Category Archives: Hong Kong

Hong Kong protests: China releases dramatic army propaganda video

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Chinese military garrison chief in Hong Kong says army is determined to protect China’s sovereignty, stoking fears of intervention

China has released a dramatic video showing off its army’s capabilities as the head of the armed forces in Hong Kong said the unrest in the province had seriously threatened the life and safety” of the people and should not be tolerated.

The commander of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) garrison in Hong Kong warned it was “determined to protect national sovereignty, security, stability and the prosperity of Hong Kong”.

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Hong Kong police officer threatens protesters with shotgun – video

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Police have clashed with protesters outside Kwai Chung police station where dozens of demonstrators are being held. Protesters gathered outside the police station after authorities announced that 44 arrested protesters would appear in court. One officer was seen brandishing a shotgun at the protesters. On the other side of Hong Kong, at least 10 people were injured after a vehicle launched fireworks at pro-democracy protesters in Tin Shui Wai. The crowd at Tin Shui Wai police station were also calling for the release of three protesters. A black Toyota reportedly shot fireworks at the crowd in the early hours of the morning


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Hong Kong protesters charged with rioting as violence flares

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Supporters gather outside court where accused appeared, chanting ‘liberate Hong Kong’

More than 20 people have appeared in court in Hong Kong charged with rioting, as hundreds of supporters gathered outside the building chanting “revolution of our time” and “liberate Hong Kong”.

The hearings marked the first time authorities have resorted to the serious charges of rioting since the beginning of a wave of unrest that has plunged the former British colony into its biggest political crisis since its return to Chinese rule in 1997.

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China calls for Hong Kong to swiftly punish ‘radical’ protesters

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Beijing offers full support to region’s leader in rare remarks from government office

China has offered its full support to Hong Kong’s embattled leader and its police force, and said violent protesters must be swiftly punished, in rare remarks by the government office that oversees policy towards the territory.

Hong Kong has been rocked by two months of escalating pro-democracy protests that have posed the most significant challenge to Beijing’s authority since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

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Hong Kong police fire teargas at protesters in third day of unrest – video

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Police fired several rounds of teargas at protesters in resdiential areas of Hong Kong in the third day of mass protests as political unrest deepens. Riot police advanced through thick clouds of tear gas as they fired rounds towards protesters, with protesters arming themselves with umbrellas, scrambling to douse the gas canisters with water and throwing them back towards police lines in the city's Sai Wan district. Police were seen arresting a handful of protesters who were led away in handcuffs.

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Hong Kong police fire teargas as protests enter third day

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Demonstrators defy ban on marching and set up barricades as unrest deepens

Police fired several rounds of teargas at protesters in residential areas of Hong Kong in the third day of mass protests as political unrest in Hong Kong deepens.

Groups of protesters attending an anti-government rally on Sunday defied police orders and fanned out from the sanctioned area in central Hong Kong, streaming west and east, occupying roads and setting up barricades, prompting major roads and shops to close.

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Yuen Long protests: screams as Hong Kong police fire teargas on crowds – video

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Police fire teargas on thousands of protestors in the Hong Kong village of Yuen Long on Saturday, who had gathered despite a police ban. Last week thugs indiscriminately attacked commuters at Yuen Long train station, a move critics see as a covert attempt by the mainland Chinese government to intimidate pro-democracy protesters

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Hong Kong: police fire teargas as thousands march in Yuen Long

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Activists defy police ban to stage protest at site of last weekend’s violent clash

A peaceful march in the town of Yuen Long to condemn an attack by suspected gang members on commuters turned violent as Hong Kong riot police fired teargas and rubber bullets on the crowd and used batons to beat protesters.

On Sunday, the government said 11 men had been arrested, aged between 18 and 68, for unlawful assembly, possession of an offensive weapon and assaulting a police officer. “Police condemn the deliberate attacks by violent protestors and will investigate all illegal and violent acts,” the government said in a statement.

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Hong Kong protests held at airport after Yuen Long attack – video report

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Staff at Hong Kong international airport have begun an 11-hour protest in an attempt to hold the government to account for violent attacks on residents by suspected gang members last week. Flight attendants and airport staff were joined by demonstrators dressed in black, the signature colour of the territory's protest movement. Protesters could be heard chanting 'free Hong Kong' as travellers arrived at the terminal

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Hong Kong airport staff stage protest against Yuen Long attack

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Flight attendants and airport staff join protesters to condemn government and police

Flight attendants and airport staff have begun a planned 11-hour protest at Hong Kong international airport to call on the government to account for a violent attack on residents by suspected gang members last week.

The aviation staff were joined by demonstrators dressed in black, the signature colour of the Chinese territory’s protest movement, who filled the airport’s arrival hall on Friday. They sat on the ground chanting “Free Hong Kong” as shocked travellers walked through the terminal.

