President Trump has encouraged President XI to meet ‘directly and personally’ with protesters
As pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong prepare for more rallies this weekend, police have warned against chaotic scenes at protests in Australia.
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Two men have been interviewed by police after a clash between pro-Hong Kong and pro-China demonstrators at a rally in Australia.
Police described ugly scenes in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide, as hundreds of protesters held pro-Hong Kong rallies.
In Melbourne, protesters gathered outside the State Library last night for a planned rally in solidarity with protesters in Hong Kong. It turned violent when a group of pro-China protesters arrived.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman confirmed two men were interviewed in relation to unlawful assault.
“We respect the right of the community to express their views peacefully and lawfully but will not tolerate those who break the law or engage in anti-social or violent behaviour,” she said.
In Sydney, thousands of pro-China protesters also marched, chanting that Hong Kong is part of China.
The local protests began in Belmore Park Haymarket attended by Tao Jiang, 28, a student from Burwood and originally from Nan Jing in China.
“I do support the law in Hong Kong but the current situation has become violent and it is not acceptable to protest in violent ways,” Jiang said. “Based on the law Hong Kong is part of China and that is recognised by the whole world.”
Chengcheng Zhoa, 33, said she supported her home country of China.
“We think this is important for us I hope our girl knows the truth,” she said.
“And we hope Australia believes the same as us: that Hong Kong belongs to China.”
As the thousands marched up George St, they chanted, “I love China; I love Hong Kong; Hong Kong is part of China.”
There was a brief flare up when a human-rights activist put himself in the middle of the crowd.
He was removed by police van before he could be identified.
The local protests came as thousands of protesters converged in cities across Australia for the rallies in support of the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong over the weekend.
Hong Kong has been plunged into its biggest political crisis since the former British colony’s return to Chinese rule in 1997, with a wave of protests against a now suspended extradition bill which would see people sent to mainland China for trial in Communist Party-controlled courts.
The protests, which started in April, have now transformed into broader demands including the resignation of Hong Kong’s embattled leader Carrie Lam and calls for a “free Hong Kong”.
AIRLINE BOSS RESIGNS
The chief executive of Cathay Pacific Airways, one of Hong Kong’s most prominent companies, resigned following pressure by Beijing on the carrier over participation by some of its employees in anti-government protests.
Rupert Hogg became the highest-profile corporate casualty of official Chinese pressure on foreign and Hong Kong companies to support the ruling Communist Party’s position against the protesters.
Beijing jolted companies last week when it warned Cathay Pacific employees who “support or take part in illegal protests” would be barred from flying to or over the mainland.
Cathay Pacific said a pilot who was charged with rioting was removed from flying duties.
Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement faces a major test this weekend as it tries to muster another huge crowd following criticism over an airport protest earlier this week — and as concerns mount over Beijing’s next move.
Activists are now planning to hold a major rally on Sunday, which is being billed as a “rational, nonviolent” protest designed to show the movement still maintains broad public support after suffering a setback earlier in the week.
Protesters blocked passengers from boarding flights at the city’s airport and later assaulted two men they accused of being Chinese spies.
Sunday’s rally is being put together by the Civil Human Rights Front, a protest group that advocates nonviolence and was the driving force behind record-breaking rallies in June and July that saw hundreds of thousands of people hit the streets.
“This coming Sunday should be another million-strong march. Hong Kong people can’t be defeated, Hong Kongers soldier on,” prominent pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo wrote on Facebook.
But the likelihood of renewed clashes over the weekend remains high. On Saturday, activists have vowed to gather in Hung Hom and To Kwa Wan — two harbourside districts popular with mainland Chinese tourists — despite police banning their proposed marches.
And while police have given permission for protesters on Sunday to rally in a major park on Hong Kong island, they have forbidden demonstrators from marching through the city.
Previous bans in the last few weeks have simply been ignored by demonstrators, leading to running battles with riot police.
TRUMP SAYS PROTESTS COULD LEAD TO ‘HAPPY ENDING’
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said that a meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Hong Kong’s pro-democracy activists could lead to a “happy” ending to months of protests.
“If President XI would meet directly and personally with the protesters, there would be a happy and enlightened ending to the Hong Kong problem. I have no doubt!” Trump tweeted.
