HONG KONG – June 16th 2019: Anti-Extradition Bill Protest with 2 millions people in Hong Kong. Protest demands the law amendment to be fully retracted, release all prisoners, and Carrie Lam step down (Photo by samuelwong from Shutterstock).

Hong Kong police have banned a mass pro-democracy rally from going ahead on Saturday over public safety concerns, organisers said, after last weekend saw some of the worst violence in three months of political unrest in the financial hub.
In a letter to the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) on Thursday, police said they feared some participants would commit “violent and destructive acts”.
Protesters have not only carried out “arson and large scale road blockades but also used petrol bombs, steel balls, bricks, long spears, metal poles, as well as various self-made weapons to destroy public property on a large scale, damage social order and cause injury to others,” the letter said of previous protests.
The rare move comes after officers deployed water cannon and fired a warning gunshot to fend off radical protesters on Sunday night, after a sanctioned rally turned ugly.
Saturday’s rally was set to mark five years since Beijing rejected political reforms in Hong Kong, a decision which sparked the 79-day Umbrella Movement.
The CHRF, responsible for the largest rallies the city has seen in decades, said they would appeal the decision.
“You can see the police’s course of action is intensifying, and you can see (Hong Kong leader) Carrie Lam has in fact no intention to let Hong Kong return to peace, but is trying to incite the anger of more citizens through tough measures,” the group’s leader Jimmy Sham told reporters.
Supporters had been urged to gather in the city centre and later march to the Liaison Office, the department that represents China’s central government in Hong Kong, but both aspects, which need permission from authorities, have been banned.
The last event organised by the CHRF on August 17 brought hundreds of thousands of people to the streets in a deliberate show of peaceful protest that saw demonstrators disperse without clashes.
On that occasion, the initial rally in a Hong Kong park was approved by authorities but protesters later defied a ban to march through the city.
The protests were ignited when the city’s Beijing-backed government tried to pass a bill allowing extraditions to mainland China, but have evolved into a wider call for greater democracy and an investigation into allegations of police brutality.
The mainly young protesters say their freedoms, unique within China, are being eroded by Beijing.
More than 850 people have been arrested since June.
The unrest has shown no sign of abating, with protesters locked in a stalemate with the Hong Kong government, which has refused to give in to their demands.
-AFP

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
You May Also Like

Govt increases free transport voucher's value from $30 to $50 and doubles number of eligible families

Last month, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and People’s Association (PA) issued…

同一笔账竟报销两次! 居委会前高级经理遭判监12周

巴西立居民委员会(RC)一名前选区高级经理,被指同一笔帐却向两个区的居委会主席报销两次,他对两项欺诈控状认罪,被判监禁12周,其他两项控状尚待酌量。 37岁的李轩伟(译音),声称自己自掏腰包支付活动供应商的费用。原本在获得第七区居委会主席签署支票、付款后,再转向第八区副主席申请报销!他为此获得四张支票总值5千919.27元的款项。 李轩伟是在2008年3月加入人民协会成为选区经理,较后升任巴西立第七区和第八区的居委会高级经理。不过目前已不在居委会任职。 2015年10月,建屋发展局协同巴西立-榜鹅市镇会,以及该区居委会着手社区翻新计划,改善选区内的设施。计划是获得政府全额拨款的,由市镇会落实。 翻新计划必须征求75巴仙居民同意,而第七、八区居委会便负责办活动向居民讲解计划细节,寻求支持。 李轩伟在2018年3月3日办了一场一日活动,他联系供应商并准备付款凭单、支票等证明文件,在获得第七区居委会主席签署支票后,便付款给供应商。 然而,李轩伟之后又再拿同样的付款凭单,欺瞒第八区居委会副主席拉吉夫(Rajeev Divakaran Nair),自己是自掏腰包先支付供应商,而二度申请报销! 他在2018年4月19日,欺瞒拉吉夫自己支付了气球造型商504元、购买袋子1千016元。拉吉夫信以为真,便支付他共1千521元。 同年7月4日,李轩伟又欺瞒拉吉夫,声称自己支付一笔2199元的款项,又再索求报销。 当然事件最后东窗事发,巴西立东选区办公室在同年4月查账时,发现这起欺瞒行为,该区总监找李轩伟对质,后者终于承认在第七区和第八区都做了两次重复报销,最终总监决定报警揭发此事。…

No peace even in death..

I’ve seen spirits hovering beside me as I dig their grave, heard…

男子义安城内意外坠楼不治身亡

一名35岁男子昨日(14日)于义安城坠落,经抢救后不治身亡。警方表示昨日下午2.07时,接获通报后立即前往案发地点。 男子被发现躺在血泊中昏迷不醒,便即刻送往陈笃生医院,经抢救后不治身亡。警方将此案列为非自然死亡案件调查。调查仍在进行中。 据《海峡时报》了解,当时医院已在接获通报后,做好准备为他治疗。而根据商场内的零售人员表示,男子是从三楼直坠底层2楼,倒卧在手扶梯旁。 现场工作人员指出,当时发生意外,听见一声巨响,大家探头一看,发现男子已倒卧在地昏迷不醒。 当时是高峰时期,许多民众也目睹了意外发生的过程。 有目击者表示,当时他正望向手扶梯的方向,发现男子从走廊走向栏杆处,但以为他正在看东西。后来却听到巨响,才发现男子已坠落底层二楼。 还有目击者安迪(译名)则表示,当时他与家人在商场内的餐厅Heavenly Wang用餐,而餐厅地点就在发生意外的附近。他道,“在巨响发生后,他听到一名男子短声尖叫,再来听见两名女子的尖叫声。” “男子掉落在手扶梯的附近,躺在血泊中。”他说。 目击者一家人也接受警方询问。 另一名拒绝透露姓名的目击者亦同样看见男子倒卧在血泊中,意外地点就在Action City…