Hong Kongers have displayed a characteristically riotous embrace of political graffiti in the form of Post-it notes documenting their anger and hope, during their huge anti-government rallies. Walls adorned with messages targeting city leaders, clever wordplays and Cantonese cursing have sprung up all over town.
Continue reading...Category Archives: Hong Kong
‘The bill is dead’ but Hong Kong protesters are not appeased by Carrie Lam’s declaration
Experts say level of distrust in the city’s leader is so deep that protests will continue
On Tuesday, Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, attempted to end what has been the territory’s worst political crisis in decades by declaring a controversial extradition bill that set off weeks of protests “dead”.
Yet the operative word protesters were looking for was “withdraw”, or chit wui, a key demand of the demonstrators to formally withdraw the bill from parliament. Lam has said the bill, already suspended last month in response to protests, would expire at the end of the legislative session that finishes next July. Instead she used a Cantonese idiom to describe “reaching the end of one’s life”.
Continue reading...Tensions high as Hong Kong protesters face off with riot police – video
Crowds of protesters, some holding umbrellas, continued to face off with police in Hong Kong late on Sunday as their month-old protest movement showed no signs of abating. Police lined the streets holding batons and riot shields as thousands of people took part in the latest demonstrations to demand the withdrawal of a bill that would allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland
Continue reading...Chinese ambassador accuses Jeremy Hunt of ‘cold war mentality’
Foreign secretary refused to clarify Britain’s stance in row over Hong Kong protests
China’s ambassador to the UK has accused the UK’s foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, of having a “cold war mentality” in his approach to the diplomatic row over Hong Kong.
Liu Xiaoming criticised the Conservative leadership candidate for his stance of “strategic ambiguity” on the possibility of sanctions against China over the crackdown on the ongoing protests in Hong Kong.
Continue reading...Hong Kong demonstrators march to railway station as protests continue – video
Tens of thousands of protesters march to keep up the pressure on the Hong Kong government to withdraw a controversial extradition bill, in the latest of a series of mass rallies that have drawn millions of demonstrators over the past month. The march is planned to finish at the West Kowloon railway terminus, where high-speed trains link Hong Kong with mainland Chinese cities
Continue reading...Conflict breaks out in Hong Kong after latest extradition bill protests
Police in riot gear beat protesters as demonstration continued into late evening
Conflict has broken out between hundreds of protesters and police in riot gear in Hong Kong after tens of thousands of protesters marched peacefully earlier in the day to keep up the pressure on the government to withdraw its controversial extradition bill.
Related: Hong Kong youth vow to fight on as China gets tough on protest
Continue reading...China looks at Britain and sees only weakness and hypocrisy | Simon Tisdall
Jeremy Hunt’s support for the Hong Kong protests has released old resentments long suppressed
Last week’s sudden outbreak of verbal hostilities with China, triggered by violent clashes in Hong Kong, provided a disturbing glimpse of post-Brexit Britain’s isolated and impotent future in a world of more muscular adversaries. It also underlined a dilemma facing all the western democracies in their dealings with Beijing: what matters most – liberal values or money-making?
Like bullies sensing weakness, Chinese officials let rip after Britain dared defend the demonstrators’ right to protest against the erosion of Hong Kong’s freedoms. The row released tensions largely suppressed since the former colony was handed back in 1997. The depth of China’s pent-up fury was cautionary.
Continue reading...How Hong Kong protesters used hand signals and human chains to storm government – video explainer
This week protesters in Hong Kong stormed the legislative council building and vandalised its main chamber on the anniversary of the island's 1997 return to Chinese rule. The demonstrations appeared meticulously organised, with protesters forming human chains leading to supply depots with tools such as pliers, scissors, zip ties, hard hats and the like. Watch the video to see the supply chains in action
Video courtesy of Antony Dapiran, author of City of Protest: A Recent History of Dissent in Hong Kong, via Twitter @antd
- Hong Kong protests: police make first arrests after storming of parliament
- Jeremy Hunt refuses to rule out sanctions against China
Chinese ambassador lambasts British ‘interference’ in Hong Kong – video
China’s ambassador to the UK has warned that Britain’s approach to the Hong Kong protests has damaged the relationship between the two countries. Liu Xiaoming has been summoned for a dressing down from the head of the UK’s diplomatic service, Sir Simon McDonald, over the spat. ‘The fundamental principles guiding our two countries is mutual respect, non-interference into internal affairs,’ Liu said.
Continue reading...Hong Kong crisis could not have come at a worse time for the UK
Politics at home and spreading anti-China sentiment in US mean Britain has limited options in how it responds
The foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, will be cursing his timing about Hong Kong. Faced with growing criticism from human rights groups over the UK’s muted response to the treatment of protesters in its former colony, he decided last Tuesday to take two decisive steps: to call for an independent inquiry into the police handling of demonstrations on 12 June and to suspend export licences for crowd control equipment that could be used in future against protesters.
A statement promising unwavering commitment was also issued by the Foreign Office on the eve of demonstrations held on Monday to coincide with the 22nd anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China.