Mr Trump appeared to be clarifying a tweet he wrote on Wednesday on Mr XI, trade relations, and Hong Kong, which he ended by saying “Personal meeting?”
That was taken by some as Mr Trump offering to meet with the Chinese president.
Mr Trump has been reticent to criticise China’s stance on Hong Kong, indicating he regards the unrest as an internal matter for Beijing, while he focuses on negotiations to resolve a grinding trade war between the United States and China.
“Of course China wants to make a deal. Let them work humanely with Hong Kong first!” Mr Trump tweeted on Wednesday.
But State Department officials and top US politicians spoke out in defence of the protesters and warned Beijing to respect the territory’s autonomy.
US National Security Advisor John Bolton warned China against creating a “new” Tiananmen Square in its response to pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
“The Chinese have to look very carefully at the steps they take because people in America remember Tiananmen Square, they remember the picture of the man standing in front of the line of tanks,” Mr Bolton said in an interview with VOA News.
Chinese forces crushed protests at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989 — an event immortalised in an image of an unarmed man facing down tanks.
“It would be a big mistake to create a new memory like that in Hong Kong,” Mr Bolton said.
The call for Mr XI to meet with activists came as thousands of Chinese military personnel were seen assembling in a sports stadium in Shenzhen, just across the border with Hong Kong.
China’s ambassador to London warned on Thursday that Beijing will not “sit by and watch” and is ready to “quell the unrest swiftly” if the crisis in Hong Kong, the site of near-daily street protests for the past two months, becomes “uncontrollable.”
China’s ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming said extremists masquerading as pro-democracy activists are dragging Hong Kong “down a dangerous road.”
“We have enough solutions and enough power within the limit of the Basic Law to quell any unrest swiftly,” he said, referring to Hong Kong’s mini constitution adopted after the former British colony was handed over to China in 1997.
“We hope this will end in an orderly way. In the meantime we are fully prepared for the worst.”
MORE: Photos show China’s plan for Hong Kong invasion
Protests that began in early June have paralysed parts of the territory, including its international airport, and led to hundreds of arrests. Liu would not go into detail about what measures Beijing might take, or when the situation might be judged to be out of control.
Beijing has not ruled out sending in troops, although most observers consider that unlikely. He also told other countries to stop meddling.
“We cannot accept any interference in Hong Kong’s internal affairs,” he said.
China has provided few concrete examples of alleged foreign meddling.
MORE: How Hong Kong protests will hurt Australia
China’s handling of the crisis engulfing Hong Kong has been tied to its trade war with the US with Donald Trump appealing for a “humane” reaction first before the two leaders meet to talk trade.
Financial markets across the world have already taken a pounding from the trade dispute between the two giants as President Trump moved to impose tariffs on Chinese imports to correct what he sees as a trade imbalance.
But he has now offered an olive branch of sorts, offering to meet with his Chinese counterpart
President Xi Jinping to resolve the impasse but only after China has a chance to deal with the Hong Kong crisis now in its 10th week.
MORE: Why Hong Kong could go down path of no return
“Of course China wants to make a (trade) deal,” Mr Trump said on Twitter.
“Let them work humanely with Hong Kong first!
“I have ZERO doubt that if President XI wants to quickly and humanely solve the Hong Kong problem, he can do it. Personal meeting?” he added, going further and declaring President XI as a great leader “who very much has the respect of his people”.
He had earlier called for calm and restraint as he flagged US intelligence had pointed to the worrisome mobilisation of armoured personal carriers and military personnel moving to Shenzhen on the Hong Kong border.
China has explained the gathering at Shenzhen were there for training involving some 12,000 security personnel ahead of national day celebrations on October 1.
Hundreds of departing passengers were yesterday slowly snaked through cattle gates on the footpath outside the airport and could only gain entry with a valid airline ticket and passport.
Large three-metre high barriers were also erected overnight at the airport’s main entrance.
Police and airport security were also patrolling the airport in large groups — the most visible force of strength since violence erupted on Tuesday night.
Protesters yesterday debated for two hours whether to leave after Hong Kong’s airport secured a court order to clear them out.
“If we go, we know we cannot get back in,” a protest organiser told News Corp.
“We apologise for causing flight cancellations but we have to do this. We need democracy for Hong Kong.
“This is not political, this is about humanity.”
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