Hong Kong protesters kick off new weekend of rallies
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Sat, 17 Aug 2019 09:25:29 +0000
PROTESTERS participate in a march organized by a pro-democracy group in Hong Kong. (AP)
HONG KONG, China (AFP) – Hong Kong democracy activists kicked off a weekend of fresh protests yesterday in a major test for the movement following criticism over an airport protest earlier this week – and as concerns mount over Beijing’s next move.
Ten weeks of demonstrations have plunged the international finance hub into crisis, with the communist-ruled mainland taking an increasingly hardline tone, including labeling the more violent protester actions “terrorist-like.”
Activists are billing two planned rallies yesterday and today as a way to show Beijing and the city’s unelected leaders that their movement still enjoys broad public support, despite increasingly violent tactics deployed by a minority of hardcore protesters that have cast a shadow.
On Tuesday, protesters blocked passengers from boarding flights at the city’s airport and later assaulted two men they accused of being Chinese spies.
The images damaged a movement that until then had largely only targeted the police or government institutions, and prompted some soul-searching among protesters.
China’s propaganda apparatus seized on the violence, with state media churning out a deluge of damning articles, pictures, and videos.
State media also ran images of military personnel and armored personnel carriers across the border in Shenzhen, prompting the United States to warn Beijing against sending in troops, which analysts say would be a reputational and economic disaster for China.
Yesterday’s rallies began with thousands of teachers marching through torrential rain in support of the largely youth-led protests.
In the afternoon, crowds also began gathering for a march in Hung Hom and To Kwa Wan, two harborside districts popular with mainland tourists.
“The government has yet to respond to a single demand and has escalated force through the police to suppress the people’s voices,” a 25-year-old protester, who gave his first name Mars, said.
“If we don’t come out, our future, our next generation will face even more suppression,” he added.
The biggest rally is expected to take place today on the main island.