Hong Kong - Thousands of protesters
readied in Hong Kong on Thursday for more potential clashes with
police over a planned extradition law with mainland China, a day
after police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at unarmed
demonstrators.
Small scuffles broke out between police and demonstrators
around the city's legislature, the epicentre of the violence,
while some protesters rushed to stop police from removing
supplies of face masks and food.
Uniformed police with helmets and shields blocked overhead
walkways, while a long row of police vans was parked nearby.
Plainclothes police officers checked commuters' identity papers.
Schoolchildren joined the steadily growing crowd, which
swelled to a few thousand by midday, from around 20 early in the
day.
"We are ready to have a protracted war with the government,"
said one protester, Natalie Wong. "I am young, that's why I have
to fight for Hong Kong."
The extradition bill, which will cover Hong Kong residents
and foreign and Chinese nationals living or travelling through
the city, has sparked concerns it may threaten the rule of law
that underpins Hong Kong's international financial status.
The legislature remained closed, with the council issuing a
notice that the group's meeting would not be held on Thursday.
Authorities have shut government offices in the financial
district for the rest of the week after some of the worst
violence in Hong Kong since Britain handed it back to Chinese
rule in 1997.
On Wednesday, police fired rubber bullets, tear gas and
pepper spray in a series of skirmishes to clear demonstrators
from the legislature, with officials saying 72 people had been
admitted to hospital by 10 p.m.
It was the third night of violence since a protest on Sunday
drew what organisers said was more than a million people in the
biggest street demonstration since the 1997 handover.
Several thousand demonstrators stayed until the early hours
of morning near the legislature in the Admiralty district, while
thousands more retreated to the Central business district,
overlooked by the towers of some of Asia's biggest firms and
hotel chains, including HSBC and AIA.
Hong Kong's benchmark stock exchange slid as much as
1.5 percent on Thursday, extending losses from the previous day.
Most roads around the business district were opening for
traffic, but Pacific Place, a prime shopping mall next to the
legislature, stayed shut.
Banks, including Standard Chartered, Bank of China and DBS,
said they had suspended branch services in the area.
Banks in the Central district emphasised it was ‘business as
usual’ but many offered staff the option of working from home.
"As a precaution, we shut two outlets early where the
protests were taking place. Our priorities are the safety of our
employees and supporting our customers," said HSBC, whose
ground-level public space at its headquarters has previously
been a focal point for protests.
Hong Kong's China-backed Chief Executive Carrie Lam
condemned the violence late on Wednesday and urged a swift
restoration of order.
While acknowledging the controversy, Lam has refused to
postpone or withdraw the bill, which she and her officials say
is necessary to plug "loopholes" that allow the city to be a
haven for criminals wanted on the mainland.
Lam has said the courts would provide human rights
safeguards in vetting case-by-case extraditions to mainland
China.
Opponents, including leading lawyers and rights groups, say
China's justice system is marked by torture and forced
confessions, arbitrary detention and poor access to lawyers.
In an impromptu media standup in the legislature, democratic
lawmakers strongly criticised Lam's heavy-handed police
response.
"We are not a haven for criminals, but we have become a
haven of violent police. Firing at our children? None of the
former chief executives dared to do that," said legislator
Fernando Cheung.
"But 'mother Carrie Lam' did it. What kind of mother is she?
I have never seen such an evil-hearted mother."
In editorials on Thursday, Chinese state media said the
protests were "hammering" Hong Kong's reputation.
"It is lawlessness that will hurt Hong Kong, not the
proposed amendments to its fugitive law," said the
English-language China Daily.
CONCERNS OVER MORE UNREST
Face masks, goggles, helmets and water bottles strewn around
the legislature area were being cleaned up, while a police team
stood nearby, looking relaxed.
The adjacent Admiralty metro station remained shut while
commuters crowded into other stations, with some diverted into
sprawling bus queues.
Concern over the unrest prompted Hong Kong's Tourism Board
to call off its dragon boat carnival this weekend and index
provider MSCI to cancel a Thursday conference at a hotel near
the skirmishes.
The city's Bar Association expressed concern over video
footage of police using force against largely unarmed
protesters.
"In these cases the police may well have overstepped their
lawful powers in maintaining public order," it said in a
statement.
Amnesty International joined domestic rights groups in
condemning Wednesday's use of police force as excessive, while a
spokeswoman for the U.N. Human Rights Office in Geneva said it
was following the situation closely.
"We call on all parties to express their views peacefully
and on Hong Kong's authorities to engage in an inclusive and
transparent dialogue over the draft legislation," the
spokeswoman said.
Diplomatic pressure was also building after leaders such as
British Prime Minister Theresa May and U.S. President Donald
Trump commented on the protests.
The European Union said it shared many Hong Kong citizens'
concerns over the proposed extradition reforms and urged an
in-depth public consultation.
"This is a sensitive issue, with potentially far-reaching
consequences for Hong Kong and its people, for EU and foreign
citizens, as well as for business confidence," it said in a
statement.