President Donald Trump has signed The Human
Rights and Democracy Act into law as a support for pro-democracy protesters in
Hong Kong.
The bill mandates an annual review, to check if Hong Kong has enough
autonomy to justify its special status with the US.
President Trump said he signed the law “out of respect for President Xi
[Jinping], China, and the people of Hong Kong”.
He is currently seeking a deal with China, in order to end a trade war
between the two countries.
Meanwhile, China’s foreign ministry threatened “counter measures”
if the US continued “going down the wrong path”.
The Chinese foreign ministry statement said: “The US has been disregarding facts and distorting truth.
“It openly backed violent
criminals who rampantly smashed facilities, set fire, assaulted innocent
civilians, trampled on the rule of law, and jeopardized social order.”
The foreign ministry summoned the US ambassador to demand that Washington
stops interfering in Chinese internal affairs.
Hong Kong’s government also reacted, saying the American bill would send the
wrong signal and would not help to ease the situation.
However, a key activist in the Hong Kong protest movement, Joshua Wong, said
the US law was a “remarkable achievement” for “all
Hongkongers”.
President Trump had previously been non-committal about
whether he would sign the bill, saying he was “with” Hong Kong but
also that President Xi was “an incredible guy”.
However, the bill had widespread congressional support, which meant that
even if he vetoed it, lawmakers could potentially have voted to overturn his
decision.
President Trump also signed a second bill, which bans the export of
crowd-control munitions to the police in Hong Kong – including tear gas, rubber
bullets and stun guns.
He said: “[The bills] are being
enacted in the hope that leaders and representatives of China and Hong Kong
will be able to amicably settle their differences, leading to long-term peace
and prosperity for all.”
The bill was introduced in June in the early stages of the protests in Hong
Kong, and was overwhelmingly approved by the House of Representatives last
month.
It says: “Hong Kong is part of
China but has a largely separate legal and economic system.
“The [annual review] shall assess
whether China has eroded Hong Kong’s civil liberties and rule of law as
protected by Hong Kong’s Basic Law.”
Among other things, Hong Kong’s special trading status means it is not
affected by US sanctions or tariffs placed on the mainland.
The bill also says the US should allow Hong Kong residents to obtain US
visas, even if they have been arrested for being part of non-violent protests.
Hong Kong’s protests started in June against a proposed law to allow
extradition to mainland China but it has since transformed into a larger
pro-democracy movement.
The protests have also seen increasingly violent clashes, with police being
attacked, and officers firing live bullets.
The last week elections saw a landslide victory for the pro-democracy movement, with 17 of the 18 councils now controlled by pro-democracy councilors.
Pro-democracy campaigners hope they
will be able to increase their representation on the council, which
traditionally has some influence in choosing the city’s chief executive.
Pro-Beijing candidates are urging
voters to support them in order to express frustration at the upheaval caused
by continuous clashes between protesters and police.
Polls opened at 07:30 local time on
November 24.
According to government figures, by
16.30 more than 2.1 million people had voted (52.14% of all registered voters) compared
to 754,705 (24.18%) within the same timescale in the last such elections in
2015.
In total, 1.467 million people voted
in the last poll. Only 3.1 million people were registered to vote in that
election.
More than 1,000 candidates are running for 452 district council seats which,
for the first time, are all being contested. A further 27 seats are allocated
to representatives of rural districts.
Currently, pro-Beijing parties hold the majority of these seats.
Police were seen outside some polling stations and on the streets but
correspondents said they kept a low profile.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam said after voting: “Facing the extremely challenging situation, I am pleased to
say… we have a relatively calm and peaceful environment for (the) election
today.”
Counting will start immediately after polls close at 22:30. Results are expected to start coming in before midnight.
At least five people have been injured in a
knife attack at a pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong on November 3.
The stabbing happened at the Cityplaza mall in the Tai Koo district.
According to the local hospital authority, four men and one woman were
injured, with two in critical condition.
