The recent violent protests in Hong Kong are ‘the work of the US,’ China’s foreign ministry spokesperson said today, reiterating that Beijing will not allow any foreign forces to interfere in the country’s internal affairs.
The remarks came after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said China should ‘do the right thing’ in dealing with protests in the territory, urging all sides to avoid violence.
‘I believe that Mr Pompeo … thinks that the recent violence in Hong Kong is reasonable because everyone knows that this is the work of the United States,’ spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular press briefing.
She also urged America to ‘let go’ of the Hong Kong issue, adding that ‘those who play with fire would only get themselves burned.’
China’s remarks come just hours before the latest rounds of trade talks between the two nations in Shanghai.
The recent violent protests in Hong Kong are ‘the work of the US,’ China’s foreign ministry spokesperson said today, reiterating that Beijing will not allow any foreign forces to interfere in the country’s internal affairs. Above, protesters and journalists react to tear gas fired into a crowd during a demonstration in Hong Kong on Sunday
The city’s police force today conducted road tests for anti-riot vehicles armed with water cannons that could be used to disperse protest crowds, according to Apple Daily. Video by HK01 News shows the vehicles travelling on the streets
The remarks made by China’s Foreign Ministry came after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said China should ‘do the right thing’ in dealing with protests in Hong Kong, urging all sides to avoid violence
What started three months ago as rallies against an extradition bill that would have allowed people in Hong Kong to be sent to mainland China for trial, has now morphed into a wider backlash against the city’s government and its political masters in Beijing.
Increasingly violent protests have occurred almost daily, sometimes with little notice, disrupting business, piling pressure on Hong Kong’s beleaguered government and stretching the city’s police force, which some have accused of using excessive force.
The city’s police force today conducted road tests for anti-riot vehicles armed with water cannons that could be used to disperse protest crowds, according to Apple Daily.
The Mercedes-Benz vehicles could be deployed as early as Sunday, it added. South China Morning Post reported that the crowd-control vehicles cost a total of HK$16.59 million (£1.7 million) and arrived in the city last May.
‘I believe that Mr Pompeo … thinks that the recent violence in Hong Kong is reasonable because everyone knows that this is the work of the United States,’ Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular press briefing today
What started three months ago as rallies against an extradition bill that would have allowed people in Hong Kong to be sent to China for trial, has now morphed into a wider backlash against the city’s government and its political masters in Beijing
Increasingly violent protests have occurred almost daily, sometimes with little notice, disrupting business, piling pressure on Hong Kong’s beleaguered government and stretching the city’s police, which some have accused of using excessive force
Passengers argue with protesters who disrupted a subway line in Hong Kong during the early morning rush hour today. Service was delayed and partially suspended on the Island and Kwun Tong lines, subway operator MTR Corp said. It cited ‘a number of train door obstructions’ as well as someone activating a safety device at a platform on the Kwun Tong line
Police restrain an angry passenger who tried to fight with protesters at Tiu Keng Leng station this morning
Operational guidelines had been finalised and the force was considering whether to use the vehicles to spray liquid dye on protesters to help identifying suspects easier, a senior police insider revealed to the newspaper.
Democratic Party politician Lam Cheuk-ting said the water cannons are extremely powerful and could cause serious injuries to a person’s neck and spine. He urged the police to be open and honest to the public about the risks of the vehicles.
Video released by HK01 News shows officers driving the vehicles onto the streets today, surrounded by several other police cars.
The police insider added that the vehicles would provide an alternative way of dispersing radical rallying crowds while creating a safe distance between protesters and officers, minimising the possibility of physical confrontation.