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‘All Hong Kongers are scared’: protests to widen as rural residents fight back

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Sleepy town of Yuen Long becomes battleground after suspected gangster attack on commuters

Yuen Long, a quiet residential area close to the Chinese border, has become the unlikely next battleground of Hong Kong’s protest movement.

Over the last seven weeks, demonstrators have planned rallies across the territory – in parks, along main roads, in the airport and outside government offices – calling for the withdrawal of an extradition bill and making other political demands. But Yuen Long, known as one of the more remote, isolated areas in the north-west, had never been on the agenda.

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Hong Kong protests: China blames ‘black hands’ of US for unrest

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Foreign affairs ministry and state media accuse US of seeking to bring down the region

Beijing has blamed political unrest in Hong Kong on “black hands” from the US, advising America to remember that “Hong Kong is China’s Hong Kong”.

“We can see that US officials are behind such incidents. Can US officials honestly tell the world what role they played and what are their aims?” said, Hua Chunying, a ministry of foreign affairs spokeswoman, on Tuesday.

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Hong Kong protesters pledge to stand up to thugs after attack

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Anger growing against police and authorities after masked men left 45 people in hospital

Protesters in Hong Kong have pledged to stand up to thugs who attacked demonstrators at the weekend as public anger grows towards the government and police.

Demonstrators have filed for a permit to hold a rally on Saturday in Yuen Long, the district on the outskirts of Hong Kong where dozens of masked men chased and beat commuters and protesters with wooden poles and metal rods, leaving at least 45 people in hospital. Police arrived after the assailants left.

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Hong Kong: why thugs may be doing the government’s work

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Sunday’s assault was blamed on criminals, but there are signs of links to pro-Beijing figures

At a pro-government rally on Saturday, one speaker made a disconcerting proposal for disciplining Hong Kong’s young protesters. “Do we have canes at home? Bring out your canes,” said Arthur Shek, a co-founder of the Economic Times newspaper. “Find a long one to beat your son. If you don’t have a cane, what do you do? We can still go to a hardware shop to buy a 20mm PVC pipe.”

The next day, dozens of men in white T-shirts and masks descended on a railway station in Yuen Long where they beat commuters with long bamboo rods and pipes.

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‘Where were the police?’ Hong Kong outcry after masked thugs launch attack

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Police accused of doing nothing to stop suspected triads storming train station and beating people including women and children

Pro-democracy activists and lawmakers in Hong Kong have accused the police of standing by as men dressed in white attacked commuters and protesters late on Sunday, leaving 45 hospitalised, including one who is critically injured.

Video footage showed dozens of men, most in masks, storming a mass transit station in Yuen Long, chasing passengers and beating them with rods. Among those hurt in the attack were demonstrators returning from a large anti-government rally, as well as a pregnant woman and a woman holding an infant, according to witnesses.

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Chaos as armed men attack pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong – video

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Men  dressed  in white T-shirts, some armed with sticks, entered the Yuen Long MTR station and stormed a train, attacking passengers, according to footage taken by commuters, journalists and Democratic party politician Lam Cheuk-ting. Witnesses said the attackers appeared to target black-shirted passengers who had been at an anti-government march earlier in the day

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How Hong Kong maids became caught in a ‘humanitarian tsunami’

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Migrant workers who become pregnant by their employers face dismissal, homelessness and a swift return home

The sun had not yet risen in Hong Kong when Sally*, a domestic worker, was woken and told she needed to leave immediately. As she lay on the sofa, confused, Sally saw her employer standing over her with a piece of paper he wanted her to sign. It was a resignation letter he had written for her. She was being let go because she was pregnant. Her employer, a German man in his 50s, is the father of the child.

Sally, 39, from Manilla in the Philippines, is one of the 390,000 domestic workers – mainly from poorer Asian countries – who keep Hong Kong functioning. One in every 20 employees in Hong Kong is a migrant worker, and most of these are women of child bearing age.

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Hong Kong police fire rubber bullets as protests turn violent

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Widespread conflict erupts on pro-democracy march, with Beijing liaison office targeted

A major anti-government march in Hong Kong descended into chaos late on Sunday, as police fired teargas on protesters and unidentified masked men attacked commuters returning from the demonstration.

The protesters had surrounded China’s liaison office in the city, where they barricaded the building’s entrance and wrote graffiti its walls.

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Police fire teargas at protesters during Hong Kong democracy march – video report

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Police in Hong Kong fired teargas and rubber bullets at demonstrators during the city's biggest protests in weeks. Hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets, some clashing with riot police after they defied police orders to restrict the boundaries of their rally 

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Hong Kong police find explosives on eve of latest protests

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Police warn of possible violence as man is arrested after ‘extremely powerful’ explosives found

Police in Hong Kong are warning of possible violence on the eve of another mass protest against a controversial extradition bill after making “the largest seizure” of explosives in the territory.

The seizure came on the day that thousands of pro-government supporters took part in a rally.

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