Thousands of protesters have formed a human chain across Hong Kong on the 30th anniversary of the Baltic Way, when about 2 million people created a chain across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to protest against Soviet occupation. More than two months of protests began in June over a now-suspended extradition bill, but have and have since expanded into a wider movement against the erosion of liberties under Chinese rule
Continue reading...Category Archives: Hong Kong
Hong Kong protests: YouTube takes down 200 channels spreading disinformation
Google-owned service says it discovered channels ‘behaved in a coordinated manner’ against pro-democracy protests
YouTube has disabled 210 channels that appeared to be part of a coordinated influence campaign against pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
The action by the Google-owned service came as Twitter and Facebook accused the Chinese government of backing a social media campaign to discredit Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement and sow political discord in the city.
Continue reading...‘We are trying to save Hong Kong’: the political uprising through the eyes of a protester – video
As protests in Hong Kong entered their 11th week, the Guardian's Lily Kuo shadowed a protester for the day as he joined a major anti-government rally. Organisers say the march, banned by police, was attended by as many as 1.7 million people. It was the first peaceful gathering of protesters for many weeks.
Continue reading...China’s state media accuses worker at UK consulate ‘of visiting prostitutes’
Allegation directed at employee of consulate in Hong Kong is often used by Bejing authorities to smear critics
Chinese state media has accused a worker at the British consulate in Hong Kong who is detained in mainland China of visiting prostitutes – an accusation often used by the authorities to smear the reputation of government critics.
Simon Cheng, 28, a trade and investment officer for Scottish Development International, travelled to Shenzhen, a city that borders Hong Kong, on 8 August. He sent messages to his girlfriend as he was about to cross back over the border at about 10pm and has not been heard from since.
Continue reading...‘We feel helpless’: Hong Kong family’s fears for detained UK consulate worker
China says it detained Simon Cheng after he made business trip two weeks ago
The family of a UK consulate worker who was detained in mainland China during a trip from Hong Kong nearly two weeks ago have voiced their fears for his safety and said they feel helpless.
China said later that Simon Cheng, 28, had been made to serve 15 days of administrative detention in Shenzhen.
Continue reading...Instagram censors Melbourne artist’s anti-Beijing post but ignores trolls
Badiucao accuses the social media firm of violating the free speech of people who speak up against China’s bullying
A Melbourne artist who posted anti-Chinese government work has had it pulled offline by Instagram, while death threats against him have remained uncensored.
The censorship of Badiucao – and later restoration – by Instagram came as Twitter and Facebook suspended more than 200,000 accounts deemed to be part of a “co-ordinated state-backed operation” of misinformation from the People’s Republic of China.
Continue reading...Employee at UK’s consulate in Hong Kong detained in China
Detention comes amid more than two months of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong
An employee at the UK’s consulate in Hong Kong has been detained by mainland Chinese authorities on his way back to the city, his girlfriend has said.
Simon Cheng, 28, was returning from a trip in Shenzhen to his native Hong Kong on 8 August when his girlfriend, Li, stopped receiving communications from him.
Continue reading...Twitter removes nearly 1,000 accounts tied to China’s campaign against Hong Kong protesters
Company also suspends thousands of accounts as it reports ‘state-backed information operation’
Twitter has removed nearly 1,000 accounts and suspended thousands of others tied to a campaign by the Chinese government against protesters in Hong Kong, the company announced on Monday.
Twitter disclosed a “significant state-backed information operation” originating from within the People’s Republic of China (PRC) targeting the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. It removed 936 accounts and suspended approximately 200,000 accounts its investigation found were illegitimate.
Continue reading...Hong Kong protesters express their demands as thousands gather in demonstrations – video
Hundreds of thousands of Hongkongers flocked to a downtown park for a rally after two months of increasingly violent clashes that have prompted severe warnings from Beijing and failed to win concessions from the city’s government. Torrential rain came down an hour into the rally, turning the park into a sea of colourful umbrellas. Many began walking on the streets, despite the police ban on a march, as the park became overcrowded
Continue reading...Hong Kong: 1.7m people defy police to march in pouring rain
An estimated quarter of the population fill downtown park and surrounding streets
An estimated 1.7 million people in Hong Kong – a quarter of the population – defied police orders to stage a peaceful march after a rally in a downtown park, after two months of increasingly violent clashes that have prompted severe warnings from Beijing and failed to win concessions from the city’s government.
Huge crowds filled Victoria Park on Sunday afternoon and spilled on to nearby streets, forcing police to block traffic in the area. Torrential rain came down an hour into the rally, turning the park into a sea of umbrellas. At the same time, protesters walked towards Central, the heart of Hong Kong’s business district, and surrounded government headquarters.
Continue reading...Stand-off in Hong Kong: ‘Get out of the airport,’ they said. ‘Something’s going to happen’
The comedian describes how he was caught up in ‘extraordinary’ scenes at Hong Kong airport as protesters’ anger boiled over
When I first landed in Hong Kong for a family holiday a few nights before the clashes with police, we were greeted in the arrivals hall by a large and vocal crowd of protesters, chanting and handing out leaflets.
