China condemns US lawmakers’ support for Hong Kong protests
— A spokesman for China’s ceremonial legislature condemned statements from U.S. lawmakers supportive of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, as more protests were planned Sunday following a day of dueling rallies that highlighted the political divide in the Chinese territory.
You Wenze called the lawmakers’ comments “a gross violation of the spirit of the rule of law, a blatant double standard and a gross interference in China’s internal affairs.”
He said that Hong Kong’s 7.5 million people and Chinese population as a whole rejected the actions of a “very small group of violent protesters” as well as “any interference of foreign forces.”
You did not mention any specific lawmaker, but numerous U.S. senators and Congress members, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have affirmed the U.S. commitment to human rights and urged the Hong Kong government to end the standoff.
Congress also has the power to pass legislation affecting Hong Kong’s relationship with the U.S. in ways that could further erode the territory’s reputation for stability and rule of law.
That includes the recent re-introduction of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act in Congress, which would among its other provisions require the Secretary of State to issue an annual certification of Hong Kong’s autonomy to justify special treatment afforded to the city.
HONG KONG (AFP) — A sea of democracy activists flooded the streets of Hong Kong Sunday in a defiant show to the city’s leaders that their movement still pulls wide public support, despite mounting violence and increasingly stark warnings from Beijing.
Tens of thousands of protesters carrying umbrellas poured across the heart of Hong Kong island despite torrential rain, closing key roads and flouting a police order not to march from a park where they had gathered earlier for a rally.
Ten weeks of demonstrations have plunged the financial hub into crisis, with images of masked blackclad protesters engulfed by tear gas during street battles against riot police stunning a city once renowned for its stability.
Sunday’s action, which continued into the night, was billed by organizers as a return to the “peaceful” origins of the leaderless protest movement.
Yet anger remains sharp among protesters over perceived police heavy-handedness for responding to demonstrations with tear gas, baton charges and rubber bullets incidents that have pinballed across social media.
“The police are doing things that are totally unacceptable,” said Yim, who like many of the protesters gave only one name.
“They are hurting citizens, they aren’t protecting us.”
Communist-ruled mainland China has taken an increasingly hardline tone towards the protesters, decrying the “terrorist-like” actions of a violent hardcore minority among the demonstrators.
Despite the near-nightly clashes with police, the movement has won few concessions from Beijing or the city’s unelected leadership.
The spiraling violence, which last week saw protesters paralyze the city’s airport, has tarnished a campaign that had taken pride in its peaceful intent and unpredictability — which demonstrators have tagged with the slogan ‘Be Water’.
Sunday’s rally was convened as a “non-violent” demonstration, according to organizers the Civil Human Rights Front.
Yet many among Sunday’s rally-goers carried rucksacks stuffed with protest paraphernalia — laser pens, gas masks, goggles and helmets.
“We have our gear with us, but we hope not to use it,” said a 30-year-old identifying himself only as Man.
China’s propaganda apparatus has seized on the weeks of violence, with state media churning out a deluge of damning articles, pictures and videos.
State media also ran images of military personnel and armored personnel carriers across the border in Shenzhen, prompting the United States to warn Beijing against sending in troops.
Analysts say any intervention by Chinese security forces would be a reputational and economic disaster for China.
But Hong Kong’s police force are under intense pressure, stretched by flashmob protests.
A Hong Kong government spokesperson praised the police for handling “illegal acts with tolerance” and appealed to the protesters to “express their views in a peaceful and rational manner”.
Opinions among the protesters have diverged over the billowing violence, which has seen hardcore protesters using rocks, Molotov cocktails and slingshots against the police.
Some say the violence has driven the pro-democracy movement in an uncomfortable direction.
“There are some expressing extreme views,” rally-goer Ray Cheng, 30, told AFP.
“But we have tried many times with peaceful approaches… I really hope the government can listen to us.”
There was no immediate estimate of crowd size from the organizers or police.
Unprecedented crisis
Hong Kong’s unprecedented political crisis was sparked by opposition to a plan to allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland.
But protests have since morphed into a wider call for democratic rights in the semi-autonomous city.
Under a deal signed with Britain, authoritarian China agreed to allow Hong Kong to keep its unique freedoms when it was handed back in 1997.