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Thread: Hong Kong: tens of thousands protest as China condemns US 'gross interference'

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    Default Hong Kong: tens of thousands protest as China condemns US 'gross interference'

    Tens of thousands of Hong Kong people flocked to a downtown park for a fresh rally after two months of increasingly violent clashes that have prompted severe warnings from Beijing and failed to win concessions from the city’s government.

    Police turned down a plan for Sunday’s march – from Victoria Park to the central business district – submitted by the Civil Human Rights Front group, which has organised past demonstrations that drew millions. Police did however give permission for a rally at the park instead.

    Huge crowds filled the park Sunday afternoon and spilled on to nearby streets, forcing police to block traffic in the area. Torrential rain came down an hour into the rally, making the park into a sea of colourful umbrellas. Many began walking on the streets despite the police ban on a march as the park got over crowded. They risk being charged with unlawful assembly, which can lead to a maximum of five years in prison.

    Organisers insist that the Hong Kong government must stop using police force to suppress them and respond to their political demands, including the complete withdrawal of the now suspended extradition bill which can see individuals sent to China for trials, the setting up of an independent body to investigate police violence and allowing universal suffrage.

    “We are here to express our anger against police violence. Hong Kong is deeply outraged by the police,” said an organiser on stage.

    Protesters said they were determined to show the government that they won’t be giving up on their five demands, which include the formal withdrawal of an extradition bill and an independent inquiry into police use of force.

    “China is taking over Hong Kong. Our society has no justice and no future. We’re just making a last ditch attempt to do something amid our despondency,” said Carol Lui, a teacher in her 30s. “Hong Kong is dying anyway so we are just fighting to our last breath.”

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    On Saturday, a spokesman for China’s ceremonial legislature condemned US lawmakers voicing support for the pro-democracy movement and claimed Hong Kong’s 7.5 million people and Chinese population as a whole rejected the actions of a “very small group of violent protesters”.

    You Wenze called comments by US lawmakers including House speaker
    Nancy Pelosi “a gross violation of the spirit of the rule of law, a blatant double standard and a gross interference in China’s internal affairs”.
    Hong Kong, a regional financial hub once known as one of the world’s safest cities, has seen numerous violent confrontations between police and hardcore protesters who have thrown rocks, bricks and Molotov cocktails and used slingshots and laser pointers to provoke police or inflict revenge.

    Ahead of Sunday’s rally, a post on lihkg.com, a forum popular with protesters, said: “Hongkongers can change our tactics in the ‘be water’ style instead of being ruled by anger and hatred.”

    Hong Kong had its first tear gas-free Saturday for weeks after three separate rallies took place in Kowloon. The marches this Saturday and Sunday marked the 11th weekend of protests in Hong Kong as residents continue to press the government to formally withdraw the controversial extradition bill.

    Despite the call for peace, a number of protesters on Sunday still cover their faces with masks and scarves, fearing they would face prosecution as the government has so far arrested more than 600 protesters in the past two months.

    “I still worry police might use tear gas and beat up people today,” said Alan Chan, who has young children. “The Chinese government is hardening its stance and threatening us with the People’s Liberation Army. If we don’t come out now, do we wait till they implement the martial law?”
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...s-interference

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