China calls Hong Kong protesters terrorists amid ‘panic and chaos’
As the government rhetoric becomes increasingly threatening, the 10-week protests are now President Xi Jinping biggest challenge
14 August 2019 - 12:26
byFelix Tam and Marius Zaharia
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A police officer sprays pepper spray at anti-government protesters during clashes at the airport in Hong Kong, China, on August 13 2019. Picture: REUTERS/THOMAS PETER
Hong Kong — China’s Hong Kong liaison office said on Wednesday that anti-government protesters were no different to “terrorists”, as US President Donald Trump urged calm.
The Beijing-based Hong Kong and Macau Affairs office said on Wednesday that extremely violent crimes must be severely punished in accordance with the law.
The strongly worded statements by China’s central government follow violent clashes between black-clad protesters and riot police at Hong Kong’s international airport, which saw hundreds of flights halted for a second day in one of the world’s busiest transit hubs.
A few dozen protesters remained at the airport on Wednesday while workers scrubbed it clean of blood and debris. Check-in counters re-opened to queues of hundreds of weary travelers who had waited overnight for their flights.
Ten weeks of increasingly violent clashes between police and pro-democracy protesters, angered by a perceived erosion of freedoms, have plunged the Asian financial hub into its worst crisis since it reverted from British to Chinese rule in 1997.
China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office said it strongly condemns the “near terrorism criminal actions” in Hong Kong, including what it called a violent attack on a mainland Chinese journalist and tourist at the airport.
Police condemned violent acts by protesters overnight and said a large group had “harassed and assaulted a visitor and a journalist”. Some protesters said they believed one of those men was an undercover Chinese agent, while another was confirmed as a reporter from China’s Global Times newspaper.
Five people were detained in the latest disturbances, police said, bringing the number of those arrested since the protests began in June to more than 600. The protests began in opposition to a now-suspended bill that would have allowed the extradition of suspects for trial in mainland China but have grown into wider calls for democracy.
Embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has said the city has been pushed into a state of “panic and chaos”. Demonstrators say they are fighting the erosion of the “one country, two systems” arrangement that enshrined some autonomy for Hong Kong when it returned to China in 1997.
The protests represent one of the biggest challenges for Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.
In Washington, US President Donald Trump said the Chinese government was moving troops to the border with Hong Kong and urged calm.
The China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has a garrison in Hong Kong but has remained in barracks since the protests started in April. However, the PLA garrison has issued a video showing “anti-riot exercises”, and its top brass has warned that violence is “absolutely impermissible”.
As Hong Kong’s political crisis deepens, China denied a request for two US Navy warships to visit Hong Kong in the coming weeks, officials said.
Airport re-opened
Security at Hong Kong airport on Wednesday was stricter than usual with several entrances closed, police patrolling and staff checking traveler identification.
Hong Kong’s airport authority said it would only allow entry for passengers with a boarding pass valid for the next 24 hours and had obtained an interim court injunction to stop people from obstructing operations. Protesters are only allowed to demonstrate in designated areas.
Some protesters expressed remorse for the clashes overnight. One front liner who identified himself as Pun said protesters needed to re-evaluate their strategy to continue with the fight. “We are not trying to overthrow the government or cut ourselves off from China, but we fight for our rights; democracy was promised as part of the ‘one country, two systems’.”
Flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways published a half-page advertisement in the Hong Kong Economic Journal pledging its support for the government and calling for the resumption of the rule of law and social order.
China’s aviation regulator demanded last week that Cathay suspend personnel who engaged in or supported protests in Hong Kong from staffing flights into its airspace. The carrier later suspended two pilots.
Property developers Henderson Land Development, Cheung Kong Holdings and Sun Hung Kai Holdings also took out newspaper advertisements in support of the government on Wednesday.
ForwardKeys, a flight data company, said the crisis had deterred people from making travel plans to the city, citing a 4.7% fall in long-haul bookings to Hong Kong between June 16 and August 9 compared with the same period last year.
Statements of apology from protesters were displayed in the airport on Wednesday, promising to allow passengers to depart, to assist medical staff to carry out their duties and to not hinder the work of the press. “We are not afraid of facing the issues directly ... only afraid of losing your support to the whole movement due to our mistake, and that you give up on fighting.”
