Chindia Alert: You’ll be Living in their World Very Soon
aims to alert you to the threats and opportunities that China and India present. China and India require serious attention; case of ‘hidden dragon and crouching tiger’.
Without this attention, governments, businesses and, indeed, individuals may find themselves at a great disadvantage sooner rather than later.
The POSTs (front webpages) are mainly 'cuttings' from reliable sources, updated continuously.
The PAGEs (see Tabs, above) attempt to make the information more meaningful by putting some structure to the information we have researched and assembled since 2006.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption Around 300,000 in Hong Kong hold a British National (Overseas) passport
The UK has said it is considering more rights for holders of a special passport issued to some people in Hong Kong.
The territory, which used to be a British colony, was handed back to China in 1997. Anyone born before then is eligible to apply for a British National (Overseas) passport, known as a BNO.
If China implements a controversial proposed security law, people holding the BNO, could get a “path to citizenship”, the UK said.
What is the BNO and who has one?
The BNO passport is essentially a travel document that does not carry citizenship rights with it – although you are entitled to some consular assistance outside of Hong Kong and China with it.
It was issued to people in Hong Kong by the UK before Hong Kong was handed over to China.
Around 300,000 people currently hold a BNO passport, allowing them to visit the UK visa-free for six months. An estimated 2.9 million people are eligible for a BNO passport, said the British Consulate General in Hong Kong.
Though it gives the passport holder the right to remain in the UK for up to six months, it doesn’t automatically allow them to reside or work there. They also aren’t allowed to access public funds, including things like government benefits.
BNO holders cannot pass this status on to their children.
What is the UK proposing – and why?
China on Thursday formally approved a plan to impose controversial national security legislation in Hong Kong. It could go into effect as early as the end of June.
Hong Kong was handed back to China, on a number of conditions. These include the region’s high level of autonomy and maintaining certain rights like freedom of speech that do not exist in mainland China.
But this new plan, if put into law, would make it a crime to undermine Beijing’s authority in Hong Kong, and many are concerned it could end Hong Kong’s unique status.
The move triggered a wave of criticism around the world, with many – including Chris Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong – urging the UK to stand up for the territory.
Image caption Under current rules, BNO holders are allowed to stay for six months
Later on Thursday, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the country would move to scrap the six-month stay limit for BNO holders if China goes on to officially implement the law.
Mr Raab said that BNO passport holders would be allowed to “apply to work and study for extendable periods of 12 months and that will itself provide a pathway to future citizenship”.
What difference could it make?
As a way to help people in Hong Kong who would rather not stay there if the new security laws are implemented, it might prove more symbolic.
For starters only a small percentage of people in Hong Kong currently have a BNO.
But also, the people who the security laws are aimed at – the young anti-mainland protesters who have been getting into violent confrontations with police for months – are not likely to be eligible for the BNO because of their age.
Additionally, though the BNO gives the passport holder the right to visit the UK for up to a year potentially, it’s not clear what other benefits the extension might bring, or if the UK would make it any easier administratively for those already in the country to apply for work or study.
On social media, some Hong Kongers dismissed it as a gesture that amounted to little more than a 12-month tourist visa.
Effectively, it means that those who come to stay in the UK for a year, and who have the funds to be able to extend this enough, could eventually be eligible to apply for citizenship.
It cuts out some of the administrative hoops BNO holders would have had to jump through before this move if they wanted this path.
How has China reacted?
China has firmly opposed the move by the UK, saying it is a violation of the handover agreement that stipulates BNO passport holders do not enjoy UK residency.
China has repeatedly warned Britain to stay out of its affairs in Hong Kong.
The Chinese ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming had previously accused some British politicians of viewing Hong Kong “as part of the British empire”.
not long ago – unless they have a child addicted to the wildly popular app, on which users make and share short, amusing videos.
It has grown explosively since its 2016 launch, with 800 million monthly active users now – 300 million of them outside China in places such as India (120 million) and the
(37 million). And many have no idea it is owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance.