When we returned to the airport to depart a few days later, there was a marked change. The protesters had swelled from a few hundred to several thousand and there was now a very tense atmosphere. In front of the abandoned check-in desks, a crowd had gathered around a man who was allegedly a police officer posing as a protester. He was, by all accounts, being roughed up and had been cable-tied to a luggage trolley.
Continue reading...Hong Kong: three rallies mark 11th weekend of protests
Demonstrators aim to show public support for movement remains strong
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Hong Kong, as they sought to show their movement still had public support even after two months of increasingly violent clashes.
Protesters, clad in their signature black and holding umbrellas, marched down major streets in Kowloon, chanting: “Liberate Hong Kong! Revolution of our time!” Volunteers handed out herbal tea and juice, while some shops that had closed for the day left boxes of drinks out for protesters.
Continue reading...Pro-Hong Kong rally in Melbourne turns violent amid clashes with China supporters
Victoria police say they will not tolerate ‘those who break the law or engage in antisocial or violent behaviour’
Two men have been interviewed by police after a clash between pro-Hong Kong and pro-China demonstrators at a rally in Melbourne’s CBD turned violent.
Hundreds gathered outside the State Library on Swanston Street from about 7pm on Friday for a planned rally in solidarity with protesters in Hong Kong. It turned violent when a group of pro-China protesters arrived. The event was estimated to have attracted 600 people at its peak.
Continue reading...Disney’s Mulan star sparks call for boycott with Hong Kong stance
Crystal Liu, the lead in Disney’s live-action remake, voiced support for police in the city
Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan is facing calls for a boycott after its star voiced support for police in Hong Kong.
Crystal Liu, also known as Liu Yifei, reportedly posted a message on the Chinese social media site Weibo, which translated as: “I also support Hong Kong police. You can beat me up now.” In English, the post added: “What a shame for Hong Kong.”
Continue reading...Hong Kong protests: envoy says China has ‘power to quell unrest’
China’s ambassador to UK also accuses British politicians of ‘colonial mindset’
China has issued its most pointed threat yet to pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, warning that it has “enough solutions and enough power to swiftly quell unrest” should it deem the situation “uncontrollable”.
Speaking to international media in London on Thursday, China’s ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, also accused some British politicians of harbouring a “colonial mindset” in their interventions.
Continue reading...China’s ambassador to UK says Beijing ‘will not sit on its hands’ over Hong Kong protests – video
Liu Xiaoming issues stark warning to protesters in Hong Kong, saying Beijing is prepared to 'quell any unrest swiftly' if demonstrations continue. 'Their moves are severe and violent offences, and already show signs of terrorism,' Liu said
Continue reading...Satellite photos show Chinese armoured vehicles on border of Hong Kong
Paramilitary police personnel carriers appear to be parked in Shenzhen sports stadium
Satellite photos show what appear to be armoured personnel carriers and other vehicles belonging to the China’s paramilitary People’s Armed police parked in a sports stadium in the city of Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong, which some have interpreted as Beijing threatening increased force against pro-democracy protesters.
The pictures collected on Monday by Maxar’s WorldView show more than 100 vehicles sitting on and around the soccer stadium at the Shenzhen Bay sports centre just across the harbour from the Asian financial hub that has been rocked by more than two months of near-daily street demonstrations.
Continue reading...Hong Kong: flights resume at airport as China condemns ‘near-terrorist acts’
Beijing steps up war of words and airport obtains injunction against protesters to prevent further disruption of flights
Flights have resumed in and out of Hong Kong airport after two days of protests by pro-democracy activists as Chinese officials condemned the disruption that paralysed the international hub as “near-terrorist acts”.
Hundreds of flights were cancelled on Tuesday after demonstrators blockaded two terminals in the latest escalation of a 10-week political crisis that has gripped the city.
Continue reading...Hong Kong: airport protests descend into violence – video report
Mass protests at Hong Kong's international airport descended into chaos as riot police used pepper spray and batons in an attempt to disperse the thousands of demonstrators who had grounded flights for a second consecutive day.
Continue reading...China flaunts military muscle as it seeks to quell Hong Kong’s ‘colour revolution’
Beijing’s rhetoric escalating alongside video of troop carriers at border, yet experts say deployment a last resort
The messages from Beijing to protesters in Hong Kong are increasingly ominous. First there was propaganda footage of Chinese soldiers garrisoned in Hong Kong drilling for intense urban fighting that looked more like a civil war than search and rescue or crowd control.
Now footage has emerged of armoured paramilitary vehicles massing across the border. Two months into demonstrations sparked by a controversial extradition law, official rhetoric from Beijing has escalated too. Authorities recently denounced protests as “terrorist acts”, promised an “iron fist” response and, perhaps most alarmingly, described the movement as a “colour revolution”.
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