HK leader renews appeal for dialogue

China angered after German FM meets HK activist

HONG KONG, Sept 10, (AP): Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Tuesday renewed an appeal to pro-democracy protesters to halt violence and engage in dialogue, as the city’s richest man urged the government to provide a way out for the mostly young demonstrators.

The government promised last week to withdraw an extradition bill that sparked three months of protests, but failed to placate protesters, whose demands also include democratic reforms and police accountability. Protesters vandalized subway stations, set street fires and blocked traffic over the weekend, forcing police to fire tear gas.

Lam said the escalation of violence, in which more than 150 people including students were detained in clashes since Friday, will deepen rifts and prolong the road to recovery.

She said her decision to formally withdraw the extradition bill and her other initiatives reflected her sincerity to heal society and bring back peace.

“We are gearing up to go into the community to have that dialogue directly with the people but I make a further appeal here, that the first priority in order to achieve the objective of bringing peace and order to Hong Kong, is for all of us, all people of Hong Kong, to say no to violence,” she told a news conference.

Billionaire Li Ka Shing, in a video broadcast on local TV, described the summer of unrest as the worst catastrophe since World War II. In his first public comments, Li, 91, called youths the “masters of our future” and said the government should temper justice with mercy in resolving the crisis.

“I am very worried. We hope Hong Kong people will be able to ride out the storm. We hope the young people can consider the big picture and those at the helm can give the masters of our future a way out,” Li told a religious gathering outside a Buddhist temple over the weekend.

“Although humanity may sometimes clash with the rule of law, in political issues, both sides should try to put their feet in another’s shoes, then many big troubles can be reduced into smaller ones,” he said. Li recently took out newspaper advertisements urging an end to violence.

nastily for years – the populist 5-Star Movement that he led in a first coalition and the center-left Democratic Party to replace the League. (AP)

EU creates defence, space branch:

The European Union will create a new defence and space arm to help fund, develop

Many see the extradition bill, which would have allowed Hong Kong residents to be sent to mainland China for trial, as a glaring example of the city’s eroding autonomy since the former British colony returned to Chinese control in 1997.

Asked about Li’s comments, Lam agreed that the government “can do more and can do better” especially in meeting young people to hear their grievances.

But she stressed the government cannot condone violence and will strictly enforce the law.

The unrest has become the biggest challenge to Beijing’s rule since it took over Hong Kong and is an embarrassment to its ruling Communist Party ahead of Oct 1 celebrations of its 70th year in power. Beijing has slammed the protests as an effort by criminals to split the territory from China, backed by what it said were hostile foreigners.

Prominent

Beijing rebuked Germany on Tuesday for allowing prominent Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong to visit “to engage in anti-China separatist activities.”

Wong met Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in Berlin late Monday at an event hosted by the German newspaper Bild.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Maas’ “political show” with Wong displayed disrespect to China’s sovereignty and was an interference in its internal affairs. She urged Germany to avoid sending the wrong signal to “radical, separatist forces in Hong Kong” and said any efforts to solicit foreign support to split the country are “doomed to fail.”

In an immediate response, Wong tweeted that Chinese ‘s strong reaction was “baffling.”

Wong, a leader of Hong Kong’s 2014 pro-democracy protest movement, was charged last month with inciting people to join a protest in June. His prosecution came after his release from prison in June following a two-month sentence related to the 2014 protests.

Lam also reiterated Tuesday that attempts by foreign nations to interfere in Hong Kong’s internal affairs over freedom and civil liberties in the city were “totally unnecessary.”

and deploy armed forces, the bloc’s incoming chief executive said on Tuesday, naming an ally of French President Emmanuel Macron for the role.

The creation of a defence branch in the European Commission, long resisted by Britain, is an attempt by President-elect Ursula von der Leyen to stem a decline in EU influence, as it faces heavy US pressure

She said the government has the “obligation and duties” to safeguard the city’s autonomy.

Rail link operator MTR Corp. on Tuesday released images from security camera recordings of police activity on Aug 31 at a subway station to quash online rumors suggesting that deaths had occurred that night. But it refused to bow to protesters’ demands to release video, citing a police investigation.

Police public relations officer Yu Hoi-kwan said there were no missing persons reports from that night. The government has repeatedly said no deaths have occurred since the protests started in June.

On Monday, thousands of students formed human chains outside schools across Hong Kong to show solidarity after violent weekend clashes between police and activists pushing for democratic reforms in the semiautonomous Chinese territory.

The silent protest came as the Hong Kong government condemned the “illegal behavior of radical protesters” and warned the US to stay out of its affairs.

Thousands of demonstrators held a peaceful march Sunday to the US Consulate to seek Washington’s support, but violence erupted hours later in a business and retail district as protesters vandalized subway stations, set fires and blocked traffic, prompting police to fire tear gas.

Hong Kong’s government agreed last week to withdraw an extradition bill that sparked a summer of protests, but demonstrators want other demands to be met, including direct elections of city leaders and an independent inquiry into police actions.

Protesters in their Sunday march appealed to President Donald Trump to “stand with Hong Kong” and ensure Congress passes a bill that would impose economic sanctions and penalties on Hong Kong and mainland China officials found to suppress democracy and human rights in the city.

Hong Kong’s government expressed regret over the US bill, known as the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. It said in a statement Monday that “foreign legislatures should not interfere in any form in the internal affairs” of Hong Kong.

to do more for its own security.

“The European Union will never be a military alliance,” von der Leyen said. “But the European Union member states have been told many times ... that common procurement for their armed forces is of utmost importance,” she told a news conference.

Von der Leyen, a former German defence minister, said the plans would benefit the US-led NATO alliance to which many EU states belong, adding: “NATO will always be (our) collective defence.”

Sylvie Goulard, a former long-time EU lawmaker currently at France’s central bank, will be responsible for the new directorate general, as commissioner for industrial policy. (RTRS)

Dutch shooting claims 4 lives:

Dutch police say a 27-year-old woman has died as a result of injuries sustained in a shooting that also claimed the lives of two children and a police officer.

Police said in a tweet Tuesday morning that the woman, whose identity was not released, died following the “family drama” in the city of Dordrecht.

On Monday night, police said that two children, who were aged 8 and 12, had died along with a 35-year-old police officer, who was suspected of being the shooter.

Police have not said if the victims are related, but say the shooting in a house on the southern edge of Dordrecht is believed to be a family incident. (AP)