Continue reading...Hong Kong protests: city divided over storming of legislature
City appears divided on whether protesters went too far with Tuesday night’s occupation of the legislature
As Hong Kong woke up after a night of unprecedented drama, the city was divided on whether protesters who stormed and vandalised the city’s legislature had gone too far in their quest to make their voices heard. Anti-government and anti-police graffiti still adorned pillars and walls as police stood guard while legislators attempted to go about their day.
Two main narratives were emerging after the ransacking of the legislature: one that spoke of hopelessness in the face of semi-authoritarian rule, and another that condemned the destruction of property.
Pro-democracy figures placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of leader Carrie Lam, saying a government that only listens to a pro-Beijing party had driven young people to desperation.
“The protesters who broke into the Legislative Council complex were not rioters. They were not violent,” said activist Joshua Wong, jailed for two months after the 2014 umbrella protests. “They wanted to make the regime hear Hong Kongers’ voice, and they had no other option.
“Perhaps not all of you will agree with every single action they took yesterday. But what are a few pieces of glass worth in comparison to the deaths of three young men and women? What are a few portraits worth in comparison to the very survival of Hong Kong as a place?”
China says violent protests in Hong Kong are ‘undisguised challenge’, reports state TV – video
China regards the violent actions of some protesters in Hong Kong as an 'undisguised challenge' to the 'one country, two systems' formula under which the city is ruled, state television reported on Tuesday. A representative of China's Hong Kong affairs office condemned the violence of some protesters, who are angered by a proposed extradition bill, and said Beijing supported the Hong Kong government in holding violent criminals responsible, the report said
- China says violent demonstrations 'totally intolerable'
- Hong Kong police fire teargas and charge at protesters
Inside Hong Kong’s legislature after protesters storm the building – video
Hong Kong's Legislative Council will remain closed on Tuesday after protesters stormed the building to protest against an extradition bill in a direct challenge to Beijing. Footage from inside the building after police used teargas to disperse the protesters shows the extent of the damage. Wearing hard hats, masks and black shirts, the protesters used a metal trolley, poles and scaffolding to charge again and again at the compound's reinforced glass doors on Monday, which eventually gave way. Scores of them poured into the building
Continue reading...Hong Kong protest: China says violent demonstrations ‘totally intolerable’
Beijing’s liaison office says storming of parliament is ‘an extreme challenge’ to the rule of law
The Chinese government has issued a strong condemnation of protesters who stormed and vandalised the Hong Kong’s legislature late on Monday, calling the act “totally intolerable”.
In a statement carried by the state-run Xinhua news agency, the Chinese government’s liaison office in Hong Kong, its top representative organisation in the city, said it was “shocked, indignant and strongly condemned” the siege of the parliament building, which followed a day of protests against a controversial extradition bill late on Monday.
Continue reading...Hong Kong protests: at least 50 injured, reports say, after police fire teargas – live updates
Police rush at protesters after Legislative Council building was stormed on anniversary of 1997 transition
We’re going to end our live coverage now, thanks for reading. Here’s the Guardian’s main news story on today’s events, from Christy Choi and Verna Yu in Hong Kong.
Related: Hong Kong police fire teargas and charge at protesters
Police stopped a public bus following the demonstration outside the Legco building, Verna Yu says, reportedly searching for protesters.
They stopped the bus around 1.15am and checked all the passengers. Police scrutinized their ID cards, ordered passengers to remove their masks, and at 1.45am were still searching people. Passengers were made to stand on one side of the bus while the police searched others.
Continue reading...Hong Kong police fire teargas and charge at protesters
Officers move to disperse crowds after breakaway group stormed parliament building
Hong Kong police have fired teargas at demonstrators and moved to disperse crowds after protesters stormed the legislative council building and raised the territory’s former colonial flag on the 22nd anniversary of its handover to China.
The dramatic scenes came after a peaceful march of half a million people made its way through other parts of the city as its deepest political crisis in two decades showed no sign of abating. For the past month protesters have been demanding the withdrawal of a bill that would allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland as anger has grown against Hong Kong authorities and the territory’s chief executive, Carrie Lam.
Continue reading...Hong Kong protesters storm government headquarters – video
Hundreds of protesters have stormed the Hong Kong government building on the anniversary of the city's 1997 return to China, destroying pictures and painting walls with graffiti. More than 1 million people have taken to the streets in protest against planned legislation that would permit extraditions to China
Continue reading...Hong Kong’s protests are a personal challenge to strongman Xi Jinping
The scale of unrest may force the Chinese president to get involved. How will he respond?
The escalating protests in Hong Kong pose a personal challenge to the autocratic rule of Xi Jinping, whose implacable domination of Chinese public life since 2012 has drawn comparisons with Mao Zedong.
Related: Hong Kong protesters attempt to storm government headquarters – live
Continue reading...Protesters try to smash their way into Hong Kong government HQ – video report
Demonstrators have attempted to storm the legislative building using a metal trolley and poles on the 22nd anniversary of the territory's return to Chinese rule. More than 1 million people have taken to the streets in protest against planned legislation that would permit extraditions to China
Continue reading...Hong Kong handover anniversary: march and protests – in pictures
Frustration among opposition protesters in Hong Kong boiled over on Monday, with one group laying siege to the legislative council building and tens of thousands of others marching through the city to demand expanded democracy on the 22nd anniversary of the former British colony’s return to China.
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