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Million+ protest against China in Hong Kong

clh_hilary

New member
3 dead, 3.5 mil protest against China in Hong Kong

More than a million protestors - a historic record - have taken to the streets to protest against the proposed extradition bill to make it extradition between Hong Kong and China possible.

The Hong Kong government, headed by British national Carrie Lam, has promised the extradition changes after a murderer fled Taiwan to hide in Hong Kong. The Taiwanese government itself has strongly opposed the extradition, declaring that they are willing to make a one-off extradition for the murderer, but no extradition would be done if the bill is passed.

The bill is particularly concerning because it's not a regular one: it would make it possible for Chinese laws to apply in Hong Kong directly, by allowing Beijing to request extradition based on alleged violation of Chinese laws, ever if those are not crimes in Hong Kong. It would also make it possible for foreigners transiting in Hong Kong to be arrested by China.

China is known for making up non-political crimes to arrest descendants for political reasons, and in recent years it has detained multiple foreign nationals, including British, Swedish, Canadian, and Hungarian citizens, without a charge for months.

The bill has been universally condemned by the domestic and international business communities, with a local billionaire having filed a judicial review in court, and with the United States Commerce Association issuing statement after statement on the matter.

Internationally, it has also led to extraordinarily strong reactions from multiple powerful governments.

The European Union has issued a démarche directly to the Hong Kong government, with German and British officials also issuing their own objections, asking the Hong Kong government to re-consider.

The UK and Canada have issued an extraordinary joint statement on the matter, directly addressing the fact that the bill would violate the Sino-Anglo Joint Declaration. Many members of parliament, both in the Commons and in the Lords, have also written directly to the Chief Executive.

The United States's government likewise states its strong opposition to the bill, with members from both houses of congress having also written directly to the Chief Executive.

Other countries with officials speaking out against it include Malaysia and Taiwan.

Locally, opposition to the bill has been massive, apart from the falling approval rating of the Chief Executive, who in fact pledged to resign if a majority of Hong Kong people disapproved of her, but now saying poll numbers were not what she was talking about.

More than 750,000 signatures have been collected against the bill, a historic number, including a judge who broke protocol to state his opposition publicly. More than 100,000 people have petitioned the White House to intervene.

Notably, more than a million people protested on the streets on 9 June, a monumental number that tops all Hong Kong protests. It surpassed the 1 million who protested after the Tiananmen Massacre in 1989, and the 500,000 people who protested against the national security ordinance in 2003.

The police force is now conducting mass arrests, while accusing protestors of being violent, despite the fact that exactly 0 person has died, exactly 0 fire has been started, exactly 0 property has been damaged.

The government issued a statement acknowledging the huge amount of people on the street, but has declared that they couldn't care less, and that the bill will go through its second reading in the Legislative Council, presides by British citizen Andrew Leung, on 12 June as scheduled.

This is the reporting from the BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-48572130
 
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clh_hilary

New member
Update:

Last Wednesday, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Admiralty, where the Chinese-rigged Legislative Council is located at, to attempt to stop the bill from passing.

The police used more than a hundred smoke grenades, and have shot UNARMED protesters, young and old, directly in the head. They were even filmed using a water cannon on just a sole, unarmed protester. Non-protesters have also been attacked, including journalists who have been shot and chased after before a beating up even after they identified themselves, as well as a lone foreigner who rested on a bench as his leg hurt (not protesting) but was continuously sprayed with pepper spray (classed as a weapon in the UK) as an attempt to blind him.

There are also videos and photos of the police not only turning away an active ambulance, but also attacking it, violating the Geneva Convention.

Following widespread chaos and clear human rights violations, the United States stepped up. Republican senate majority leader issued a video statement calling for a review of the US-Hong Kong Relations Act he co-sponsored. Republican congressmen and senators, including former presidential candidate Senator Rubio, tabled and introduced a new bill to give the president powers to impose on persons responsible for the astrocities. Democratic house speaker Pelosi has voiced her support for it.

