Wednesday August 7, 2019 3TOPNEWS
Netizens link maneuver to adjacent Hong Kong
By Zhao YushaA total of 12,000 police officers in
Shenzhen, South China’s Guang-
dong Province participated in a drill
on Tuesday, attracting online atten-
tion as the drill features emergency
scenarios that resemble the ongoing
riots in adjacent Hong Kong.
Shenzhen police said that the drill
aimed to maintain social stability, en-
courage the morale of police forces,
and prepare the forces ahead of 70th
anniversary of the founding of the
People’s Republic of China, accord-
ing to a statement sent by the police
to the Global Times on Tuesday.
Participants included all police
forces – land, air and sea – and equip-
ment such as armored cars, helicop-
ters and amphibious vehicles.
However, the drill attracted unusu-
al attention on social media as many
netizens, who hold a grudge against
recent riots in Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region, said the drill
can also call the attention of rioters in
Hong Kong, and give Hong Kong po-
lice a tip about how to deal with radi-
cal protesters.
According to video clips of thedrill, people in the crowd simulat-
ing a mob wore helmets, masks and
black outfits. They constantly threw
objects at the shield-holding police
forces, and attacked them with wood-
en sticks.
To deal with such violence, the
police fired tear gas and sent police
dogs. They used a newly developed
cluster tear gas, which has wider cov-
erage and stronger effect compared
with traditional ones.
The crowd also pushed blazing
carts toward police, who immediately
put out the fire with fire extinguish-
ers.
The crowds’ outfits, equipment
and the manner in which they at-
tacked the police were very similar
to those of the radical protesters in
Hong Kong, which prompted many
netizens to link the drill with the riots
in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong police are showing re-
straint in dealing with the radical pro-
testers, and their efforts to safeguard
the stability of the region are winning
increasing support in the Chinese
mainland.
Mainland netizens, especially
young people, who grew up watchingHong Kong crime movies and devel-
oped an admiration for Hong Kong
police officers, took to social media to
express their anger toward the radical
anti-government protesters.
The netizens’ response and as-
sumption came from their worries
about the recent situation in Hong
Kong and did not indicate the govern-
ment’s intention, Zhang Dinghuai, a
professor at the Center for Basic Laws
of Hong Kong and Macao Special
Administrative Region of Shenzhen
University, told the Global Times,
noting that the central government
will act according to relevant laws.
Responding to a question con-
cerning how to deal with Hong
Kong secessionist forces, Wu Qian,
a spokesperson of China’s Ministry
of National Defense cited the Law of
the People’s Republic of China on the
Garrisoning of the Hong Kong Spe-
cial Administrative Region (HKSAR),
which stipulates that the Hong Kong
government can request that the cen-
tral government to allow the Chinese
People’s Liberation Army Garrison in
Hong Kong to maintain social order
and provide disaster relief when nec-
essary.Mass police drill in Shenzhen
By Fu Guohao and Chen Qingqing in Hong
Kong
A spokesperson for Harbour City, a shopping
mall at the Tsim Sha Tsui Pier in Hong Kong Spe-
cial Administrative Region, which failed to pro-
tect effectively the Chinese national flag from be-
ing thrown in the sea twice, told the Global Times
on Tuesday that it will increase security.
“Violence is not the solution, and the national
flag must be respected as it represents the dignity
of the country,” said the spokesperson.
On Tuesday night, the Global Times reporter
saw security guards patrolling around the poles.
The Global Times previously sent Harbour
City three inquiries regarding what protective
measures will be put in place after violent pro-
testers removed the national flag from the pole
at the Tsim Sha Tsui Star Ferry Pier and threw it
into the sea.
On Tuesday morning, some patriotic Hong
Kong residents spontaneously came to the flag
poles and launched the “Safeguard National Flag”
campaign.
One of them, Raymond Lam, called on the
Hong Kong public to help prevent such acts of
vandalism if they see the national emblem or the
national flag being desecrated. He also demand-
ed Harbour City protect the flag poles and the
Home Affairs Department of the Government of
the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to
provide assistance to protect the national flag.
Harbour City’s response came after the Global
Times inquiry of why the desecration of national
flag has been allowed to take place at the Star
Ferry Pier and what precautions it will take to
prevent the reprehensible acts from happening
again.
The Five Flag Poles at Harbour City is one of
the most famous scenic spots at the Tsim Sha
Tsui pier. On Tuesday morning, the Global Times
reporter saw large crowds passing by on their way
to work or to go shopping. No guardrails have
been put in place around the poles and no staff
was on duty at the site of the flag poles.
On Saturday after the national flag was re-
moved and dumped into the sea for the first time,
the Global Times sent an inquiry to Harbour City
and was told that because it was the weekend, it
may take five to seven workdays for a response to
be issued.
On Monday evening after the national flag was
thrown in the water for the second time, Harbour
City officials were contacted again. This time the
Global Times was told that a reply would be forth-
coming at the start of the workday on Tuesday.
The harbour front shopping area, the flagship
property of the Wharf Group, is one of the most
popular destinations for mainland visitors.
HK shopping mall
increases security after
national flag incidents
By Liu Xuanzun
The main mission objective
of China’s H-6K bomber is to
strike key strategic points deep
within enemy territories, the
state broadcaster revealed, lead-
ing experts to predict that the
warplane could eventually be
armed with hypersonic weap-
ons that can destroy hostile
military hubs 3,000 kilometers
away within minutes.
Together with J-20 stealth
fighters, H-6Ks could devastate
the enemy’s fighting capability
even before a war gets fully un-
derway, analysts said.
“In a war, our main objective
is to launch attacks on an en-
emy’s deep and vital positions,
paralyzing their facilities. This
is what we especially excel at,”
said H-6K pilot Li Ping, China
Central Television (CCTV) re-
ported on Tuesday.
While the H-6K is not a
stealth warplane, nor does
it have outstanding speed to
penetrate deep into hostile ter-ritory, it is equipped with very
advanced weapons including
air-launched cruise missiles,
enabling it to attack targets far
away, Wang Ya’nan, chief editor
of Aerospace Knowledge maga-
zine, told the Global Times on
Tuesday.
“The H-6K can remain
within a safe zone, launch its
missiles that can reach targets
2,000 kilometers away,” Wang
said, noting that these missiles
are difficult to intercept due to
their stealth capabilities.“With China developing hy-
personic weapons [missiles that
fly at least five times the speed
of sound] in recent years, its
attack range and speed could
become even greater than a
conventional cruise missile, po-
tentially capable of taking out
targets deep within hostile ter-
ritories 3,000 kilometers away
within just a few minutes,”
Wang predicted.
Assuming each H-6K can
carry six missiles, 10 bombers
can attack as many as 60 vitalmilitary hubs, which could de-
stroy the enemy, he said.
The J-20 could partner with
the H-6K and clear the sky by
shooting down hostile aerial
hubs such as early warning air-
craft and tanker aircraft, while
the H-6K will scorch land hubs
such as command centers and
missile positions, according to
Wang.China’s H-6K bomber expected to be armed with hypersonic weapons
A ceremony
marks the 74th
anniversary
of the atomic
bombing at
Hiroshima
Peace Memorial
Park in Japan
on Tuesday.
The bomb on
August 6, 1945
instantly killed
an estimated
70,000 people
and thousands
more in coming
years from
radiation effects
(see story on
Page 9). Photo:
VCGWar & peace
Page Editor:
[email protected]