Activists targeted several 'smart' lamp-posts equipped with sensors, cameras and data networks in anti-surveillance protests over the weekend. Protesters, many of whom disguised their identities with masks and umbrellas, fear the devices can be used by China to collect personal information. Authorities insist the lamp-posts only collect air quality, traffic and weather data
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Hong Kong protests: dozens arrested as government warns of ‘very dangerous situation’
Twelve-year-old among those detained after violent clashes that involved the police using water cannon and firing a warning shot
Dozens of people, including a 12-year-old, have been arrested after a night of escalating violence in Hong Kong that saw police fire a warning shot near protesters and use water cannon for the first time.
Police said they arrested 29 men and seven women, aged 12 to 48, for offences including unlawful assembly, possession of offensive weapons and assaulting police officers.
Continue reading...Police draw guns and deploy water cannon in clashes with Hong Kong protesters – video
Hong Kong riot police fire warning shots and use water cannon for the first time since protests began in June to break through barricades and disperse crowds. The escalation in tensions came on the second consecutive day of violence, after clashes the night before during which police arrested 29 people
Continue reading...More Hongkongers look to move to Australia amid growing political unrest
Migration agent says housing and other economic factors are also driving residents to consider moving
Hong Kong’s continuing political unrest has led to a surge in applications from residents seeking to emigrate, including to Australia, and some migration agents are reporting a doubling in inquiries as the protests run into their third month.
Australia was the top destination for Hong Kong emigrants in 2018 – nearly a third (2,400) of the 7,600 Hongkongers who left last year went to Australia.
Continue reading...Hong Kong protests: police use water cannon on demonstrators
Hundreds of thousands had braved rain to stage peaceful march in triad-linked district
Hong Kong police have fired teargas and for the first time used a water cannon to disperse protesters as a weekend of violent clashes dashed hopes of a return to peace after a week of relative calm.
Hundreds of thousands of people had earlier braved rain on Sunday to stage a peaceful, police-sanctioned march in Tsuen Wan, an area of the city noted for its links with triad gangsters, after clashes on Saturday when police fired rounds of teargas, rubber bullets, pepper balls and sponge rounds at protesters.
Continue reading...Teargas and traffic cones fly as Hong Kong police clash with protesters – video
Riot police have deployed teargas and batons against thousands of protesters rallying against government surveillance, includin lamp posts equipped with sensors. Hundreds of officers charged at protesters, beating them as they fled.
Continue reading...Hong Kong riot police beat protesters at anti-surveillance rally
Teargas thrown at masked demonstrators angry over lamp posts equipped with CCTV
Hong Kong riot police have fired rounds of teargas, rubber bullets, pepper balls and sponge rounds, and beaten people, as protesters led them on a game of cat-and-mouse across the city. The actions took place after a peaceful afternoon march into a confrontation and split into several impromptu marches in different locations.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators took part in an anti-government rally in the Kwun Tong district in Kowloon on Saturday, marking the city’s 12th week of protests. The peaceful march, sanctioned by police, turned into a tense standoff between riot police and protesters by mid-afternoon after demonstrators built barricades with bamboo rods and plastic traffic barriers outside a police station.
Continue reading...Hong Kong protesters form 30-mile human chain across city – video
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...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.
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