Hundreds of Hong Kong protesters blocked train services during the early morning rush hour today, causing commuter chaos in the latest anti-government campaign to roil the former British colony. Above, protesters flood Tiu Keng Leng station
Activists blocked train doors, playing havoc with services and forcing hundreds of people to stream out of railway stations in search of alternative transport
Hong Kong, which returned to China in 1997, is embroiled in its worst political crisis for decades after two months of increasingly violent protests that have posed one of the gravest populist challenges to Communist Party rulers in Beijing
Service was delayed and partially suspended on the Island and Kwun Tong lines, subway operator MTR said. It cited ‘a number of train door obstructions’ as well as someone activating a safety device at a platform on the Kwun Tong line
Hong Kong, which returned to China in 1997, is embroiled in its worst political crisis for decades after two months of increasingly violent protests that have posed one of the gravest populist challenges to Communist Party rulers in Beijing.
‘The president, I think, captured it right when he said that we need China to do the right thing,’ Pompeo said in an interview with Bloomberg last Thursday. ‘We hope that they’ll do that, we hope that the protests will remain peaceful.’
US President Donald Trump last Monday praised Chinese President Xi Jinping and said he believed Xi has acted ‘very responsibly’ with the protests in Hong Kong over an extradition bill that could see people from the territory sent to China for trial, prompting Beijing to ‘advise’ US officials to remove their ‘black hands’ from the territory.
US President Donald Trump last Monday praised Chinese President Xi Jinping and said he believed Xi has acted ‘very responsibly’ with the protests in Hong Kong over an extradition bill that could see people from the territory sent to China for trial, prompting Beijing to ‘advise’ US officials to remove their ‘black hands’ from the territory
Activists blocked train doors, playing havoc with services and forcing hundreds of people to stream out of railway stations in search of alternative transport. There were heated exchanges at Tiu Keng Leng station, where a crowd of protesters and commuters sat on the platform and a stopped train
Commuters faced traffic chaos as protesters prevented trains from leaving the station by standing in between doors
In the latest anti-government campaign to roil the former British colony, hundreds of Hong Kong protesters blocked train services during the early morning rush hour today, causing commuter chaos.
Service was delayed and partially suspended on the Island and Kwun Tong lines, subway operator MTR Corp said. It cited ‘a number of train door obstructions’ as well as someone activating a safety device at a platform on the Kwun Tong line.
Activists blocked train doors, playing havoc with services and forcing hundreds of people to stream out of railway stations in search of alternative transport.
There were heated exchanges at Tiu Keng Leng station, where a crowd of protesters and commuters sat on the platform and a stopped train. One train was held up more than half an hour, infuriating passengers.
‘We don’t know how long we are going to stay here, we don’t have a leader, as you can see this is a mass movement now,’ said Sharon, a 21-year-old masked protester who declined to give her full name.
‘It’s not our intention to inconvenience people, but we have to make the authorities understand why we protest. We will continue with this as long as need.’
‘It’s not our intention to inconvenience people, but we have to make the authorities understand why we protest. We will continue with this as long as need.’ Others chanted, ‘Liberate Hong Kong,’ and ‘Revolution of our Time’
People argue as Anti-extradition bill protesters disrupted train services at Tiu Keng Leng station during rush hour today
Others chanted, ‘Liberate Hong Kong,’ and ‘Revolution of our Time’.
Posts on Twitter showed long lines of commuters waiting for free shuttle buses provided to other subway stops.
China’s central government yesterday reiterated its support for Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, as well as the city’s police, and called on Hong Kong people to oppose violence following another weekend of clashes between protesters and police.
‘If the unrest continues, the whole of Hong Kong society will pay the cost,’ Yang Guang, a spokesperson with the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, said at an extremely rare media briefing in Beijing.
He added that Hong Kong’s government and society needed to come up with more effective ways to help young peple address concerns over housing, employment and other issues.
He listed three ‘bottom lines’ that could not be crossed, including no harm to national security, no challenge to the central government’s authority, and no using Hong Kong as a way to undermine China.