The first Chinese app to mount a real global challenge to Facebook and Instagram, it is seen as one of the shiniest new weapons in the US-China technology war. And a boost, perhaps, to Chinese soft power.
TikTok, the missing link between Hong Kong and Indian protesters?
9 Feb 2020
It experienced a growth spurt in 2019 that analysts predicted would slow a little this year. That, however, was before the coronavirus, which seems to be giving the app a bump, especially beyond its core teenage fan base.
As pandemic fears rise and millions are stuck indoors, major Hollywood celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, 50, have taken to posting their own all-singing, all-dancing videos, which then go viral on other media platforms.
Even the World Health Organisation has jumped on the bandwagon, joining the app in late February to share public health advice.
The TikTok logo on a smartphone. Photo: Getty Images
But to some, the growth of TikTok is far from benign.
Privacy advocates and several US congressmen want to rein in the app over concerns it may censor and monitor content for the Chinese government, and be used for misinformation and election interference. This despite the fact that TikTok keeps its servers outside China and swears it will not hand over user data.
Are these fears justified – or fuelled by political and anticompetitive motives?
Thinkers such as Yuval Noah Harari warn that the coronavirus pandemic could be a watershed in the history of mass surveillance.
But Eric Harwit, a professor of Asian studies at the University of Hawaii, does not buy such arguments against TikTok, especially given that 60 per cent of its US users are aged 16 to 24.
“ByteDance has done a pretty good job of having a firewall between TikTok and the Chinese version of it, Douyin.
TikTok, iPhone: all you need to escape Mumbai’s slums – for 15 seconds
1 Nov 2019
“Also, many users in the US are teens and they’re not a particularly useful source of national security information.
“So I’d say the concerns are motivated more by a general fear of any kind of Chinese telecommunication application rather than actual attempts to siphon off valuable US intelligence information.
“And Facebook and other American companies have similar products,” Harwit points out. “US government officials will always want to protect American commercial interests.”
Sarah Cook, a China analyst for Freedom House – the US government-funded think tank – disagrees.
“We have concerns about how Facebook and Twitter deal with information affecting electoral politics, and that’s magnified if you’re talking about a Chinese company that now has a user base that rivals theirs.”
Chinese officials, she argues, have shown a willingness to censor and manipulate information well beyond their country’s borders – for instance, regarding the scale of the initial outbreak in Wuhan, an obfuscation that may have exacerbated its impact abroad.
“For those who think Chinese government censorship is only Chinese people’s problem, this pandemic shows how much that’s not the case.
“And even if it’s not happening right now with TikTok, the concern is that Chinese companies are beholden to their government, whether they want to be or not.
“I’m not saying block TikTok entirely,” she says. “It’s a question of looking at it in a democratic system and deciding on reasonable oversight and safeguards to protect users and information flows when that time comes.”
When it comes to expanding China’s cultural influence, though, neither Cook nor Harwit believes the app is especially effective.
Most people are oblivious to its Chinese origins, which the user experience does not reflect in any way. So there is no goodwill-generating soft power of the sort wielded by, say,
If anything, TikTok often promotes the increasingly homogenous, Western-leaning culture seen on many globally popular social media apps.
So says Morten Bay, a lecturer in digital and social media at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
“A semi-Western culture, with small variations of local culture, is becoming the norm on social media. And Chinese soft power is difficult to assert because there’s no value difference.”
And even if Chinese tech companies keep taking bigger bites of the Western market, he is sceptical of China’s “ability to leverage that for soft power in a geopolitical sense”.
“Because there is a very big apparatus pushing against China in that regard. As soon as TikTok started gaining traction in the US, people came out against it, trying to make everyone aware of the privacy and geopolitical issues.
The #KaunsiBadiBaatHai campaign on TikTok aims to raise awareness about women’s safety issues in India. Image: TikTok
“So China faces a lot of resistance,” Bay concludes. “And I’m not sure a social media platform on its own can do much about that.”
