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Normal
operations resume at Hong Kong airport as city braces for more
protests
Reuters,
14 August, 2019
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong’s Airport Authority said normal flight operations would resume on Thursday after pro-democracy protests forced the cancellation of nearly 1,000 flights this week, while the city braced for more mass protests through the weekend.
China
reiterated on Wednesday that Hong Kong’s protest movement was “near
terrorism” and more street clashes followed ugly and chaotic scenes
at the airport on Tuesday, when protesters set upon two men they
suspected of being government sympathisers.
Police
and protesters faced off again on the streets of the financial hub
overnight, with riot officers quickly firing tear gas as their
response to demonstrators toughens.
Ten
weeks of increasingly violent confrontations between police and
protesters have plunged Hong Kong into its worst crisis since it
reverted from British to Chinese rule in 1997.
Heightened
security would remain at the city’s international airport and the
Hong Kong Airport Authority said late on Wednesday an application for
protests to be held in the terminal must be made in advance with a
“Letter of No Objection” to be obtained from police.
More
protests are planned on Friday and over the weekend in different
areas of the Chinese-controlled territory.
Protesters
have expressed remorse after a peaceful sit-in turned violent at one
of the world’s busiest airports earlier this week.
It
was not clear whether the violent clashes might have eroded the broad
support the movement has so far attracted in Hong Kong. The protests
have also hit the city’s faltering economy.
The
United States said it was deeply concerned at news of Chinese police
forces gathering near the border, urged Hong Kong’s government to
respect freedom of speech, and issued a travel advisory urging
caution when visiting the city.
‘Risks
still too big’ for China to send in troops to quell Hong Kong
unrest
- Chinese government advisers say Beijing has not reached direct intervention point but that could change if the violence continues
- Military action would trigger an international backlash, observers say
SCMP,
15 August, 2019
The
unrest in Hong Kong does not yet warrant direct intervention by
Beijing despite hardening public sentiment and calls for tougher
action in mainland China, according to Chinese government advisers.
Shi
Yinhong, an international relations expert at Renmin University and
an adviser to the State Council – China’s cabinet, said China
would risk damaging its ties with the United States and other major
foreign powers, upsetting its own development and losing Hong Kong’s
special status if it took the matter directly into its hands.
“I
don’t think we need to use troops. Hong Kong police will gradually
escalate their action and they haven’t exhausted their means,”
Shi said, expressing a view shared by other mainland government
advisers and academics.
But
he warned that if the violence and chaos continued, it “won’t be
too far away from reaching that point”.
It
comes after massive anti-government protests at Hong Kong
International Airport brought the city’s air traffic to a halt and
triggered a huge backlash on the mainland, where the public feel they
have been wrongly targeted by the increasingly violent protesters.
Many demanded the central government take action to end the chaos.
The
tension deepened after US President Donald Trump, citing intelligence
sources, tweeted that the Chinese government was moving troops to the
border with Hong Kong. Trump described the situation in the city as
“tricky” and called on all sides to remain “calm and safe”.
Beijing
‘unlikely to intervene’ in Hong Kong as pressure mounts on police
But
Shi and others said direct intervention would be too costly to China
and would only be used when all other methods had been exhausted.
“As
the trade war with the US goes on, Hong Kong’s importance to our
financial system is getting bigger,” Shi said. “If Beijing
intervenes with too much assertiveness, the US might revoke the
preferential status of Hong Kong.”
He
was referring to the US’ 1992 Hong Kong Policy Act which gives the
city a special status. In June, American lawmakers introduced a
bipartisan bill requiring the US government to examine Hong Kong’s
autonomy annually to decide whether to extend the arrangement.
Losing
that status could cripple the operations of many businesses based in
Hong Kong, said Shen Dingli, a Shanghai-based international affairs
expert.
Wang
Yong, another specialist on international political economy with
Peking University, agreed.
“There
would be a lot of opposition from interest groups in the US. Hong
Kong is the bridgehead for many multinational corporations and
investors from Wall Street to get into the Chinese market,” said
Wang, who also teaches at an academy affiliated with China’s
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Hong
Kong and the Chinese government will need to handle this with extra
care, so as not to give any ammunition to hawks in the United States.
“If
Hong Kong is not handled properly, it could add tensions to the
bilateral ties and ruin any prospect of a trade deal.”
China
rejects requests for US warships to visit Hong Kong amid protests
Pang
Zhongying, an international relations specialist at Ocean University
of China in Qingdao, said direct intervention could also damage
China’s ties with other countries.
“The
whole world is watching. Beijing has exercised restraint for two
months and still hasn’t taken any clear action because this is not
an easy choice,” said Pang, who is also a member of the
Beijing-based Pangoal Institution, a think tank that advises several
ministerial offices.
While
some observers said Beijing was under political pressure to end the
protests in Hong Kong before October 1 – the 70th anniversary of
the founding of the People’s Republic, Shi said the central
government would not lose patience so easily.
“National
Day [on October 1] is an important time, but the Chinese government
is not naive to believe there has to be peace under all heaven then,”
he said.
“It’s
only a bit more than a month from now, we can almost say for sure the
trade war will still be on by then and a major turning point in Hong
Kong is not likely to happen. But the celebration must go on.”
US
lawmakers vow ‘swift consequences’ if Chinese military cracks
down in Hong Kong
- State Department expresses ‘staunch support’ for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly in wake of pro-democracy demonstrations
- Politicians from both parties speak out in the wake of Donald Trump’s apparent reluctance to take a strong stand on the turmoil
-
A video shows Hong Kong protesters shining lasers into facial-recognition cameras in an apparent attempt to blind them.
-
The video, broadcast by Hong Kong's Now TV, shows people shining laser pens at cameras, Hong Kong police officers, and government buildings.
-
Protesters have sought to remain anonymous by spray-painting and shining lasers at cameras inside the Chinese government office in Hong Kong, The New York Times reported.
-
The concentrated light emitted by lasers can heat up and damage sensitive surfaces like camera sensors, the International Laser Display Association says.
-
The protests, which started in early June over the territory's relationship with mainland China, have raged for weeks and show no sign of easing.
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