HK plunges into chaos
Strikes bring city to standstill
After two months of demonstrations, Hong Kong ground to a halt Monday during a violence-filled general strike that saw protesters blocking trains and more than 200 flights canceled when ground workers walked off the job.
Hong Kong is on “the verge of a very dangerous situation,” said Chief Executive Carrie Lam, the Beijing-backed leader who insisted that she had no plans to resign despite the tumult rocking the semi-autonomous enclave and former British colony.
About 250 flights to and from the city were canceled, with domestic carriers such as the flagship Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Airlines being the most affected, the South China Morning Post reported.
The Airport Express train, which links the city’s business district to the airport, also was out of service.
“Why do they have to create trouble for people not involved in their cause?” said John Chan, whose flight to Singapore was canceled. “Hong Kong is sinking. The government, police and protest people have to stop fighting and give us a break.”
Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters who set fires and lobbed bricks at officers during the demonstration.
Protesters also snarled the morning rush hour by blocking train and platform doors to prevent trains from leaving stations. Subway and train operator MTR said service had been partially suspended on four lines because of several doorobstruction incidents.
Members of the Hong Kong Disneyland Cast Members Union also went on strike, as did many lifeguards, forcing some beaches and swimming pools to be closed.
What began as protests over an extradition bill that would have allowed criminal suspects to be sent to mainland China to face trial have evolved into a much broader backlash against the city government and its political masters in Beijing.
While the government has since suspended the bill, demonstrators have called for the dissolution of the legislature and a probe into alleged police brutality.
The protests are the greatest political threat to the territory, which Britain returned to China on July 1, 1997, and one of the biggest popular challenges to Chinese leader Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.