Still, if you had to back a horse in this race, TikTok would be it, says Zhang Mengmeng.
When she and her colleagues from global industry analysis firm Counterpoint Research visited the company, they were impressed by its research and development capabilities.
“Because they’re a very young company, their pace for incubating new projects is a lot faster, especially compared to successful but older internet companies in China which have been around for 15 to 20 years.
Indian invasion of Chinese social media apps sparks fear and loathing in New Delhi
28 Apr 2019
“They have lots of little start-up projects within the company and their organisational structure is very flat – it doesn’t matter what your age is, if you have a good idea, you get promoted very quickly.”
TikTok’s rise is also emblematic of a broader role reversal in the US-China tech war, she believes.
“Before, the US was more advanced in terms of internet development and China seemed to just copy its new ideas. Now, this is reversing. There are so many people in China using the internet that start-ups there can test ideas very easily.
“So now it seems like a lot of US companies are trying to see what ideas are coming out of China.” ■
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s ruling party was projected to lose a key state election on Tuesday, the vote count showed, in its first electoral test since deadly anti-government protests erupted nearly two months ago.
The Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi won a bigger majority in a general election in May, but it has lost a string of state elections since then.
The protests, in which at least 25 people have been killed, erupted across the country in mid-December, after the BJP passed a new citizenship law critics say violates India’s secular constitution and discriminates against minority Muslims.
In counting for state polls held in India’s capital New Delhi, data from India’s Election Commission showed the liberal Aam Aadmi Party, led by the city’s chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, leading 57 out of 70 seats.
The BJP ran a campaign accusing protesters of supporting India’s arch-rival Pakistan and was projected to win 13 seats, up from three in 2015 but far below its own expectations. The party’s local chief Manoj Tiwari had predicted it would win a majority.
AAP activists in distinctive white boat-shaped caps danced outside party headquarters in New Delhi as the result became clear, TV channels showed.
Neelanjan Sircar, an assistant professor at Ashoka University near New Delhi, said that local issues, including delivery of basic services like education and health, appeared to sway voters towards the AAP, even as the BJP ran a polarising campaign on the back of Modi’s image.
“Modi is a larger than life character at the national level, which obviously gives the BJP a huge advantage in national politics,” Sircar said.
“But it doesn’t translate to state level politics, where the BJP often doesn’t have a charismatic face.”
Bespectacled former bureaucrat Kejriwal, 51, formed AAP in 2012 amid an anti-corruption movement that swept India.
The party won a stunning victory in 2015 state elections in the capital, wiping out the BJP and Congress, the party that has ruled India for half its post-independence history.
The Congress – the main opposition at national level – was projected to win no seats in Delhi on Tuesday, data showed, reflecting the deep decline in its fortunes.
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Violent clashes erupted in Delhi between police and hundreds of university students on Friday over the enactment of a new citizenship law that critics say undermines India’s secular foundations.
The unrest has already led Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to cancel a planned visit to India from Sunday.
The new law offers a way to Indian citizenship for six minority religious groups from neighbouring Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan including Hindus and Christians, but not Muslims.
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Explainer: What does India’s new citizenship law mean?
Clashes erupt in New Delhi between students, police over citizenship law
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Police fired tear gas and used baton charges to disperse scores of students demonstrating at Jamia Millia Islamia university in the heart of Delhi over the law.
Protesters attacked cars in the capital, and several people were injured and taken to hospital.
Zakir Riyaz, a PhD student in social work, said the new law made a mockery of India’s religious openness.
“It goes against the whole idea of a secular India,” he said, speaking by phone from the Holy Family Hospital in New Delhi where 15 of his fellow students were admitted after being injured in a police baton charge.
Police barricades were knocked down and streets were strewn with shoes and broken bricks. An official at the university dispensary said that more than 100 students had been brought in with injuries but all had been discharged.
