Section:GDN 1N PaGe:21 Edition Date:190807 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 6/8/2019 19:37 cYanmaGentaYellowbl
Wednesday 7 August 2019 The Guardian •
World^21
China in warning to Hong Kong
protesters as tensions increase
Christy Choi
Hong Kong
Chinese authorities and masked pro-
testers stepped up their propaganda
battle yesterday in an attempt to take
control of the narrative around esca-
lating demonstrations in Hong Kong.
In a rare press conference on
Tuesday, Beijing sounded its strong-
est warning yet to protesters not to
underestimate the power of the Chi-
nese government.
Calling the demonstrators “bra-
zen, violent and criminal actors ”,
Yang Guang, a spokesman for the Hong
Kong and Macau Aff airs Offi ce of the
Chinese government, said: “Don’t mis-
judge the situation or take restraint as
a sign of weakness ... don’t underesti-
mate the fi rm resolve and tremendous
power by the central government.”
Yang responded to questions about
whether Beijing would deploy its
military in Hong Kong by reiterating
the Chinese government’s support of
Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie Lam. Yang
said that with the backing of the Chi-
nese government and the people of
China, the Hong Kong government and
police were “fully capable of punishing
those criminal activities and restor-
ing order ”.
Yet, across the border in the city
of Shenzhen, police took part in
riot training in footage released bythe state-run Global Times yester-
day. Offi cers faced people dressed
in black and wearing colourful hard
hats – outfi ts that evoked those worn
by Hong Kong protesters – throwing
petrol bombs, pushing a trolley on
fi re towards police, and hitting offi c-
ers with wooden sticks.
Earlier on Tuesday, masked pro-
testers staged their fi rst “civilian press
conference”, in response to govern-
ment and police press briefi ngs.
“Netizens have initiated the citi-
zen s’ press conference, to bring the
people’s unheard voice to the public
and to highlight the repeated condem-
nations and empty rhetoric presented
by the [Hong Kong] government,” said
an unidentifi ed speaker wearing a yel-
low hard hat.
The dual press conferences took
place a day after some of the worst con-
frontations between protesters and
police, who clashed in at least seven
districts of the semi-autonomous city.Offi cers fi red teargas and rubber bul-
lets at protesters occupying roads and
beseiging a local police station. They
arrested 148 people aged between 13
and 63 on suspicion of assault and pos-
session of off ensive weapons.
Hong Kong, in its ninth week of
mass protests, is facing its most seri-
ous political crisis since it was returned
to Chinese control in 1997.
Like much of the protest movement,
the demonstrators’ press gathering
was organised on the online forum
LIHKG, the city’s version of Reddit,
and those speaking sought to make it
clear they had no political or organi-
sational affi liation.
The speakers reiterated the fi ve
demands of the protesters, calling
for a return of “power back to the peo-
ple ”, and insisting that the “pursuit of
democracy” is “the inalienable right of
the people”. Inevitably, news of Mon-
day’s violence fi ltered into mainland
China, where censors have been allow-
ing more discussion of the protests,
framed as riots.
Later, Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the
House of Representatives, issued a
statement : “The people of Hong Kong
are sending a stirring message to the
world: the dreams of freedom, justice
and democracy can never be extin-
guished by injustice and intimidation.”Analysis
Lily KuoProspects of
peace recede
amid fi res and
rubber bullets
O
ver the last few
weeks, protesters
in Hong Kong
have taken to
spray painting traffi c
barriers, bridges and
police stations with the words: “If
we burn, you burn with us.”
On Monday, much of the city
burned under clouds of tear gas
and hails of rubber bullets, with
fi res lit by angry protesters facing
off against riot police. Protesters
brawled with a group of men on
the street. They hit each other
with wooden rods and traffi c
cones. In another neighbourhood,
two people were knifed. Three
cars rammed through crowds of
protesters , injuring one person.
After nine weeks of protests,
demonstrators are in a stalemate
with the local government, which
Beijing backs. Peaceful resolution
is more and more unlikely.
The protests, triggered by an
extradition bill that would send
suspects to mainland China, have
gained momentum and taken on
new demands.
The Hong Kong government
maintains that the protesters are
rioters and it deploy s police to deal
with weekly protests that regularly
become clashes. Offi cers have used
tear gas in 13 of Hong Kong’s 18districts, and more than 500 people
have been arrested.
Protesters are undeterred by
the increasingly harsh measures.
