Hong Kong protesters occupy, shut down airport
Officials say all but incoming flights canceled as thousands of demonstrators swarm vital hub
Hong Kong’s airport came to a near halt Monday, with more than
150 flights canceled after thousands of demonstrators flooded one of the world’s busiest transportation hubs in a show of anger over the police’s response to protests the night before.
The airport said in an afternoon statement that all flights had been canceled for the rest of the day other than those already en route to Hong Kong. Almost 150 departures and more than two dozen arrivals were affected, according to the airport’s website.
The move was a stark display of the power of the anti-government protests, which are now in their third month, to disrupt the basic functioning of Hong Kong, an Asian financial hub known for order and efficiency. Its airport is a crucial connection point for regional air travel.
Members of the largely leaderless movement had called for the demonstration after a night of clashes Sunday during which the police fired tear gas inside one subway station and chased protesters down an escalator in another. Many airport demonstrators Monday were angry that a woman at one of the Sunday protest sites had been hit by a projectile in one eye.
This summer’s protests in Hong Kong began in early June in opposition to legislation that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, where the courts are controlled by the ruling Communist Party. That proposal has since been suspended but not fully withdrawn, and continues to drive antigovernment sentiment.
But other issues have loomed larger in recent weeks, including the stalled promise of more direct elections and the use of force by the police against demonstrators.
Protesters gathered at the airport throughout the afternoon Monday, eventually filling the arrival hall in the main terminal, before more protesters went upstairs to the departure hall.
The airport said in its statement that operations had been “seriously disrupted as a result of the public assembly at the airport today.” A Hong Kong official called it an “illegal assembly.”
The cancellations affected thousands of passengers at Hong Kong International Airport, which handled nearly 75 million passengers last year.
Some said they agreed with the protesters’ pro-democracy agenda.
“If they have to stand for something, as long as it’s peaceful, I can understand that,” said Africa Alvarez, 48, who was flying home to Barcelona. “I can’t take my flight against something which is more important.” Others expressed frustration. “I am sympathetic for people who want changes, but I’m not sure it’s the best way to go about it,” said Pauline Price, a 52-year-old movie theater manager from New Zealand.
She said protesters risked losing support if their “ad hoc” moves became too disruptive: “Hong Kong was stable. It was one of the safest places in the world. This damages the image of Hong Kong.”
As passengers and protesters streamed out of the airport, they formed long lines for taxis and the Airport Express train. Many protesters walked to the nearby town of Tung Chung to take the subway.
Anti-government protesters had staged a three-day sit-in at the airport over the weekend, during which they handed out pamphlets to travelers explaining their grievances. That protest started Friday and did not noticeably disrupt services.
On Monday afternoon, the central government in Beijing reiterated its support for the Hong Kong police and condemned the actions of protesters Sunday, including the use of a gasoline bomb that officials said had burned a police officer.
“Hong Kong’s radical demonstrators have repeatedly attacked police officers with extremely dangerous means,” said Yang Guang, a spokesman for the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, which oversees Chinese policy toward the two cities. “These have already constituted serious violent crimes and have begun to show signs of terrorism.”
Steve Li Kwai-wah, a senior police superintendent in Hong Kong, disputed that characterization. “We are not at that stage yet,” he said, citing the United Nations’ definition of terrorism as a guide.
The Chinese and Hong Kong authorities have escalated their criticism of the protest movement in recent days, and the Hong Kong police — who have fired more than 1,800 rounds of tear gas over the past nine weeks — unveiled even more confrontational approaches to protesters Sunday, like firing tear gas inside the subway station.