One of the injured, a local councilor, had his ear partially bitten off by
the as-yet unidentified male attacker, who was subdued by passersby in the mall.
According to witnesses, the Mandarin-speaking attacker drew a knife after a
political argument with people in the mall, which was the site of pro-democracy
protests earlier in the day.
The local councilor, Andrew Chiu Ka-yin, reportedly was attempting to prevent
the attacker leaving the scene when the man bit off a section of his ear.
Witnesses said the attacker was badly beaten by passersby who intervened,
before police arrested the man.
The injured woman told the South China Morning Post that the attacker
drew a knife after arguing with her sister and her husband, who were also
injured.
According to the Hong Kong Free Press, the attacker was a
Mandarin-speaking pro-Beijing supporter.
Hong Kong has experienced five
months of sometimes violent demonstrations by pro-democracy activists, who
first took to the streets to protest against a bill that would have allowed
extradition to mainland China, but evolved into a broader revolt against the
way Hong Kong is administered by Beijing.
The pro-democracy protests continued
this weekend, days after a high-profile activist, Joshua Wong, was banned from
standing in local elections.
Police fired tear gas into crowds of demonstrators in the eastern suburb of Taikoo Shing, home to the Cityplaza where the knife attack occurred.
Hong Kong police have violently tackled suspected protesters with batons and
using pepper spray on a train in the city’s subway after thousands of people
marched on the street in defiance of a ban.
Police say they were called to the scene amid violence against citizens by
“radical protesters”.
However, it is unclear if all those injured and arrested in the subway
system were involved in demonstrations.
Protesters took to the streets on August 31 to mark the fifth anniversary of
China’s government banning fully democratic elections in Hong Kong.
They lit fires, threw petrol bombs
and attacked the parliament building.
In response, riot police used tear
gas, rubber bullets and water cannon to disperse crowds, and fired live warning
shots as they tried to clear the streets.
The latest protests came just a day
after the arrest of several key pro-democracy activists and lawmakers in
China’s special administrative region.
Hong Kong has now seen 13 successive
weeks of demonstrations.
The movement grew out of rallies
against a controversial extradition bill – now suspended – which would have
allowed criminal suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial.
It has since become a broader
pro-democracy movement in which clashes have grown more violent.
During protests, crowds gathered by Prince Edward and Mong Kok stations in
Hong Kong’s Kowloon neighborhood.
Police said in a tweet they had responded at both sites after reports of
“radical protesters” assaulting citizens and damaging property.
In a statement, Hong Kong’s government also said some protesters had
“committed arson and “hurled miscellaneous objects and iron
railings” on to railway tracks, “completely disregarding the safety
of other passengers”.
Forty people were subsequently arrested for unlawful assembly, criminal
damage and the assault of police officers, police spokesperson Yolanda Yu told
reporters.
However, several people complained of excessive force used by the
authorities.
MTR, which operates the city’s subway line, told local media that three
stations – Prince Edward, Mongkok and Kowloon Bay – had been closed as a result
of the incident.
Protesters took to the streets in the Wan Chai district, many joining a Christian march, while others demonstrated in the Causeway Bay shopping district in the pouring rain. Many carried umbrellas and wore face masks.
Tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon have
been used by Hong Kong riot police to disperse crowds as tens of thousands
marched in the city, defying a ban.
Protesters lit fires, threw petrol bombs at riot police and attacked the
parliament building.
An event to mark five years since Beijing ruled out fully democratic
elections was banned in Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China.
On August 30, several key pro-democracy activists and lawmakers were
arrested.
The protest movement grew out of rallies against a controversial extradition
bill – now suspended – which would have allowed criminal suspects to be sent to
mainland China for trial.
It has since become a broader pro-democracy movement in which clashes have
grown more violent.
Demonstrators took to the streets in the Wan Chai district, many joining a
Christian march, while others protested in the Causeway Bay shopping district
in the pouring rain. Many carried umbrellas and wore face masks.
