Carrie Lam warned against ‘slip towards authoritarianism’ as leak reveals police relaxed guidelines on lethal force
Hong Kong’s leader plans to use harsh colonial-era emergency powers for the first time, banning face masks in a bid to curb the city’s protests.
Opposition politicians warned it represented a slide towards authoritarianism and risked further inflaming tensions.
Continue reading...Anger and grief fuel fresh demonstrations after injury of 18-year-old Tsang Chi-kin
Driven by anger and grief, thousands of people came out across Hong Kong to denounce the shooting of a teenage student by police, an escalation of force that appears to have deepened the gulf between protesters and authorities.
They marched through the city centre, organised sit-ins at schools and gathered at a courtroom where other protesters faced rioting charges.
Continue reading...Hundreds of college students have staged a sit-in in Hong Kong to condemn the police officer who shot a teenager in the chest during protests on China's National Day. At a news conference outside Tsuen Wan Public Ho Chuen Yiu Memorial college, where the teenager is a student, a masked protester called for a new government and said 'this means war'
Continue reading...While military might and mass pageantry were on display in Beijing to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, violent clashes erupted across Hong Kong as thousands of black-clad pro-democracy protesters took to the streets. Police shot a protester with live ammunition for the first time in four months of demonstrations, marking a major escalation
Continue reading...Hong Kong police shot an 18-year-old protester in the chest with live ammunition as demonstrations in the city intensified.
The incident came as many Hongkongers defied a ban on demonstrations on the day marking the 70th anniversary of communist rule in China.
Protests called to mark a 'national day of grief' saw tens of thousands of people demonstrate across the city in what was the most widespread show of public anger towards Beijing yet.
Beijing’s carefully planned celebrations turned into a PR disaster for Xi Jinping
October 1 was meant to be a carefully choreographed showcase of China’s military and economic might on the 70th anniversary of communist rule, and a celebration of the strongman president, Xi Jinping.
But after a picture-perfect parade was beamed around the world from Beijing, the one part of the country that is not under his full control ripped up the playbook, with the people of Hong Kong pouring on to the streets to challenge Xi’s vision for China.
Continue reading...Violence erupts as thousands protest on 70th anniversary of communist rule in China
Hong Kong police have shot a protester with live ammunition for the first time in four months of demonstrations, marking a major escalation in the use of force on a day when China celebrated 70 years of Communist party rule with a triumphalist military parade.
Protests called to mark a “national day of grief” drew tens of thousands of people on to the city’s streets, across six areas, in the most widespread show yet of public anger towards Beijing.
Continue reading...Violent clashes have rocked Hong Kong as riot police forcefully broke up protesters on the day China celebrated the 70th anniversary of Communist party rule.
The event is the country's most important of the year as it looks to project its assurance in the face of mounting challenges, including nearly four months of anti-government protests in Hong Kong and an economy-sapping trade war with the US
Demonstrations in Hong Kong on China's National Day escalated into violence as protesters threw petrol bombs at police, who retaliated with teargas and rubber bullets. One group of protesters made a barricade with three linked chairs as they took cover from police fire
New weapons make public debut in sweeping military parade, but Hong Kong protests overshadow show of unity
Hong Kong protester shot in chest as demos turn violent - live
China has celebrated 70 years of Communist party rule and its rise to global superpower status with a military parade showcasing the country’s technology, and a promise from President Xi Jinping that “no force can shake the status of this great nation”.
But huge and violent protests in Hong Kongcast a long shadow over Beijing’s carefully-choreographed projection of national unity and power.
Continue reading...The 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China has been marked with a huge military parade showcasing new weapons technology – including nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles and supersonic drones.
President Xi Jinping and other leaders stood on the Tiananmen rostrum overlooking the packed square. During a speech, Xi declared that 'no force can shake this great nation'. He also said he was committed to a 'peaceful reunification and one country, two systems' for Hong Kong and Macau, and 'peace' and 'reunification' with Taiwan
Continue reading...Chinese officials blame unrest on issues such as housing or unemployment, but the problems go much deeper than that
When Chinese president Xi Jinping warned his Communist party cadres against the threats of “black swans” and “grey rhinoceroses” in January, there was little sign of what would lie ahead.