Parvez Hashmi, a local politician who went to the protest site to speak to police, said about 50 students had been detained.
Students said it was meant to be a peaceful protest, with them trying to go from Jamia University to Parliament Street to show their opposition to the legislation. But police pushed them back, leading to clashes.
Critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government say it is promoting a Hindu-first agenda for India and that the citizenship law excluding Muslims showed a deep-seated bias against India’s 170 million Muslims.
Imran Chowdhury, a researcher, said “either give citizenship to refugees of all religions or none at all. The constitution is being tampered with in the name of religion.”
Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party denies any religious bias but says it is opposed to the appeasement of one community. It says the new law is meant to help minority groups facing persecution in the three nearby Muslim countries.
ABE CANCELS
The United Nations human rights office voiced concern that the new law is “fundamentally discriminatory in nature”, and called for it to be reviewed.
Two people were killed in India’s Assam state on Thursday when police opened fire on mobs torching buildings and attacking railway stations in protest at the new citizenship rules signed into law on Thursday.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cancelled a trip to Assam for a summit with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi that had been due to begin on Sunday.
Japan has stepped up infrastructure development work in Assam in recent years, which the two sides were expected to highlight during the summit. Abe had also planned to visit a memorial in the nearby state of Manipur where Japanese soldiers were killed in World War Two.
“With reference to the proposed visit of Japanese PM Abe Shinzo to India, both sides have decided to defer the visit to a mutually convenient date in the near future,” Indian foreign ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said both countries would decide on the appropriate timing for the visit although nothing has been decided yet.
A movement against immigrants from Bangladesh has raged in Assam for decades. Protesters there say granting Indian nationality to more people will further strain the state’s resources and lead to the marginalisation of indigenous communities.
HONG KONG (Reuters) – China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers in shorts and t-shirts made a surprising appearance in some Hong Kong streets on Saturday, briefly helping residents clean up debris after anti-government protests blocked roads, witnesses said.
The presence of PLA troops on the streets, even to help clean up roads near their base, could stoke further controversy over the Chinese-ruled territory’s autonomous status.
Hong Kong has been rocked by more than five months of demonstrations by protesters angry at perceived Communist Party meddling in the former British colony, which was guaranteed its freedoms when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Beijing denies interfering and has blamed the unrest on foreign influences.
Clashes between protesters and police have become increasingly violent. China has warned that any attempt at independence for Hong Kong will be crushed, but troops have remained inside their base.
RELATED COVERAGE
China’s PLA soldiers seen helping clean up streets after Hong Kong protests – RTHK
Saturday’s clean up followed some of the worst violence seen this year, after a police operation against protesters at the Chinese University of Hong Kong on Tuesday.
The authorities have since largely stayed away from at least five university campuses that had been barricaded by thousands of students and activists who stockpiled petrol bombs, catapults, bows and arrows and other weapons.
Many protesters appeared to have left the campuses by late Saturday, though some remained behind to man makeshift barricades. Hong Kong’s Cross-Harbour Tunnel was still blocked by protesters occupying Polytechnic University.
Earlier, hundreds of pro-China demonstrators gathered by the city’s legislature and police headquarters, waving Chinese and Hong Kong flags. Some held up posters reading “Police we stand with you”, while others chanted “Support the police”.
Pro-China protests have so far attracted much smaller numbers than those angry at Beijing.
RARE TROOP PRESENCE
By late afternoon, the PLA soldiers had left the streets outside Baptist University, beside their barracks in leafy Kowloon Tong.
Chinese troops have appeared on local streets only once since the 1997 handover, to help with cleanup operations after a typhoon in late 2018. It was not immediately clear how many were involved on Saturday.
Calls to the PLA Hong Kong garrison office and a media liaison officer went unanswered.
Demosistō, a pro-democracy organisation, said Saturday’s cleanup operation could set a “grave precedent” if the city’s government invites the military to deal with internal problems.