Hours after the news above broke, the Chief Secretary - second-in-command and the head of government of Hong Kong - stated that high-ranking government officials were not a part of the decision-making process to label the peaceful protest a "riot", and that they did not make the decision to shoot unarmed protesters.

On Saturday, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong held a press conference announcing that she would "temporarily suspend" the bill, but stressed that consultation will be reopened, only that it would not resume its second reading in this legislative year.

Soon after, a protester climbed up to luxury mall Pacific Place to place a protest banner, calling for the bill to be completely withdrawn. The government failed to acknowledge it, and 5 hours later, he jumped off the building and killed himself.

News of his martyrdom shocked Hong Kong, and sent a record-shattering 2 million protesters on the streets on Sunday. The government continued to refuse to withdraw the bill or the politically-motivated riot charges. An unnamed person from the Chief Executive's office apologized "on behalf of" her.

On Monday, the Chief of Police held a brief press conference toning down his stance, but insisted that certain protesters were "rioting" by throwing bricks and metal poles at the police, even though video and photo footage showed that it was the police who did exactly that against bareclothed, unarmed protesters. He maintained the decision to charge 5 individuals for "rioting", including an elderly Stage III cancer patient who was shot by the police for swearing at them. The police likewise defended the decision to arrest multiple individuals at the hospital.

The legislative representative medical professionals held a conference exposing the vulnerability in the hospital systems, which allowed anyone to access patient's data, and that the hospital system has a page that is labelled "for police".

The Hospital Authority held a press conference denying cooperating with the police.

Sources say the Chief Executive was "considering" apologizing, and that she cried in a bathroom during 2 closed-door meetings with angry pro-Beijing legislators.

On Tuesday, the Chief Executive held another conference "apologizing" for the event, but continued her refusal to completely withdraw the bill, stating that waiting for the bill to expire next year would be practically the same as withdrawing it now. On the question of her driving someone to commit a very public suicide, she said it was sad to see people "hurting" themselves over it. She maintained that labelling the protests riots was a matter for the police, and not the high-ranking government officials'.

On the other side of the channel, we see Taiwanese president Professor Tsai soaring in the polls in Taiwan, securing her bid to be re-elected next year. A pro-Beijing candidate has also said that Taiwan would never accept the "one country, two systems" promise to Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau, saying "over my dead body" in English. Taiwan is an independent soverign state which is claimed entirely by China despite never having administrated it. China has been drumming up claims of launching a full-on military invasion over the democratic island country.

President Trump will be bringing up the topic of the protests in Hong Kong to the president of China in the G20 meeting, where they will also discuss terms of a Chinese surrender in the US-China Trade War.
 

lolita55

Active member
Update:

Last Wednesday, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Admiralty, where the Chinese-rigged Legislative Council is located at, to attempt to stop the bill from passing.

The police used more than a hundred smoke grenades, and have shot UNARMED protesters, young and old, directly in the head. They were even filmed using a water cannon on just a sole, unarmed protester. Non-protesters have also been attacked, including journalists who have been shot and chased after before a beating up even after they identified themselves, as well as a lone foreigner who rested on a bench as his leg hurt (not protesting) but was continuously sprayed with pepper spray (classed as a weapon in the UK) as an attempt to blind him.

There are also videos and photos of the police not only turning away an active ambulance, but also attacking it, violating the Geneva Convention.

Following widespread chaos and clear human rights violations, the United States stepped up. Republican senate majority leader issued a video statement calling for a review of the US-Hong Kong Relations Act he co-sponsored. Republican congressmen and senators, including former presidential candidate Senator Rubio, tabled and introduced a new bill to give the president powers to impose on persons responsible for the astrocities. Democratic house speaker Pelosi has voiced her support for it.

Hours after the news above broke, the Chief Secretary - second-in-command and the head of government of Hong Kong - stated that high-ranking government officials were not a part of the decision-making process to label the peaceful protest a "riot", and that they did not make the decision to shoot unarmed protesters.

On Saturday, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong held a press conference announcing that she would "temporarily suspend" the bill, but stressed that consultation will be reopened, only that it would not resume its second reading in this legislative year.

