Outrage after HK student’s death during clash with cops
◗ The police has repeatedly denied any allegations of wrongdoing in relation to the student’s death
alleged police brutality one of their movement’s rallying cries and have seized on the death.
At the spot where Chow fell, thousands queued for hours in snaking lines to lay flowers, light candles and write condolence messages.
“Today we mourn the loss of a freedom fighter in Hong Kong,” Joshua Wong, a prominent prodemocracy campaigner, said on Twitter.
“The atmosphere in Hong Kong is like a ticking bomb,” added Lo Kinhei, a local pro-democracy councillor and activist. “HKers don’t trust the police will give us the truth.”
The police has repeatedly denied any allegations of wrongdoing in relation to Chow’s death.
The lead officer in the case, Superintendent Ewing Wu, again insisted on Friday that police were not at fault.
Students have been at the forefront of the lakhs who have taken to streets to press for greater democracy, among other demands, and rally against perceived Chinese meddling in the Asian financial hub
franchise perceived to be pro-Beijing, and rallies are expected across the territory, when violence traditionally picks up.
“Condemn police brutality,” they wrote on the restaurant’s glass wall.
Demonstraters had thronged the hospital this week to pray for Chow, leaving flowers and hundreds of get-well messages on walls. Students also staged rallies at universities across the former British colony.
“He was a nice person. He was sporty. He liked playing netball and basketball,” friend and fellow UST student Ben, 25, said in tears. “We played netball together for a year. I hope he can rest in peace. I really miss him.”
Students and young people have been at the forefront of the hundreds of thousands who have taken to the streets since June to press for greater democracy, among other demands, and rally against perceived Chinese meddling in the Asian financial hub.
The protests, ignited by a now-scrapped extradition bill allowing people to be sent to mainland China for trial, have evolved into wider calls for democracy, posing one of the biggest challenges for Chinese President Xi Jinping since he took charge in 2012.
Two pro-Beijing newspapers ran full-page ads, commissioned by “a group of Hong Kong people,” calling for a postponement of the lowest-tier district council elections set for Nov. 24, a move which would infuriate those calling for democracy.
Protesters have thrown petrol bombs and vandalised banks, stores and metro stations, while police have fired rubber bullets, tear gas, water cannons and, in some cases, live ammunition in scenes of chaos.
Chow had been pursuing a two-year undergraduate degree in computer science. His death came on graduation day for many students at his university, located in the picturesque Clear Water Bay district on the Kowloon side of the harbour.
The university called for an independent investigation. The government expressed “great sorrow and regret”.