In August, Beijing moved thousands of troops across the border into Hong Kong in what state news agency Xinhua described as a routine “rotation”.
Foreign envoys and security analysts estimate up to 12,000 troops are now based across Hong Kong — more than double the usual garrison number.
Standing beside a black flag with the slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our Times,” James Wong, 23, was among a handful of protesters still manning a bridge at Baptist University.
“We didn’t want to confront the people and the PLA troops directly,” he told Reuters. “We are not directly against the PLA, but rather the government. But the PLA should not leave their base because this is Hong Kong territory.”
Wong said even after the campus fortifications have been dismantled “Hong Kong will keep resisting until the government responds to our demands”.
Hundreds of residents moved in to help clear barricaded roads near several universities.
Clashes on Saturday saw at least one petrol bomb thrown before anti-government protesters at the campuses retreated. No soldiers appeared to have been involved in the confrontations.
“We just want our lives to continue,” said one resident who was helping clear streets near HKU. “There are many elderly who need to go the hospital and children who need to go to school. I am very sad to see what is happening in my community.”
PRO-POLICE DEMONSTRATION
Saturday’s rally to denounce the anti-government violence drew a mix of young and elderly.
“From the bottom of our hearts, we believe it is the correct thing to support the police in fighting the rioters for Hong Kong citizens,” said a 49-year-old housewife surnamed Kong.
“A lot of people keep silent, afraid of the rioters. It’s time for all the people who are silent to step up and say that’s enough.”
A 70-year-old street cleaner died on Thursday after being hit on the head by one of several bricks police said had been thrown by “masked rioters”. On Monday, police blamed a “rioter” for dousing a man in petrol and setting him on fire. The victim is in critical condition.
On the same day, police shot a protester in the abdomen. He was in a stable condition.
Many pro-police protesters laid white flowers outside the government office to pay their respects to the cleaner. Others applauded and cheered the police, some bowing and giving thumbs up as they walked past riot police on duty.
Authorities said on Saturday that a highway blocked by anti-government protesters on Friday had reopened after being cleared of debris and petrol bombs.
Train services suspended earlier in the week were gradually resuming, metro operator MTR Corp (0066.HK) said.
Hong Kong’s rule of law has been pushed to the “brink of total collapse” after more than five months of protests, police have warned.
The warning came as protesters clashed with police across the city on Tuesday.
At the Chinese University of Hong Kong, police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters who built barricades on the campus.
Earlier in the day, around 1,000 protesters rallied in central Hong Kong during the lunch hour blocking roads
Protesters, wearing office clothes, were seen chanting: “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong!”
The demonstrations come just a day after the territory saw a marked escalation in violence, with police shooting one activist in the torso. A pro-Beijing supporter was set on fire by anti-government protesters.
The protests started in June against a now-withdrawn plan to allow extradition to mainland China, but have since morphed into wider demonstrations, with activists demanding greater democracy and police accountability in Hong Kong.
On Tuesday afternoon, police spokesman Kong Wing-cheung hit out at the protesters, saying they had “countless examples of rioters using random and indiscriminate violence against innocent” people.
“Hong Kong’s rule of law has been pushed to the brink of total collapse as masked rioters recklessly escalate their violence under the hope that they can get away with it,” he told reporters, adding that Monday’s attack on the pro-Beijing supporter was being investigated as attempted murder.
Image copyright AFPImage caption Protesters and office workers were seen blocking roads in Hong Kong’s financial district
Speaking at the same conference, Supt Li Kwai-wah defended the officer’s decision to shoot the protester on Monday.
“We found out that our colleague did not only face threat from one person, instead it was a group of people with an organised plan attempting to steal the gun,” he said.
“In a situation like this, we believe our police are reacting according to the guideline, to protect themselves as well as the people around them.”
Both the protester and the pro-Beijing supporter remain in hospital, with the latter in a critical condition.
What happened on Tuesday?
Clashes erupted at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, with police firing tear gas to disperse students, while at City University there was a standoff between students and riot police which continued into the evening.
