Hong Kong returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” agreement.The protests are also one of the most direct challenges to the authority of China’s president Xi Jinping.
Hong Kong police clashed with thousands of protesters on Sunday, as they sought to defend China’s main representative office from crowds seething over what many see as an increasing cycle of violence against them.
China’s top Hong Kong policy office will on Monday address the escalating protests in the semi-autonomous city over the past eight weekends.
Many of the marchers on Sunday chanted slogans against the police such as “Black police. Shameful”. Some held up banners saying “We rise as one, we fight as one.
Many protesters wore helmets. Some wore body armour and gas masks, and carried makeshift shields and sticks.Fernando Cheung, a pro-democracy legislator, warned that the protests will continue and is heading towards more escalation of violence.
The demonstrators are demanding direct elections for the semi-autonomous Chinese territory’s leader, the resignation of the current leader, and an investigation into police use of force to quell earlier protests.
Hong Kong-based journalist Kris Cheng said calls are growing for general strikes and noted the situation was unlikely to improve until the protesters’ demands are met.
Hong Kongers are locked in a fight against embattled Chief Executive Carrie Lam and her supporters in the Chinese government, in a bid to maintain its individual freedoms.
In a rare move, Beijing is set to address the unrest in a press conference this evening.Photos show tens of thousands of people on the streets, holding umbrellas and battling police batons and tear gas.
Hong Kong returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” agreement that promised wide-ranging freedoms denied to citizens in mainland China, but many fear Beijing is increasingly chipping away at those freedoms.
Police arrested 13 people, including march organiser Max Chung, for offences including unlawful assembly, possession of offensive weapon and assault, according to police and Hong Kong media.The Hospital Authority said 24 people were taken to five hospitals.
