Hong Kong prepares for China visit, glues pavement stones
HONG KONG ( AFP) — Paving stones in central Hong Kong have been glued down to prevent protesters from using them as missiles, as authorities roll out elaborate security measures ahead of a high-level Chinese visit that could stoke resentment over mainland rule.
The measures, which include barricades in central Hong Kong, come as Beijing tightens its grip on the semi-autonomous city where a fledgling independence movement in recent months has angered China.
Running battles with police in February, which included “localist” protesters in favor of more autonomy for Hong Kong, saw demonstrators dig up bricks from the street and throw them at officers.
Glue has been poured into the cracks between paving stones around the harbor front convention center where Zhang Dejiang, who chairs China’s communist-controlled legislature, will speak at an economic conference tomorrow.
Explaining the decision to glue the pavement, Hong Kong’s highways department said they might be “subject to vandalism.”
A Hong Kong man linked to the city’s pro- democracy opposition was also arrested in China on Sunday over a suspected plot to use a drone to disrupt Zhang’s visit, according to Chinese state media.
Zhang is the most senior official to visit Hong Kong in four years in a trip seen as an attempt to ease tensions and gauge the political temperature — he will meet with a group of pro-democracy legislators during his visit.
But some activists have voiced fury over the ensuing security clampdown, with water-filled plastic barricades and metal fencing cordoning off central roads and flyovers.