On the 13th weekend of protests, demonstrators – chanting “stand with
Hong Kong” and “fight for freedom” – gathered outside government
offices, the local headquarters of China’s People’s Liberation Army and the
city’s parliament, known as the Legislative Council.
In the Admiralty district, some demonstrators threw fire bombs towards
officers. Earlier, protesters marched near the official residence of embattled
leader Carrie Lam, who is the focal point of much of the anger.
Police had erected barriers around key buildings and road blocks, and fired
tear gas and jets of blue-dyed water from the water cannon. The colored liquid
is traditionally used to make it easier for police to identify protesters.
The recent demonstrations have been characterized as leaderless.
On August 30, police had appealed to members of the public to cut ties with
“violent protesters” and had warned people not to take part in the
banned march.
Police made a number of arrests on August 31.
During a 24-hour police crackdown, at least three activists – including
prominent 23-year-old campaigner Joshua Wong – and three lawmakers were
detained.
Joshua Wong, who first rose to prominence as the poster boy of a protest
movement that swept Hong Kong in 2014, was released on bail after being charged
over the protests which have rocked the territory since June.
Hong Kong is part of China, but enjoys “special freedoms”. Those
are set to expire in 2047, and many in Hong Kong do not want to become
“another Chinese city”.
Beijing has repeatedly condemned the protesters and described their actions
as “close to terrorism”. The protests have frequently escalated into
violence between police and activists, with injuries on both sides.
Activists are increasingly concerned that China might use military force to
intervene.
On August 29, Beijing moved a new batch of troops into Hong Kong, a move Chinese state media described as a routine annual rotation.
Tear gas has been fired by Hong Kong
riot police at protesters who are demonstrating for the ninth weekend in a row.
On August 3, groups rallied in the Mong Kok district before starting their march. They called on others to join a city-wide strike planned for August 5.
Beijing and the Chinese army have
issued stern warnings about the unrest.
Two months of Hong Kong demonstrations
sparked by a controversial extradition bill show no signs of abating, with both
sides hardening their stance.
Although the government has now suspended the controversial bill, which would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, demonstrators want the bill fully withdrawn.
Their demands have broadened to
include calls for more democracy and for Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam to
resign.
Hong Kong – a former British colony
– is part of China but enjoys unique freedoms not seen on the mainland.
Protesters initially gathered in Mong Kok, a Hong Kong district where
violent clashes took place during pro-democracy protests in 2014.
A group of demonstrators briefly blocked access to the Cross Harbour Tunnel,
causing traffic chaos, while others set up make-shift barricades on shopping
streets.
As the demonstrations dragged into the night, protesters gathered outside
the police station in Tsim Sha Tsui district. Officers then fired tear gas at
the activists.
The South China Morning Post published
a police statement saying the “radical” group had set fires nearby and
had thrown bricks into the building.
The march comes after a group of civil servants – ordered to be politically
neutral – joined demonstrations in their thousands on August 2.
The rally followed the publication of an anonymous letter on Facebook
complaining about “extreme oppression” and listing five key demands –
the complete withdrawal of the extradition bill; waiving charges against those
arrested; an end to descriptions of protests as “rioting”; an
independent inquiry into the unrest; and resuming political reforms.
Supporters of Hong Kong’s police force also gathered earlier for a rally in Victoria
Park.
Some unions and organizations have reportedly already agreed to take part in the strike planned for August 5. There are also further demonstrations planned for August 4.
Tear gas has been fired by Hong Kong riot police at an unauthorized protest held by tens of thousands of people to condemn an attack by armed masked men last week.
As a small group of protesters refused to disperse in the northern district
of Yuen Long, police fired rubber bullets.
The protest took place where pro-democracy protesters had been attacked by
suspected triad gang members.
Police have been accused of turning a blind eye and colluding with the
attackers, claims they deny.
There were seven weeks of anti-government and pro-democracy protests in Hong
Kong sparked by a controversial bill that would have enabled extraditions to
mainland China.