Some are adopting more extreme,
violent tactics – taunting the police,
defacing emblems of China’s
sovereignty over Hong Kong, and
throwing bricks and petrol bombs.
They call it the “scorched earth”
policy – that in order to compel
authorities to pay attention, a price
must be paid , whether in heavy
criminal charges, getting repeatedly
hit by teargas, or damaged job
prospects if the economy suff ers.
“I don’t think the government is
willing to give ground and there’sno indication that the protesters
are willing to settle,” said Adam Ni,
a China researcher at Macquarie
University in Australia. Ni believes
the protests will grow more violent
until an infl ection point is reached- most likely the death or serious
injury of a protester, police offi cer or
bystander.
The possibility that Beijing could
intervene looms larger. Chinese
and Hong Kong offi cials have
repeatedly denied plans to deploy
the People’s Liberation Army, which
has a garrison in Hong Kong. Yet
China has released promotional
videos showing its military and
police battling residents in black , the
protests’ signature colour. A military
offi cial refer red to part of Hong
Kong’s garrison law, say ing the PLA
can intervene to “maintain public
order” at Hong Kong’s request.
Observers say sending in troops
or taking over the governing of Hong
Kong directly is an extreme, last
resort. “That would have huge costs
to the mainland government, to the
Hong Kong government,” said John
Burns, professor emeritus at Hong
Kong University.
And not all protesters seem
concerned about the PLA entering
the streets, knowing it would hurt
Beijing too. “We are not afraid. If the
Chinese army comes out, we will
celebrate,” said one.
But many protesters are not
optimistic. Jason Keung, 22, sa id he
trie d not to focus on the ending. “I
don’t think about the future because
I just want to live in the now,” he
said. “Hong Kong is controlled by
China, yes. I don’t think we can fi ght
them but we have to try. We don’t
have any choice but to fi ght.”▲ A teenage demonstrator wearing a
helmet that reads ‘Don’t hit me.’▲ Miriam Lexmann: ‘I really fear for
what is going to happen with Europe’▲ Police fi ring teargas at protesters
at a demonstration in Hong Kong’s
Wong Tai Sin district on Monday
PHOTOGRAPH: ANTHONY KWAN/GETTYBrexit impasse
leaves Europe’s
’ghost MEPs’ in
unpaid limbo
Daniel Boff ey
BrusselsEuropean legal experts are being
pulled into a row about the EU’s “ghost
MEPs” , the 27 members who should
have fi lled seats vacated by British
representatives but cannot during the
Brexit uncertaint y.
The controversy is focused around
the case of Miriam Lexmann, one of a
cadre of MEPs-in-waiting who exist
in limbo without salary or expense
payments, standing by for the UK to
fi nally leave the E U.
The European parliament was to
reduce in size after Brexit from 751
to 705 members. Of the UK’s 73 seats,
27 were to be redistributed among 14
under-represented countries.
Slovakia was to take one of those,
increas ing the country’s share of
MEPs to 14. Lexmann, a candidate for
the Slovakian Christian Democratic
Movement , emerged from the
European elections in May as the
person to take that place.
But the Brits have n ot left , and
Lexmann, like others in the same
position, is watching anxiously.
When she was elected, the Slovakian
state formally named her as an MEP, a
political status that prevents her from
returning to her job in a politically
neutral organisation.
She has had to move to Bratislava
from Brussels. Lawyers intend to
take her case to the European court
of human rights in Strasbourg. And
yet, despite its impact on her, she
still hopes Brexit will not happen,
particular in its hardest form.
“I really fear for what is going to
happen with Europe if there is no-
deal Brexit,” she said. “I don’t want
in my own head to prioritise my own
interests because I kind of feel this
will be disaster. And also as a possible
future European parliamentarian, I
don’t like the EU pushing too much
for federalism and too much Europe.
For me the Brits were balancing it out.”
Barry Andrews, one of two Irish
reserves, said he ha d found it very
diffi cult but would also prefer to see
Brexit stopped than take his seat.
Spain’s Adrián Vázquez Lázara said a
better outcome for Europe should take
precedence over his situation.
Lexmann is wondering whether
there will be a UK election or a
renegotiation: “So that is another
nine months or whatever without a
job. I kind of think: how can this kind
of thing happen?”РЕЛИЗ ПОДГОТОВИЛА ГРУППА "What's News" VK.COM/WSNWS