Demonstrators in Hong Kong wore face masks on Sunday in defiance of a new law imposed after the government invoked colonial-era emergency powers. Protesters, who could face a year in prison for hiding their faces, threw teargas canisters back at police as tens of thousands marched through central Hong Kong
Continue reading...Category Archives: Hong Kong
Peaceful protesters form human chains after mask ban in Hong Kong – video
Protesters in Hong Kong took part in a peaceful demonstration on Saturday after the government’s emergency measures and ban on wearing face masks during public rallies caused clashes on Friday
- Hong Kong emergency law ‘marks start of authoritarian rule’
- Hong Kong suspends metro system and closes banks after violent protests
Hong Kong emergency law ‘marks start of authoritarian rule’
Analysts say Carrie Lam move could fuel protests and put city’s financial status at risk
The invocation of a draconian law to quell a four-month unrest in Hong Kong has signalled the start of an authoritarian era that will plunge the city in a worse crisis, analysts and Hong Kongers have said.
The Hong Kong leader, Carrie Lam, announced on Friday that the government had invoked the Emergency Regulations Ordinance to pass a regulation forbidding the use of face masks. The decision bypassed the legislature, which resumes sessions in mid-October.
Continue reading...Hong Kong protesters attack metro stations after face mask ban – video
Thousands of people swept into the streets of Hong Kong for a night of violent protests after the government activated sweeping colonial-era powers for the first time in over half a century, using them to ban face masks. After darkness fell, crowds set fire to two metro stations and vandalised shops and businesses considered pro-China, leading riot police to respond with teargas
Continue reading...Violence grips Hong Kong as Lam activates emergency powers
Thousands hit the streets, crowds set fire to stations and police fire live ammunition
Thousands of people swept into the streets of Hong Kong for a night of violent protests after the government activated sweeping colonial-era powers for the first time in over half a century, using them to ban face masks.
The chief executive, Carrie Lam, also said harsher measures could be on the table if the protest movement continued, amid calls from police groups and pro-Beijing politicians for a citywide curfew, and discussion of delays to local elections set for November.
Continue reading...Face mask ban provokes fresh protests in Hong Kong – video
The Hong Kong leader, Carrie Lam, has banned people from wearing face masks during protests and in all public assemblies by invoking rarely used emergency powers, prompting thousands of people to take to the streets against the measure. Pro-democracy demonstrators have used masks to hide their identities in the past four months of escalating tensions with the Chinese government, and officials are hoping a ban may dissuade many from participating
Hong Kong protests: journalist blinded in one eye amid mounting violence
Journalists’ association files judicial review over treatment of media and ‘excessive force’
An Indonesian journalist hit in the face by a rubber bullet during protests in Hong Kong has been permanently blinded in one eye, her lawyer has said, in what is the most serious injury among members of the media since the movement began in June.
There are growing concerns about the threat to journalists from the escalating violence, and an increasingly hostile climate that saw one reporter arrested on Tuesday, after several others were injured by police and one by protesters in a day of chaotic violence. All were wearing high-visibility jackets and “press” markings.
Continue reading...Hong Kong leader to ban face masks as she activates colonial-era powers
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...Hong Kong: thousands protest over shooting of teenager by police
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...‘This means war’, says Hong Kong protester at school sit-in after teenager shot – video
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...Hong Kong streets descend into chaos on China’s National Day – in pictures
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 protester shot as China National Day demonstrations intensify – video
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.
Hong Kong protesters rain on China’s anniversary parade
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...Hong Kong protester shot with live round during China National Day rally
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...Hong Kong protesters and police exchange blows in China National Day clashes – video
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
Hong Kong protesters use chairs as barricade during riots – video
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
- Hong Kong protester reportedly shot in chest as China National Day demos intensify – live
- Xi Jinping warns ‘no force can shake this great nation’
China celebrates 70th anniversary as Xi warns ‘no force can shake great nation’
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...China marks 70th anniversary with military parade – video
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...‘They don’t understand Hong Kong’: clash of ideologies looms on China’s 70th anniversary
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...Protesters hit with teargas and petrol bombs in clashes with police in Hong Kong – video
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
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