Police continued to use tear gas to try to disperse the protesters who responded with bricks and petrol bombs. Hundreds of protesters remain at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Image copyright REUTERSImage caption Students at Hong Kong’s Chinese University fought with police throughout the day
Students built roadblocks on streets in and around City University campus to stop police from entering. At one stage, a van used as part of a street barricade was set on fire.
Students at Hong Kong Polytechnic also tried to disrupt traffic near their campus.
In the morning, suspended railway services and road closures had already led to long traffic jams in the early rush hour. At noon, protesters moved into the city’s central business district for a flash mob protest.
Image copyright REUTERSImage caption At Festival Walk shopping mall, a Christmas tree was set on fire
Protests continued to intensify throughout the day. A Christmas tree inside Festival Walk shopping mall was set on fire by protesters while others were seen smashing a glass railing with hammers.
Train stations were closed across the city.
Media caption This Hong Kong protester’s shooting was livestreamed on Facebook
Eight universities have announced they will suspend classes on Wednesday.
Monday’s protests saw 260 people arrested bringing the number to more than 3,000 since the protests began in June.
Students swear they will not surrender
Grace Tsoi, BBC World Service, at the Chinese University of Hong Kong
Image copyright AFPImage caption Hundreds of protesters remain at the university
The ground was strewn with bricks. The air was filled with the smell of tear gas. Fire was raging on campus. Hundreds of protesters, most of them clad in black, formed human chains to pass bricks and petrol bombs to the front line.
One of the best universities in Hong Kong has turned into a battlefield after another day of intense clashes between students, who have been at the forefront of anti-government protests, and police.
The Chinese University students have been putting up resistance since the morning. On Monday, police seemed to change strategy by deploying forces to campuses. Students told me they should not be allowed there.
The university’s management has tried to deescalate the situation. Vice-chancellor Rocky Tuan was also tear gassed as he was negotiating with police.
Dozens of students have been injured, including at least one hit in the eye by a projectile. The night is young and students swear they will not surrender.
Image copyright 3RD SPACEImage caption The Guy Fawkes mask has been worn by many protesters during anti government rallies
A Hong Kong protest-themed cake has been disqualified from a cake decorating competition in the UK, in a move that has been referred to as “political censorship”.
It featured protest symbols including umbrellas and a Guy Fawkes mask.
The company behind the cake told the BBC it believed it was pulled after complaints from Chinese competitors.
But the Birmingham competition organisers said it was because one element of the cake was oversized.
Anti-government protests have been taking place in Hong Kong for five months.
They first erupted in June, triggered by a controversial bill that would have allowed extradition to mainland China.
The bill has been withdrawn but the protests have continued, having evolved into a broader revolt against the way Hong Kong is administered by Beijing.
‘Obvious it was an excuse’
The cake was one of many displayed this year at the Cake International competition, held in the city of Birmingham from 1- 3 November.
It draws competitors from all over the world.
The entry by a baker from the 3rd Space cafe in Hong Kong included fake tear gas and a figure made to look like a typical protester clad in black and wearing a hard hat.
Image copyright 3RD SPACEImage caption A man in a yellow hard hat, carrying an umbrella, was one element of the cakeImage copyright 3RD SPACEImage caption The cake also had umbrellas which had fake “tear gas” coming out of them
It was inspired by the “streets [of] Hong Kong”, the spokesperson for the cafe told the BBC.
“The design was simply an expression of what is happening at the moment in Hong Kong,” the spokesperson added.
A music box placed inside the cake also played “Glory to Hong Kong”- a tune which has been adopted as the unofficial anthem of the protests – on loop.
But according to 3rd Space, Cake International decided to take action after it received numerous “complaints from Chinese candidates”, who said the cake featured “offensive content… promoting [the] independence of Hong Kong”.
Cake International first decided to turn the music off, before later sending the baker an email telling them that the cake would be “removed”, said 3rd space.