The millions-strong protests in Hong Kong in recent months, sparked by a controversial extradition law, have morphed into an unprecedented political storm that has blown up in the faces of Hong Kong and Chinese leaders.
Continue reading...Police in Hong Kong have used teargas and pepper spray against thousands of protesters who gathered for an unsanctioned march in the Causeway Bay shopping district. The city is bracing for days of protests and clashes culminating in anti-government demonstrations on Tuesday, China’s National Day – a politically significant anniversary marking 70 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China
Continue reading...Riot officers confront crowds gathered in Causeway Bay shopping district
Hong Kong police have used teargas and pepper spray on thousands of protesters as demonstrations enter the 17th week in the city’s most serious political crisis in decades.
The protest, which was not sanctioned by police, was scheduled to start at 3pm local time (0800 BST) in the Causeway Bay shopping district, but dozens of riot police began guarding the area hours before. They stopped and searched a number of young people dressed in black.
Continue reading...Teargas and water cannon was fired at Hong Kong protesters by police during a large rally marking the fifth anniversary of the umbrella protests on Saturday 28.
Earlier in the day, activists put posters and banners on the 'Lennon wall' a series of messages through the city calling for democracy
Continue reading...Police fire teargas at rally marking five-year anniversary of pro-democracy movement
Large numbers of police were on the streets of Hong Kong on Saturday night as officers conducted stop and searches on public transit lines and questioned residents wearing black, the colour adopted by protesters, after a mass rally dispersed to mark the fifth anniversary of the pro-democracy “umbrella movement”.
Protesters changed into civilian clothes in alleys and behind walls of umbrellas in districts close to government headquarters, where earlier police fired a water cannon filled with dye and abrasive liquid from behind defensive barriers.
Continue reading...Openly critical audience call for independent inquiry into police brutality and handling of pro-democracy protests
Hong Kong’s embattled leader has endured a barrage of criticism at a town hall meeting that laid bare anger coursing through the city after months of huge, sometimes violent pro-democracy protests.
Carrie Lam faced more than two hours of grilling at a public “dialogue session” on Thursday night, the first time her pro-Beijing administration has sat down with its critics in 16 consecutive weeks of unrest.
Continue reading...As Beijing prepares to mark founding of PRC with a massive military parade, the Chinese leadership faces its most difficult chapter since 1989
Kites. Balloons. Pigeons. Drones. Alcohol. The list of things that have been banned in the run up to the 70th anniversary of the founding of China keeps growing.
As Beijing seeks to ensure the special day on 1 October goes off without a hint of a hitch, motorists have been told they must not refuel their cars or motorbikes on their own. There must be no use of walkie-talkies and other devices using radio waves. During rehearsals for a military parade to mark the day, those living near Tiananmen Square have been instructed “not to approach the windows” and to keep their curtains closed. In neighbouring Shanxi province, police and other public security staff have been forbidden from drinking spirits since 15 September.
Continue reading...Leak spells out how social media app advances China’s foreign policy aims
TikTok, the popular Chinese-owned social network, instructs its moderators to censor videos that mention Tiananmen Square, Tibetan independence, or the banned religious group Falun Gong, according to leaked documents detailing the site’s moderation guidelines.
The documents, revealed by the Guardian for the first time, lay out how ByteDance, the Beijing-headquartered technology company that owns TikTok, is advancing Chinese foreign policy aims abroad through the app.
Continue reading...‘Protect the children’ group contradicts police claims officers were only kicking a ‘yellow object’
A video showing Hong Kong police officers beating a man who had been attempting to protect young protesters has given rise to another wave of outrage at police.
Two widely shared videos filmed over the weekend show a man in a yellow high-vis vest laying on the ground while being repeatedly kicked and hit by a group of officers.
Continue reading...