The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hong Kong acts to keep protesters from airport
Police inspect those in cars, trains, buses heading to airport.
HONG KONG — Hong Kong authorities limited airport transport services and controlled access to terminals Saturday to prevent a second straight weekend of disruption following overnight demonstrations that turned violent.
Express train service was to run from the station in downtown Hong Kong directly to the airport, skipping all stations in between, and only those with flight tickets would be allowed to enter the terminals, airport officials said.
Police mounted road checks and inspected passengers on trains and buses heading to the airport to weed out protesters. An Associated Press journalist at an area near the airport witnessed at least two bus passengers handcuffed and taken away after police found face masks in their bags.
Hundreds of masked protesters converged instead at a metro station in the Tung Chung area adjacent to the airport, chanting slogans and calling police “murderers” amid anger over alleged brutality against demonstrators. Shops at the station shuttered, and riot police stood watch.
The airport, the world’s eighth busiest, has been a frequent target during a summer of protests sparked by an extradition bill that would have allowed criminal suspects in the semiautonomous Chinese territory to be sent to mainland China to face trial. Many saw the bill as a glaring example of the city’s eroding autonomy since the former British colony returned to Chinese control in 1997.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced Wednesday that her government would withdraw the bill, but that failed to appease protesters who have expanded their goals to include other issues.
The airport rail link was suspended last weekend after protesters threw objects on the track, blocked roads near the airport with burning barricades and damaged a metro station.