Hong Kong protestors flood controversial train station
THOUSANDS of antigovernment protesters marched in Hong Kong on Sunday in a procession that ended outside a controversia l t ra in station linking t he territor y to the Chinese mainland, as activ ists tr y to keep pressure on t he cit y’s pro-Beijing leaders.
The rally was the first major large-scale protest since last Monday’s unprecedented storming of parliament by largely young, masked protesters – a move which plunged the international financial hub further into crisis.
Hong Kong has been rocked by a month of huge marches as well as a series of separate v iolent confrontations wit h police, sparked by a law t hat would have a llowed extraditions to mainland China.
The bi l l has since been postponed in response to t he intense back lash but t hat has done l it t le to quel l public a nger, which has evolved into a wider movement ca l ling for democratic refor ms a nd a ha lt to slid ing freedoms i n t he semi-autonomous cit y.
Thousands mustered at t he ra lly’s start on Sunday afternoon at a park in Tsim Sha Tsui, a harbourfront district of t he cit y popular wit h Chinese tourists.
Organisers have bi l led t he march as a n opportunit y to ex pla in to Chinese mainla nders i n t he cit y
what t he protest movement is about.
Inside the China, where news and information is heav ily censored, the Hong Kong protests have been portrayed as a primarily v iolent, foreign-f unded plot to destabilise the motherland, not a mass popular movement over Beijing’s increased shadow over t he semi-autonomous hub.
Protesters are demanding t he bill be scrapped entirely, an independent inquir y into police use of tear gas and rubber bullets, amnesty for t hose arrested, and for t he cit y’s unelected leader Carrie Lam to step down.
Beijing has t hrown its f ull support behind Lam, ca lling on Hong Kong police to pursue anyone involved i n the parliament storming and ot her clashes.
Sunday’s protest ended at West Kowloon, a recently opened multi-billiondolla r station t hat links to China’s high-speed rail net work.
Police placed t he glass and steel structure in v ir tual lockdow n as fears of f urt her clashes soared despite protest organisers vowing to hold a peaceful ra lly.
Long lines of water-filled security barriers surrounded the station while only those with previously purchased tickets were being allowed in.
Ticket sa les for Sunday afternoon were halted and only t wo entrances were open.
The terminus is controversia l because Chinese law operates in t he parts of t he station dealing with immigration and customs, as well as t he platforms, even though West Kowloon is miles from the border.
Critics say that move gave away part of t he cit y’s territor y to an increasingly assert ive Beijing.
Loca l polit icia n Ventus Lau Wing-hong, one of t hose orga nising t he ra l ly, sa id t hey would “protest in a peacef ul, rat iona l a nd elega nt way” adding t here was no desire to occupy t he stat ion g iven t he cata lyst for t heir movement was opposing people being sent to t he mainla nd.
Police gave permission for t he ra lly to go ahead but urged protesters to remain peaceful, noting there had been ca lls on socia l media for people to “ta ke part i n non-cooperation movements which involve various illega l acts such as provoking police officers or storming buildings”.
Under Hong Kong’s miniconstitution – the Basic Law – China’s nationa l laws do not apply to t he cit y apart from in limited areas, including defence.
Hong Kong a lso enjoys rights unseen on the mainla nd, including freedom of speech, protected by a deal made before t he cit y was handed back to China by Brita in in 1997.
But there are growing fears those libert ies are being eroded.
Among recent watershed moments crit ics point to are the disappearance into mainland custody of dissident booksellers, t he disqualification of prominent politicia ns, t he de facto expulsion of a foreign journa list and t he jailing of democracy protest leaders.
Authorities have a lso resisted ca l ls for t he cit y’s leader to be direct ly elected by the people.
A 79-day occupation of key intersections in 2014 ca lling for universa l suf frage fa iled to win any concessions from Beijing.