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
China calls Hong Kong protesters terrorists amid ‘panic and chaos’
As the government rhetoric becomes increasingly threatening, the 10-week protests are now President Xi Jinping biggest challenge
Hong Kong — China’s Hong Kong liaison office said on Wednesday that anti-government protesters were no different to “terrorists”, as US President Donald Trump urged calm.
The Beijing-based Hong Kong and Macau Affairs office said on Wednesday that extremely violent crimes must be severely punished in accordance with the law.
The strongly worded statements by China’s central government follow violent clashes between black-clad protesters and riot police at Hong Kong’s international airport, which saw hundreds of flights halted for a second day in one of the world’s busiest transit hubs.
A few dozen protesters remained at the airport on Wednesday while workers scrubbed it clean of blood and debris. Check-in counters re-opened to queues of hundreds of weary travelers who had waited overnight for their flights.
Ten weeks of increasingly violent clashes between police and pro-democracy protesters, angered by a perceived erosion of freedoms, have plunged the Asian financial hub into its worst crisis since it reverted from British to Chinese rule in 1997.
China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office said it strongly condemns the “near terrorism criminal actions” in Hong Kong, including what it called a violent attack on a mainland Chinese journalist and tourist at the airport.
Police condemned violent acts by protesters overnight and said a large group had “harassed and assaulted a visitor and a journalist”. Some protesters said they believed one of those men was an undercover Chinese agent, while another was confirmed as a reporter from China’s Global Times newspaper.
Five people were detained in the latest disturbances, police said, bringing the number of those arrested since the protests began in June to more than 600. The protests began in opposition to a now-suspended bill that would have allowed the extradition of suspects for trial in mainland China but have grown into wider calls for democracy.
Embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has said the city has been pushed into a state of “panic and chaos”. Demonstrators say they are fighting the erosion of the “one country, two systems” arrangement that enshrined some autonomy for Hong Kong when it returned to China in 1997.
The protests represent one of the biggest challenges for Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.
In Washington, US President Donald Trump said the Chinese government was moving troops to the border with Hong Kong and urged calm.
The China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has a garrison in Hong Kong but has remained in barracks since the protests started in April. However, the PLA garrison has issued a video showing “anti-riot exercises”, and its top brass has warned that violence is “absolutely impermissible”.
As Hong Kong’s political crisis deepens, China denied a request for two US Navy warships to visit Hong Kong in the coming weeks, officials said.
Airport re-opened
Security at Hong Kong airport on Wednesday was stricter than usual with several entrances closed, police patrolling and staff checking traveler identification.
Hong Kong’s airport authority said it would only allow entry for passengers with a boarding pass valid for the next 24 hours and had obtained an interim court injunction to stop people from obstructing operations. Protesters are only allowed to demonstrate in designated areas.
Some protesters expressed remorse for the clashes overnight. One front liner who identified himself as Pun said protesters needed to re-evaluate their strategy to continue with the fight. “We are not trying to overthrow the government or cut ourselves off from China, but we fight for our rights; democracy was promised as part of the ‘one country, two systems’.”
Flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways published a half-page advertisement in the Hong Kong Economic Journal pledging its support for the government and calling for the resumption of the rule of law and social order.
China’s aviation regulator demanded last week that Cathay suspend personnel who engaged in or supported protests in Hong Kong from staffing flights into its airspace. The carrier later suspended two pilots.
Property developers Henderson Land Development, Cheung Kong Holdings and Sun Hung Kai Holdings also took out newspaper advertisements in support of the government on Wednesday.
ForwardKeys, a flight data company, said the crisis had deterred people from making travel plans to the city, citing a 4.7% fall in long-haul bookings to Hong Kong between June 16 and August 9 compared with the same period last year.
Statements of apology from protesters were displayed in the airport on Wednesday, promising to allow passengers to depart, to assist medical staff to carry out their duties and to not hinder the work of the press. “We are not afraid of facing the issues directly ... only afraid of losing your support to the whole movement due to our mistake, and that you give up on fighting.”
Reuters
Hong Kong riot police clash with protesters at airport
All Hong Kong flights cancelled as protesters flood airport
Firms in Hong Kong lament toll protests have taken on business
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