Dozens of people later took to Cake International’s social media platforms complaining, accusing the organisers of pandering to “censorship”.
The protests have presented a serious challenge to China’s leaders, who have painted the demonstrators as dangerous separatists and accused foreign powers of backing them.
On Tuesday night, thousands of protesters gathered in shopping malls across Hong Kong chanting slogans and singing Glory to Hong Kong.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption Many protesters flooded shopping malls
In the popular shopping district of Mongkok, a sea of protesters dressed in black were seen congregating across the different levels of one mall.
Jason Y. Ng
✔@jasonyng
Hundreds of shoppers spontaneously assembled at a mall atrium and broke into song. They sang “Glory to Hong Kong,” an ersatz national anthem (coz we aren’t a national and haven’t the right to an anthem). People ask what Communist China is most afraid of—the answer is right here.
Another video showed protesters chanting “Go Hong Kong” – a phrase that has been used frequently as a sign of encouragement.
Shopping malls have been the scene of clashes in recent weeks, with one incident in July seeing riot police fight battles with protesters inside a mall in the district of Sha Tin.
Without true democracy, HKer shall never surrender! This video shows citizens are gathered in a mall and cheering each other up after singing the song of #HKprotest “Glory to Hong Kong”.
The new rallying cry has joined other popular songs used by the protest movement, including Do You Hear the People Sing? from musical Les Miserables and the Christian hymn Sing Hallelujah to the Lord.
It was also heard at the Hong Kong v Iran football match on Tuesday at Hong Kong Stadium.
#Hongkong soccer fans booing the #Chinese national anthem tonight. Footy fans also have their backs to the field. Carrie Lam’s administration had been planning to introduce tough new penalties for booing the anthem but this can’t be easy to bring in in the city’s current climate. https://twitter.com/SCMPHongKong/status/1171411414801534977 …
The 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifier saw thousands of protesting booing when the Chinese national anthem played before the start of the game.
The jeering, which could be heard from outside the stadium, was intended as a clear “message” to Beijing that they do not want to be part of China in the future, says the BBC’s Nick Beake who was at the game.
Nick Beake
✔@Beaking_News
VIDEO: The moment #HongKong football fans began booing #China national anthem before the start of their @FIFAWorldCup qualifier against #Iran. #CarrieLam ‘s govt has delayed (another) controversial new law that could give 3 year prison term for disrespecting anthem. @BBCWorld
Hong Kong, formerly a British colony, returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Under the “one country, two systems” rule, the city is granted a high level of autonomy, an independent judiciary and rights such as freedom of speech.
But those freedoms – the Basic Law – expire in 2047 and it is not clear what Hong Kong’s status will then be.
There has been growing anti-mainland sentiment in recent years, and anger at what many feel is increasing mainland interference in Hong Kong affairs.
Media caption Protesters sang the US anthem outside the consulate
This reached a tipping point when the Hong Kong parliament proposed a new law that would have enabled suspects in Hong Kong to be extradited to China.
Hundreds of thousands of people marched on the streets in protest of the law, demanding that it be abandoned. The government initially suspended in June, and then finally dropped earlier this week – almost three months after protests first begun.
But protesters have said this is “too little, too late”, and their demands have evolved into calls for a much wider set of reforms, including a call for universal suffrage.
HONG KONG, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) — The Hong Kong International Airport started to resume operation on Wednesday after chaos and flight cancellations caused by protesters.
Passengers are now able to conduct check-in procedures after tickets or purchase vouchers are checked by airport staff. A demonstration area has been marked out at the arrival hall.
Airport Authority Hong Kong said earlier Wednesday that it has obtained an interim injunction to restrain persons from unlawfully and willfully obstructing or interfering with the proper use of the airport.
The authority emphasized that persons are also restrained from attending or participating in any demonstration or protest or public order event in the airport other than in the area designated by the airport authority.
