Hundreds Rally, Pepper Spray Pellets Fired: Hong Kong Update
Officers fired pepper spray projectiles in downtown Hong Kong and arrested at least 16 people as protesters hit the streets Wednesday to oppose China’s increasing control over the city, a return to unrest largely unseen since last year.
Hundreds gathered to demonstrate in the central shopping hub Causeway Bay at lunchtime in the face of a heavy police presence after the morning commute was largely unfettered. Student groups and trade unions have called for protests to oppose several pieces of China-backed legislation, including a bill that would criminalize disrespect toward the Chinese national anthem and Beijing’s plan to impose sweeping new national security measures.
What Are the New Laws China Is Pushing for Hong Kong?: QuickTake
Key Developments:
- Officers fire pepper-spray projectiles
- Hundreds gather in Causeway Bay
- Police arrest at least 16 people
- City’s No. 2 official says he hopes for progress on anthem bill
- Tycoon Li Ka-shing defends security law
Here’s the latest (all times local):
Protesters on Hennessy Road disperse (1:55 p.m.)
Demonstrators who had occupied the central thoroughfare left after police arrived on the scene. Another group of riot officers was seen leaving police headquarters in the direction of the Wan Chai and Causeway Bay areas. Meanwhile, water barricades stood outside the Agricultural Bank of China’s Hong Kong headquarters in Central.
Police use pepper spray projectiles in Central (1:30 p.m.)
Officers fired pepper spray pellets to the ground to warn lunchtime protesters gathered on Pedder Street in Hong Kong’s Central district, local media reported, close to luxury malls and office buildings. Phalanxes of riot police kept watch on protesters there and outside Hysan Place, a busy shopping center in Causeway Bay.
‘There have been concerns today about whether to come out’ (1 p.m.)
Hundreds of people demonstrated around Hysan Place and others on Pedder Street, both popular with protesters last year. A 24-year-old woman who identified herself as Ms. Lee and works in the social work industry posted a black banner reading “Hong Kong Independence” at Hysan.
“Both the national anthem and the national security laws are white terror to Hong Kong citizens,” she said. “We have seen a lot of pro-democracy activists being arrested in China and I don’t want Hong Kong to turn into this in the future.”
“There have been concerns today about whether to come out protesting given the heavy police presence and what the movement can be achieved,” she added. “I think we are a bit lost over what’s the next action can be. But I am here to fight for the independence of Hong Kong, even though I know the chance is low, but I will try my very best till the end.”
Police make numerous arrests, discover petrol bombs (12:30 p.m.)
Hong Kong’s police force arrested at least 16 people across the city as of 11:30 a.m., according to a statement on Facebook.
The suspects were arrested for offenses including possession of weapons and dangerous driving, as protesters had called on people to disrupt traffic on arterial roads and key cross-harbor tunnels by deliberately driving slowly. Three vehicles were also towed away. Police said they also discovered petrol bombs and hammers as part of their morning searches and patrols.
Ip says Chinese security agencies to help with intelligence (11:45 a.m.)
Chinese national security organizations operating in Hong Kong will have to abide by city laws, but will likely help local law enforcement with intelligence gathering, said Regina Ip, a pro-establishment lawmaker who previously served as Hong Kong’s security secretary between 1998 and 2003.
“The Hong Kong administration will have to be consulted, and the people in Hong Kong will have to comply with Hong Kong laws,” said Ip, who is a current member of Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s advisory Executive Council. “If such agencies are to be established, the main responsibilities would be to supplement the deficiencies of our Hong Kong police force, which is in the area of intelligence collection and analysis.”
Cheung says he hopes progress will be made on anthem bill (11:30 a.m.)
Ahead of a meeting of the city’s Legislative Council, Hong Kong’s No. 2 official, Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung, told reporters he hopes progress will be made on the national anthem bill today, saying the bill has nothing to do with freedoms or human rights.
Meanwhile, after being largely shut out from the Legco area by a police security cordon around the city’s legislature, protesters have taken to the Hysan Place shopping mall in Causeway Bay, shouting slogans including “Hong Kong independence, the only way out!”
Li Ka-shing defends security legislation (11:19 a.m.)
Billionaire Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong’s wealthiest tycoon, has defended China’s dramatic move to implement new national security legislation in Hong Kong.
“It is within each and every nation’s sovereign right to address its national security concerns,” he said in a statement. “We probably need not over-interpret it. Hopefully the proposed new law can allay concerns the central government has in Hong Kong and give rise to a positive outlook from there.”
He said there’s no need to overthink the legislation, and that the Hong Kong government must try and maintain trust in the “one country, two systems” principle under which China governs the former British colony.
Hong Kong stocks slowly decline in morning trading (11 a.m.)
Hong Kong stocks steadily, but slowly, declined in the opening hour of trading as nearly half of Tuesday’s rebound has gotten erased. The Hang Seng Index was down 0.6% at 10:50 a.m. after starting with a slight gain. The Hong Kong dollar is essentially flat at 7.7528 per U.S. dollar, remaining near the strong end of its trading band.
Beijing ‘wants to start a precedent,’ Martin Lee says (9:25 a.m.)
The move to impose a national security law is part of a broader attempt to establish a legal precedent that would allow Beijing to force more laws on Hong Kong in the future, Martin Lee, a prominent pro-democracy figure who helped draft the city’s constitution, told Bloomberg Television in an interview. That could even include reviving the extradition bill that sparked protests last year, allowing Beijing to take people from Hong Kong and try them in mainland China’s Communist Party-controlled courts, he said.
“Beijing wants to legislate for Hong Kong and start a precedent,” he said. “The next thing they could legislate is the extradition bill. Once that is passed, they could come to our courts and present some documents, present some trumped up charges, and we’d be transferred to Beijing.” Lee added that he hoped the international community would take action.
“I call this the rape of Hong Kong. They are raping the Hong Kong system,” Lee said.
Ex-justice secretary defends China’s move (9:09 a.m.)
Elsie Leung, a former Hong Kong justice secretary, defended China’s move to impose the national security legislation as a necessary reaction to the violent unrest last year.
“When investors and businesspeople consider where to put their investments, they need stable conditions, a stable society,” she said on Bloomberg TV. “Since 2019, there have been riots, demonstrations, rioters throwing petrol bombs, destroying MTR machines and so on – that is not a good business environment. We hope with the enactment of this new law, which Hong Kong cannot do by itself, the environment for doing business and investments will be improved.”
Officers get rid of roadblocks (7:28 a.m.)
Officers were clearing roadblocks in multiple areas after a group of “thugs” sought to disrupt traffic with nails and other debris, police said in a statement posted to Facebook, warning commuters to check traffic conditions before heading out. Hong Kong’s main thoroughfares were largely fine.
“The police warn the mob to stop illegal activities immediately, otherwise they will be arrested,” it said. The force said on its page that it would be providing regular updates on the situation in Hong Kong.
— With assistance by Karen Leigh, Iain Marlow, Natalie Lung, Chloe Whiteaker, Kevin Kingsbury, Shirley Zhao, Annie Lee, Shawna Kwan, and Cathy Chan
Source: Read Full Article