Soon after, a protester climbed up to luxury mall Pacific Place to place a protest banner, calling for the bill to be completely withdrawn. The government failed to acknowledge it, and 5 hours later, he jumped off the building and killed himself.

News of his martyrdom shocked Hong Kong, and sent a record-shattering 2 million protesters on the streets on Sunday. The government continued to refuse to withdraw the bill or the politically-motivated riot charges. An unnamed person from the Chief Executive's office apologized "on behalf of" her.

On Monday, the Chief of Police held a brief press conference toning down his stance, but insisted that certain protesters were "rioting" by throwing bricks and metal poles at the police, even though video and photo footage showed that it was the police who did exactly that against bareclothed, unarmed protesters. He maintained the decision to charge 5 individuals for "rioting", including an elderly Stage III cancer patient who was shot by the police for swearing at them. The police likewise defended the decision to arrest multiple individuals at the hospital.

The legislative representative medical professionals held a conference exposing the vulnerability in the hospital systems, which allowed anyone to access patient's data, and that the hospital system has a page that is labelled "for police".

The Hospital Authority held a press conference denying cooperating with the police.

Sources say the Chief Executive was "considering" apologizing, and that she cried in a bathroom during 2 closed-door meetings with angry pro-Beijing legislators.

On Tuesday, the Chief Executive held another conference "apologizing" for the event, but continued her refusal to completely withdraw the bill, stating that waiting for the bill to expire next year would be practically the same as withdrawing it now. On the question of her driving someone to commit a very public suicide, she said it was sad to see people "hurting" themselves over it. She maintained that labelling the protests riots was a matter for the police, and not the high-ranking government officials'.

On the other side of the channel, we see Taiwanese president Professor Tsai soaring in the polls in Taiwan, securing her bid to be re-elected next year. A pro-Beijing candidate has also said that Taiwan would never accept the "one country, two systems" promise to Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau, saying "over my dead body" in English. Taiwan is an independent soverign state which is claimed entirely by China despite never having administrated it. China has been drumming up claims of launching a full-on military invasion over the democratic island country.

President Trump will be bringing up the topic of the protests in Hong Kong to the president of China in the G20 meeting, where they will also discuss terms of a Chinese surrender in the US-China Trade War.

This is horrible for Hong Kong. I pray for you guys .
 

clh_hilary

New member
This is horrible for Hong Kong. I pray for you guys .

Speaking of praying, His Eminence The Cardinal Joseph Zen, former Bishop of Hong Kong, did hold a public mass outside the government headquarters last week. 6 leaders from 6 (sects of) religions have also met His Holiness The Pope.

And one highlight of the protests has been the Christians singing "Sing Halleluja to The Lord" non-stop since last last Tuesday.

Right now, protesters are surrounding the police headquarters. Still developing. A White House petition has been launched to urge President Trump to liberate Hong Kong.
 

clh_hilary

New member
Update:

A second person has taken their own life after the government's continued refusal to withdraw the bill. A huge rally is expected on 1 July, Hong Kong's national day.

Newspapers all over the world has published an advertisement calling for the world to stand with Hong Kong at the G20 after a successful fundraising campaign that raised millions within hours.
 

Farawayhills

Well-known member
Reports here suggest that the pressure to introduce this bill in the first place came, not so much from the Mainland, as from within the Hong Kong administration itself. The public outcry, especially, but not only, among younger people has been very impressive - but backtracking to a complete reversal of the policy goes against entrenched attitudes. The Chief Executive may lose the support of the Mainland government, as the strength and persistence of the protests will be worrying to an authoritarian system, and dropping her may be seen as a way of limiting long term damage and saving face.
 

clh_hilary

New member
Reports here suggest that the pressure to introduce this bill in the first place came, not so much from the Mainland, as from within the Hong Kong administration itself. The public outcry, especially, but not only, among younger people has been very impressive - but backtracking to a complete reversal of the policy goes against entrenched attitudes. The Chief Executive may lose the support of the Mainland government, as the strength and persistence of the protests will be worrying to an authoritarian system, and dropping her may be seen as a way of limiting long term damage and saving face.

