WELCOME TO CRYSTAL RAINBOW’S BLOG: INSIGHTS... HISTORICAL EVENTS... ABADONED AND FORGOTTEN HISTORIES... UNFORGETTABLE INCIDENTS OF THE PAST...
Monday, 29 September 2014
Hong Kong democracy protesters defy tear gas
Protests expand in Hong Kong's central district, in
worst unrest since China took back control of the
former UK colony.
Riot police advanced on Hong Kong democracy
protesters in the early hours of Monday, firing
volleys of tear gas in the worst unrest there since
China took back control of the former British
colony two decades ago.
Protesters erected barricades to block security
forces amid chaotic scenes still unfolding as the
city centre - one of the world's major financial
districts - opened for business.
Several Hong Kong financial firms advised staff to
work from home or go to secondary offices, as
Standard Chartered and Bank of China suspended
some of its banking operations, due to "situations
in certain areas".
Many roads leading to the Central business
district remained sealed off as thousands defied
police calls to retreat.
Earlier, police baton-charged a crowd blocking a
key road in the government district in defiance of
official warnings that the demonstrations were
illegal.
Several scuffles broke out between police in
helmets, gas masks and riot gear, with
demonstrators being angered by the firing of tear
gas, last used in Hong Kong in 2005.
Thousands of protesters were still milling around
the main Hong Kong government building,
ignoring messages from student and pro-
democracy leaders to retreat for fear that the
police might fire rubber bullets.
The protests fanned out to the busy shopping
district of Causeway Bay and across the harbour
to Mong Kok, posing a greater challenge for
authorities to contain, local media reported.
The protesters also brought traffic to a halt and
called on Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying to
step down.
Police, in lines five deep in places, earlier used
pepper spray against activists and shot tear gas
into the air.
The crowds fled several hundred metres,
scattering their umbrellas and hurling abuse at
police they called "cowards".
'One country, two systems'
Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese rule under
a formula known as "one country, two systems"
that guaranteed a high degree of autonomy and
freedoms not enjoyed in mainland China.
Universal suffrage was set as an eventual goal.
But Beijing last month rejected demands for
people to freely choose the city's next leader,
prompting threats from activists to shut down the
Central business district. China wants to limit
elections to a handful of candidates loyal to
Beijing.
Communist Party leaders in Beijing are concerned
that calls for democracy could spread to cities on
the mainland.
In a move certain to unnerve authorities in
Beijing, media in Taiwan reported that student
leaders there had occupied the lobby of Hong
Kong's representative office on the island in a
show of support for the democracy protesters.
Hong Kong leader Leung had earlier pledged
"resolute" action against the protest movement,
known as Occupy Central with Love and Peace.
"The police are determined to handle the
situation appropriately in accordance with the
law," Leung said, less than two hours before the
police charge began.
Police denied rumours that they had used rubber
bullets.
A spokesperson for China's Hong Kong and Macau
Affairs Office said the central government fully
supported Hong Kong's handling of the situation
"in accordance with the law".
Organisers said as many as 80,000 people
thronged the streets in Admiralty district,
galvanised by the arrests of student activists on
Friday.
A week of protests escalated into violence when
student-led demonstrators broke through a
cordon late on Friday and scaled a fence to
invade the city's main government compound.
Police used pepper spray to disperse the crowd.
The Hong Kong Federation of Students has
extended class boycotts indefinitely and called on
the city's leader to step down.
Police have so far arrested 78 people, including
Joshua Wong, the 17-year-old leader of student
group Scholarism, who was dragged away after
calling on protesters to charge the government
premises.
Wong was released without charge on Sunday
night. He told reporters he planned to return to
the protest site after resting. Other student
leaders, Alex Chow and Lester Shum, have also
been released
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Featured post
AFRICA: THE TRIBE CALLED “YORUBA” IN NIGERIA
RANDOM FACTS ABOUT YORÚBÀ THAT PUTS NIGERIA ON THE MAP💫 1.The richest estate in Nigeria is found in yorubaland 🤞. RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ...
-
The Kaduna State Government says it is concluding work on the establishment of a Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the massacre in Zaria b...
-
An intricate statue, carved out of steatite more than four thousand years ago, Priest-King (as the figure has come to be known) is among...
-
Barack Obama Sr., father of the 43rd President of the United States, was born in the Rachuonyo District, in the then British colony of Ken...
No comments:
Post a Comment