The interim injunction expressly provides that nothing in the interim injunction shall be construed as authorizing any demonstration, protest or public order event contrary to the Public Order Ordinance.
Many of the passengers, who have their flights delayed or changed, are still waiting at the airport for confirmation of their departure time.
“It was totally chaos last night and those people in black were everywhere. We were very scared,” said Maria, a passenger from the Philippines. “I just hope we can fly on time today.”
“I’m very angry. Some of the protesters said they were sorry but I think they were just having fun here, obstructing us,” said Pia from Germany. “I can’t believe this could be happening in the 21st century.”
“I only wish I can leave Hong Kong safely and go back home,” she said.
As one of the busiest in the world, the Hong Kong International Airport handled an average of 200,000 travelers each day in 2018.
Frank Chan, secretary for transport and housing of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, said paralyzing the airport will make Hong Kong “pay a heavy price.”
“Amid fierce regional competition, it is very easy to destroy years of achievements the airport has accomplished, but rebuilding them will be very hard,” Chan said.
Police in Hong Kong have been fighting running battles with activists in a third consecutive day of protests, after a call for a general strike caused widespread disruption on Monday.
Protesters blocked roads and paralysed train services at peak times on a day of action across the city.
More than 200 flights were cancelled as the protests entered their ninth week.
Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie Lam, has pledged to restore law and order, rejecting calls for her resignation.
Initially the demonstrations, which began on 9 June, focused on a controversial extradition law, which would have allowed the transfer of suspects to mainland China. However, the protests have now become a wider challenge to Beijing’s authority.
Ms Lam warned that Hong Kong was “on the verge of a very dangerous situation”.
Media caption Protests take place in Hong Kong for the ninth weekend – for and against the authorities
In her first media address in two weeks, Ms Lam said the protesters’ actions had challenged the principle of “one country, two systems” – the extra freedoms granted to Hong Kong when it was returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997.
She also accused activists of using the extradition bill as a cover for their real goals.
“We continue to allow these violent protesters to make use of the [extradition] bill to conceal their ulterior motives,” she said. “Those ulterior motives are going to destroy Hong Kong.”
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The Chinese foreign ministry said no one should underestimate China’s resolve to safeguard the stability of Hong Kong, Reuters news agency reports.
What happened on Monday?
Police fired tear gas at several locations as protesters rallied into the night, setting fires and besieging police stations. In the North Point district, which has a reputation for pro-Beijing sympathies, men wielding long poles clashed with demonstrators before falling back.
More than 80 people were arrested, in addition to the 420 detained since 9 June. In that time, police said they had used more than 1,000 tear gas canisters and 160 rubber bullets.
Protest leaders had called for a general strike. While many people made it to work, in some areas protesters blocked trains from leaving stations and scuffled with commuters. Several lines of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) were suspended for a time, and the Cross-Harbour Tunnel was also blocked.
One video circulating on Twitter reportedly showed a car in the district of Yuen Long forcefully hitting a barricade set up by protesters, injuring one person.
It is not clear how many joined the strike, but tens of thousands of protesters were out on the streets. Several shops and businesses were closed, including international fashion retailers like Topshop and Zara.
Hong Kong airport, one of the busiest in the world, said travellers should check its website and seek updates directly from the airlines.
Most of the cancelled flights were with local carriers Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Airlines.
The protests were initially sparked by a controversial bill that would allow China to extradite suspects from Hong Kong to the mainland.
Critics said it would undermine the territory’s judicial independence and could be used to target those who spoke out against the Chinese government.
Although the bill has now been suspended, demonstrators want it fully withdrawn.
Their demands have broadened to include an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality, Ms Lam’s resignation, and the dropping of riot charges linked to the protests.
Last week, more than 40 activists appeared in court charged with rioting. If convicted, they could be jailed for up to 10 years.
The Chinese army has so far stayed out of the dispute, but China’s top policy office in Hong Kong has previously condemned the protests, calling them “horrendous incidents” that have caused “serious damage to the rule of law”.
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