Saturday, October 12.
Basically, some demonstrations took place, a small amount of damage by petrol bombs happened, and some vandalism in the subway.


From the article "Many thousands of marchers joined the rally in Kowloon, classified by police as an illegal gathering.  "

However, also from the article "Overall, however, the protests were lower-key and appeared to lack the numbers of some much larger demonstrations seen during the more than four months of unrest that have gripped the semi-autonomous Chinese territory."
And " As recently as last Sunday, tens of thousands of masked protesters had hit Hong Kong’s rain-drenched streets.  "


So, many thousands turned up for Saturday's demonstrations. But tens of thousands of masked protesters turned up last Sunday. Are the demonstrations running out of steam ?

Edited October 12, 2019 by tonbridgebrit

[tonbridgebrit]

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/hong-kong-protests-leader-carrie-144221930.html

And here is the latest crazy news from Hong Kong.
Ted Cruz, has decided to turn up in Hong Kong for a visit. If you are not from America, well, you will probably not know who Ted Cruz is. And if you are from America, it probably turns out that you've forgotten who this man is. Cruz was fighting against Trump to be leader of the Republicans prior to that 2016 general election in the USA. Cruz, off-course, lost. So, Trump became leader of the Republicans, and as we all know, Trump won the election back in 2016.
So basically, Cruz is a 'jumped up nobody', he's still a politician though. Yes, Trump being President, it's partly due to Cruz failing to beat Trump for the Republican leadership.


Okay, back to the main point. Cruz is in Hong Kong. From the article "Against a backdrop of further violent protests, Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam has scrapped talks with US senator Ted Cruz after her office requested the meeting be kept completely confidential, the American politician has said. "

And also  "Mr Cruz, the highest profile US politician to visit the city since anti-government protests broke out more than four months ago, said Ms Lam’s representatives had also requested that Mr Cruz refrain from speaking to the media about it, he told journalists on Saturday. "


Basically, Cruz has turned up in Hong Kong, and the meeting with Carrie Lam was scrapped. Cruz is simply a self-serving and useless politician. He's in Hong Kong to boost his public profile, a real loser as a politician. People like Cruz should simply stay away from Hong Kong, they make themselves look absurd and ridiculous.

And below is a photo of Ted Cruz in Hong Kong.



 

Edited October 13, 2019 by tonbridgebrit