Amazing footage shot on Sunday shows quick-thinking protesters extinguishing a tear gas canister thrown by riot police
Protesters are also seen throwing back tear gas canisters during their confrontation with riot police in Hong Kong
The latest protest follows a demonstration at the Chinese-ruled city’s international airport last Friday and violent protests at the weekend when activists clashed with police who fired rubber bullets, tear gas and sponge grenades – a crowd-control weapon.
Amazing footage shot on Sunday shows quick-thinking protesters extinguishing a tear gas canister thrown by riot police.
Armed with gas masks and umbrellas, they are seen swiftly covering the canister with a traffic cone and dousing it with water before the gas can engulf the area.
Minor scuffles broke out between protesters and commuters as some grew frustrated over the train stoppage.
‘It’s so inconvenient and annoying, really. I am in hurry to work, to make a living. Will you give away your salary to me?’ said a 64-year-old man surnamed Liu.
Some protesters turned up at the station at 7:50am to block the train doors with their hands, bodies or items as passengers expressed their annoyance at the disruption to their commute
Posts on Twitter showed long lines of commuters waiting for free shuttle buses provided to other subway stops
Protesters were angry at Beijing’s warning on Monday that ‘if Hong Kong continues to be chaotic, the whole society will have to pay the price’. Millions have taken part in street protests for the past two months against a now-suspended extradition bill that would have allowed criminal suspects in Hong Kong to be sent to China to face trial
Hundreds of protesters disrupted train services as part of a civil disobedience effort in the ongoing crisis gripping the city
Yang said the central government is calling on various sectors to firmly oppose violence, safeguard the rule of law, and asked society to eliminate political conflicts as soon as possible.
Attempts by ‘irresponsible figures’ in the West to stoke turbulence in Hong Kong and contain China’s development will fail, he added.
It was the first time the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office has held a press briefing on the city since the 1997 handover, an indication that the central government feels increasing pressure to intervene.
The press conference follows another weekend of clashes between protesters and police, who again fired rubber bullets and tear gas as the demonstrations grow increasingly violent.
Anti-government protesters in the station put up flyers and held up a train by blocking train doors
Minor scuffles broke out between protesters and commuters as some grew frustrated over the train stoppage
One train was held up for more than half an hour and police had to step in after heated arguments
What started three months ago as rallies against an extradition bill that would have allowed people in Hong Kong to be sent to China for trial, has now morphed into a wider backlash against the city’s government and its political masters in Beijing
Riot officers sought to defend China’s main representative office in Hong Kong from protesters on Sunday for the second consecutive weekend, with the building near the heart of the city fortified with barricades.
Police said they had arrested at least 49 people over Sunday’s protests for offences including unauthorised assembly and possession of offensive weapons. Medical authorities said 16 people were injured.
Police said protesters hurled bricks, bottles, paint bombs, corrosive liquids and used a crossbow to fire metal ball bearings. Bows and arrows were also later recovered from the scene, the force said.
‘If the turbulence continues, the whole of Hong Kong society will pay the cost,’ Yang Guang (above), a spokesperson with the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, said at an extremely rare media briefing in Beijing
Yang added that Hong Kong’s government and society needed to come up with more effective ways to help young peple address concerns over housing, employment and other issues
Protests have occurred almost daily, sometimes with little notice, disrupting business, piling pressure on Hong Kong’s beleaguered government and stretching the city’s police force, which some have accused of using excessive force
Demonstrators blocked train doors and others activated a safety device at a platform, causing chaos
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement yesterday that the UK ‘condemn any violence but the right of peaceful protest must be respected.’
Sunday’s violence came a day after police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters holding a banned rally against suspected pro-government triad gangs in a town near the border with mainland China.
The gangs had beaten up democracy demonstrators there the previous weekend.
Police made 13 arrests that day while hospital authorities said a total of 24 people were hurt, two seriously.
Despite facing unprecedented levels of public anger and frustration that has seen millions take to the streets, the city’s pro-Beijing leadership have appeared unable, or unwilling, to end the chaos.