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Jul 29, 2019
Politics | China Warns Hong Kong Unrest Goes ‘Far Beyond’ Peaceful Protest
Bloomberg News
6-8 minutes
China warned that Hong Kong’s unrest had gone “far
beyond” peaceful protest, after a chaotic weekend of tear gas and
clashes illustrated the government’s struggle to quell a leaderless,
unpredictable and widespread movement.
China’s top agency
overseeing Hong Kong condemned “evil and criminal acts committed by
radical elements” in an unprecedented briefing Monday. While officials
reaffirmed support for the city’s government and police force, the
decision to address foreign media in Beijing signaled growing concern as
eight weeks of unprecedented unrest start to shake business confidence
in the former British colony.
Special Tactical Squad clash with demonstrators in Hong Kong, on July 28.
Photographer: Justin Chin/Bloomberg“The
central government is in quite a difficult situation over Hong Kong,”
Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations and director of the
Center for American Studies at Renmin University. “Today’s statements by
the Hong Kong affairs office generally is to assure that the central
government is supporting the Hong Kong government to take more police
action against the violent protesters.”
The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, which answers to
China’s cabinet, was compelled to respond after three days of protest
that saw unauthorized demonstrations across four districts, including
the airport and downtown shopping areas. Police on Sunday night fired
clouds of tear gas over demonstrators in the normally buzzing area of
Sai Ying Pun, which also hosts the main Chinese government office in
Hong Kong.
At least 49 people were arrested Sunday after bricks, glass
bottles and paint bombs were hurled at police and traffic signs were
removed. The events followed a day of clashes in the northwestern suburb
of Yuen Long, where a stick-wielding mob had attacked activists a week
earlier.
As the city cleaned up Monday, the American Chamber of Commerce’s Hong Kong chapter urged government action
to address grievances underlying the protests, saying steps must be
taken to restore sagging confidence and calling for the withdrawal of
extradition legislation that sparked demonstrations. A survey of chamber
members found deepening perception that Hong Kong had become a “riskier
place” to do business.
The developments raised new fears that the violence may
continue to escalate, forcing Chinese President Xi Jinping to send in
the military or take other actions that undermine the “high degree of
autonomy” promised to Hong Kong before its 1997 return. Xi has so far
maintained support for the city’s embattled leader, Chief Executive
Carrie Lam.
Yang Guang in Beijing on July 29.
Photographer: Gilles Sabrie/BloombergChina’s
statements supporting the police and playing down any prospect of
military action, appeared to relieve some earlier market anxiety. The
MSCI Hong Kong Index closed 1.6% lower on Monday, after slipping as much
as 2.2%.
“What has happened in Hong Kong recently has gone far beyond
the scope of peaceful march and demonstration, undermined Hong Kong’s
prosperity and stability, and touched on the bottom line of the
principle of ‘one country, two systems’,” HKMAO spokesman Yang Guang
said. “No civilized society under the rule of law would ever allow acts
of violence to take place.”
Yang didn’t rule out military action,
pointing to a section of law that gave Hong Kong authorities the power
to request support. He outlined three bottom lines for the city: No harm
to national security, no challenge to the central government’s
authority and no using Hong Kong as a base to undermine China.
Hong Kong Protesters Changed Tactics
Protesters marched in opposite directions from Chater Garden on Sunday
Sources: Bloomberg reporting, Google Earth
Still, opposition lawmakers said the agency did
little to resolve a crisis that they trace to the city’s inability to
elect its own leaders. In a news conference Monday, lawmakers accused
the government of shifting the blame to radical protesters, Western
countries and the foreign media.
“Beijing tried to make some
feeble attempt to help maintain what they assume are the security
problems in Hong Kong,” said Claudio Mo, a legislator and high-profile
participant in several peaceful marches. “That won’t help the governance
and political crisis that Hong Kong is facing.”
The shifting
tactics employed by black-shirted protesters on Sunday seemed to catch
the police off guard. First, they marched east through the city’s
central business district, then west, before spontaneously splitting in
two. By evening, the police were firing tear gas and rubber bullets in
battles with brick-throwing protesters in narrow city streets.
Demonstrators are shrouded in a cloud of tear gas in Hong Kong on July 28.
Photographer: Justin Chin/BloombergEarlier
Monday, an edition of the Communist Party’s flagship newspaper urged
stern action by Hong Kong’s police to restore order. “At a time like
this, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Government and the police
should not hesitate or have any unnecessary ‘psychological worries’
about taking necessary steps,” the piece published in the overseas
edition of the People’s Daily newspaper said.
Since it began, the protest movement has widened to include
calls for Lam’s resignation and an investigation into the force used by
police as they’ve dispersed crowds. In recent weeks protesters have
focused their anger on China itself, amid fears their freedoms are being
increasingly restricted under Beijing’s rule.
“Even Carrie Lam’s
resignation and universal suffrage aren’t going to resolve the crisis in
Hong Kong,” said Oscar Cheung, an office worker in his twenties, as he
gathered in a downtown area on Sunday. “The truth is China is having a
tighter and tighter grip on Hong Kong and our rights.” — With assistance by Iain Marlow, Dandan Li, Jinshan Hong, Sofia Horta e Costa, and Chloe Whiteaker
(Updates throughout. An earlier version of this story corrected the name of the Hong Kong Economic Journal.)
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