That is what the Chief Executive has claimed, that the bill came from her administration and not from Beijing. It certainly does look like a face-saving thing, since the administration is now claiming that "temporary suspension" is practically withdrawal, while refusing to then simply make the step to withdraw it. They also continued not to respond to any of the demands, including the one asking for an independent investigation of the police who, among other things, broke local laws by not providing their identification numbers when requested, and broke international conventions by attacking medical services.
 

clh_hilary

New member
Update:

A *third* suicide protest was committed earlier as the government continues to ignore protesters' demands. The Chief Executive refused to comment on whether she, a devout Catholic, still believes there's a place reserved for her in heaven now that 3 lives have lost as a direct result of her actions.

On 1 July, Hong Kong's national day, hundreds of thousands of people again marched on the street to protest against the government. Some protesters later stormed the empty Legislative Council to deface the Chinese colonial symbols, and to place slogans and the British Hong Kong flag in the chamber. The library and artefacts in the building were intentionally preserved by the protesters, and they also left money to the unattended restaurant as they took refreshments from it. 4 protesters initially decided to become martyrs but were eventually taken away by their fellow protesters.

The Hong Kong government has denied reports claiming that they had requested assistance from the occupying Chinese forces (Hong Kong people are not allowed to join the Chinese military).

Another urgent question was asked in the British parliament after these events.

President Trump expressed sympathies and shaded China by saying the protesters were asking for democracy, but some governments didn't want democracy.
 

clh_hilary

New member
A very unfortunate update:

A FOURTH suicide has been committed as the government continues to ignore any of the demands despite their citizens killing themselves as the only way out.

It has become a major campaign issue between the 2 candidates fighting to be the next British prime minister. The New York-born cousin of Her Majesty The Queen, the frontrunner Boris Johnson, who was the Foreign Secretary and Mayor of London, has declared that he would be with Hongkongers "every inch of the way"; whilst the other candidate, the current Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, himself married to a Chinese citizen, has strengthened his language on the importance of the Joint Declaration. Both attended the University of Oxford, the same university the current and the former premier went to.

The Ambassador of China to the UK has been present on the British media, and hosted a hugely fraudulent press conference, where he claimed that British Hong Kong did not have freedom or democracy, despite the fact that the Legislative Council before the handover was entirely democratically directly elected, while the council in Chinese Hong Kong has been at best only slightly over half meeting that. His Excellency also falsely claimed that there was no right to protest in British Hong Kong, conveniently forgetting the reality that before 1997, a million Hongkongers took to the street to protest against China in 1989 the day after the Tiananmen Massacre, and that the only mass arrests during the British era was when the Chinese leftists organized riots, terrorist attacks, and assassinations in order to destablize Hong Kong in the 1960s. The malicious Ambassador was swiftly summoned to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for his gross misrepresentation of history.

The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, co-sponsored by Senator Marc Rubio, and supported by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, will call for universal suffrage for the legislature in Hong Kong by 2020.
 

Farawayhills

Well-known member
In a worsening situation, protesters (or anyone, it seems, in a black T-shirt, the protest colour) have been chased, cornered, and beaten with clubs and metal rods, by gangs dressed in white, in a tube station and a train. Many of the attackers were masked, but some could be identified as known criminal elements. These are believed to be Triad gang members, who have profitable links with the Mainland. The Chief Executive has condemned the violence - but police have been heavily criticized for failing to appear on the scene for an hour, despite calls reporting the attacks. This has led to fears of collusion by elements supporting the government.
 

lolita55

Active member
In a worsening situation, protesters (or anyone, it seems, in a black T-shirt, the protest colour) have been chased, cornered, and beaten with clubs and metal rods, by gangs dressed in white, in a tube station and a train. Many of the attackers were masked, but some could be identified as known criminal elements. These are believed to be Triad gang members, who have profitable links with the Mainland. The Chief Executive has condemned the violence - but police have been heavily criticized for failing to appear on the scene for an hour, despite calls reporting the attacks. This has led to fears of collusion by elements supporting the government.

That is sad. I hope Hong Kong will eventually be able to gain their independence, but China it seems will not let them go.
 
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