New one million-strong anti-China protest in Hong Kong
Hong Kong was once again rocked by street protests over the weekend. More than a million people took to the streets of Hong Kong, despite threats from China and heavy rain, demanding, among other things, free elections.
Despite Beijing's threats of military intervention in Hong Kong, more than a million pro-democracy supporters took to the streets of the former British colony, with Victoria Park as the rally center on Sunday, Aug. 18, filling the streets.
The German news agency writes that heavy rain did not prevent participants in today's demonstration in Hong Kong from loudly chanting slogans in defense of freedom and democracy. The demonstration was held peacefully until late at night (local time).
The Civil Rights Front Union had called for people to join the protests today. The union had previously managed to block the local pro-China parliament's plan to extradite suspects to the People's Republic of China. Meanwhile, the slogans of the Hong Kong protests have increasingly targeted the entire Chinese government.
Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997, when it was returned to China. The island city will actually enjoy special status and rights until 2047. But many Hong Kong citizens are worried that these special rights will be taken away from them.
The demonstration of more than one million people on Sunday in Hong Kong, which has a population of nearly seven and a half million, is seen as an indication of the extent of its citizens' support for the pro-democracy movement.
While a German news agency reporter estimated the number of demonstrators at over one million, protest organizers said 1.7 million people took part and police said 128,000 people were in Victoria Park. Police did not release figures on the total number of participants in the demonstration.
Despite the official ban, tens of thousands of people were still peacefully marching in the streets at around midnight local time. But the police did not intervene.
The Hong Kong Civil Rights Front announced that there would be another large demonstration on August 31, and "today was not the end of the matter."
China has yet to officially respond to the Hong Kong protests on Sunday.
Speakers at the rally repeatedly urged the crowd to remain calm. “We hope to show the world that the people of Hong Kong can remain calm,” one protest organizer told the German news agency.
The German news agency reports that when the heavy rain started, the protesters opened their umbrellas. No one went home because of it.
In recent days, China has been making serious threats to Hong Kong protesters. Given the movements of Chinese military forces near Hong Kong, there has been concern that China may resort to a crackdown on protesters in Hong Kong, as it did in Beijing in 1989.
In addition to criticizing the local parliament in Hong Kong, which is pro-China, the participants in the demonstrations are demanding free elections and an investigation into police violence against protesters and participants in past demonstrations.
Ahead of Sunday's protests, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini stressed in a statement that steps needed to be taken as soon as possible to de-escalate tensions in Hong Kong. She said it was important for both sides to engage in direct dialogue. Mogherini warned that citizens' rights, which are rooted in Hong Kong's laws, must not be undermined. She stressed that the "one country, two systems" principle, under which Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of autonomy, must be upheld.
Source: DW
