HONG KONG (AP) — Chinese state media ran footage Tuesday of police in Hong Kong clearing protesters from streets in a break with its silence over several past days of pro-democracy demonstrations.
Beijing has largely sought to downplay the demonstrations that have highlighted doubts about the validity of its “one country, two systems” formula for governing the former British colony. Its coverage of the protests and the publication of a harsh editorial in the official Communist Party newspaper Global Times may indicate it is prepared to take a tougher line against the demonstrators following days of forbearance.
“These violent assailants in their arrogance pay no heed to Hong Kong’s law, no doubt arousing the anger and sadness of all people of the city of Hong Kong,” the editorial said.
Footage aired Tuesday showed police moving into roads surrounding the legislative council, where protesters smashed through glass and metal barriers to occupy the space for about three hours on Monday night.
Beijing had sought to suppress news of the weeks of protests coinciding with celebrations of Chinese rule. The demonstrations reflect mounting frustration with Hong Kong’s leader for not responding to demands after several weeks of protests sparked by a government attempt to change extradition laws to allow suspects to be sent to China for trial.
Hundreds of protesters swarmed into Hong Kong’s legislature Monday night, defacing portraits of lawmakers and spray-painting pro-democracy slogans in the chamber before vacating it as riot police cleared surrounding streets with tear gas and then moved inside.
The occupation came on the 22nd anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China.
Protesters whacked away at thick glass windows until they shattered and then pried open steel security gates. Police initially retreated as the protesters entered, avoiding a confrontation and giving them the run of the building.
Demonstrators stood on lawmakers’ desks and painted over the territory’s emblem on a wall. The crowd also wrote slogans calling for a democratic election of Hong Kong’s leader and denouncing the extradition legislation. Many wore yellow and white helmets, face masks and the black T-shirts that have become their uniform.
The actions prompted organizers of a separate peaceful march against the extradition bill to change the endpoint of their protest from the legislature to a nearby park, after police asked them to call it off or change the route. Police wanted the march to end earlier in the city’s Wan Chai district, but organizers said that would leave out many people who planned to join the march along the way.
Police estimated that 190,000 people joined the peaceful march, the third major one in as many weeks. Organizers put the number at 550,000.
The extradition proposal has heightened fears of eroding freedoms in the territory, which Britain returned to China on July 1, 1997. Debate on the measure has been suspended indefinitely. Protesters want the bills formally withdrawn and Hong Kong’s embattled leader, Carrie Lam, to resign.
Lam, who has come under withering criticism for trying to push the legislation through, called a rare pre-dawn news conference with security officials at police headquarters. She noted that two different protests happened Monday — one a generally orderly march that reflected Hong Kong’s inclusiveness, the other using vandalism and violence.
“This is something we should seriously condemn,” she said.
Lam disputed protesters’ complaints that officials had not responded to them, saying the government explained that by suspending the bill with no timetable or plan to revisit it, the legislation would die at the end of the current legislative session in July 2020.
For the other demands, she said releasing arrested protesters without an investigation would not uphold the rule of law.
The extradition bill controversy has given fresh momentum to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy opposition movement, awakening broader concerns that China is chipping away at the rights guaranteed to Hong Kong for 50 years under the “one country, two systems” framework. The two marches in June drew more than a million people, according to organizer estimates.
Surveying damage to the building on Tuesday morning, Legislative Council President Andrew Leung said the previous night’s violence had undermined “the core values of Hong Kong.” He said police were collecting evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
“I believe many Hong Kong people will share the same feeling with me that we are saddened by what happened last night. For the best interest of Hong Kong, I hope that all of us can find the way forward professionally,” Leung said.