The government has since halted the legislation but protesters have demanded
its complete withdrawal, as well as an inquiry into police violence, democratic
reform, and that Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam resign.
The July 27 rally had been banned by
the police, a highly unusual move in the territory, where protests are usually
allowed.
Police say they refused permission
because they feared violent clashes between protesters and residents.
The march was planned as a response
to last Sunday’s attack, in which about 100 men descended on Yuen Long’s metro
station, beating protesters – as well as passersby and journalists – with
wooden and metal sticks.
The attack left 45 people injured
and was widely blamed on triad gang members. They appeared to target those
wearing black, the color people had been told to wear for the protest.
Triads are known to be active in Yuen Long – located in a rural northern
district in Hong Kong, near mainland China – and many local villagers have also
expressed opposition to the pro-democracy protests.
Tens of thousands defied the police ban and approached Yuen Long on July 27,
marching down some of the main roads.
Police observed and filmed the start of the protest, and riot police could
be seen on standby.
They said some protesters were holding iron poles and shields, and
“even removing fences from roads”.
Some protesters also surrounded and vandalized a police vehicle,
“causing danger to the life of the police officers on board”, they
said.
Shortly after 17:00 local time, police began firing several rounds of tear
gas in an attempt to disperse the crowd.
The protesters – most wearing masks and hard hats – threw projectiles and swore
at police – but also parted to allow ambulances to go through.
Later in the evening, in an attempt to clear several hundred demonstrators,
police fired rubber bullets, injuring at least nine people, according to the
AFP news agency.
Protesters have been demanding an independent inquiry into police violence,
saying police used excessive force in several anti-extradition bill and
pro-democracy protests.
Demonstrators and pro-democracy legislators have alleged that the
authorities – including the police and pro-government legislators – had advance
knowledge of the attack.
Police say suggestions that they colluded with criminal gangs were a
“smear”, and that 12 people have so far been arrested, including nine
men with links to triads.
There have also been growing tensions between protesters and pro-Beijing
groups.
Earlier this week, pro-Beijing legislator Junius Ho’s office was ransacked,
and his parents’ graves were vandalized.
Junius Ho had come under criticism after video footage showed him shaking
hands with white-shirted men on July 27 shortly before the attacks.
He said he did not know about the attack, but defended the men, saying they were simply “defending their home and people”.
Hundreds of protesters have occupied
Hong Kong’s parliament building for hours after breaking away from a protest on
the anniversary of the state’s transfer of sovereignty to China from Britain.
Police firing tear gas have moved in
to evict protesters from the Legislative Council (LegCo) building.
At midnight, local time, hundreds of
police charged towards the building after warning protesters to clear it.
The incident follows weeks of unrest
in Hong Kong over a controversial extradition law.
Hundreds of thousands took part in
the earlier protest – the latest rally against a proposed law that critics fear
could be used to extradite political dissidents to mainland China.
Dozens of demonstrators smashed
their way through the glass facade of LegCo. They were joined inside by
hundreds more after police vacated the building during the evening.
Inside the building, protesters
defaced the emblem of Hong Kong in the central chamber, raised the old British
colonial flag, spray-painted messages across the walls, and shattered
furniture.
They clad in plastic helmets and
brandishing umbrellas retreated from a baton charge by riot police, who quickly
overcame the makeshift barriers in front of the building.
Inside, diehard demonstrators were
pulled forcibly outside by their fellow occupants in an attempt to completely
clear the building.
Democratic lawmakers Ted Hui and Roy
Kwong stood in front of police asking them to allow protesters time to leave
the area, the South China Morning Post
reported.
Within an hour, the streets around the parliament building were clear of
everyone except the media and police.
However, no arrests have yet been reported.
This website has updated its privacy policy in compliance with EU GDPR 2016/679. Please read this to review the updates about which personal data we collect on our site. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our updated policy. AcceptRejectRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
