Hong Kong airport paralysed for a second day by protesters
The US is claiming its naval ships have been denied entry to Hong Kong, as Donald Trump suggests troops are “moving towards the border”.
A US Commander has confirmed China has blocked the Pacific Fleet’s naval ships from entering ports in Hong Kong.
Two US naval ships due to visit Hong Kong have been denied scheduled access to the city’s ports by China, the US Pacific Fleet confirmed today.
A US Navy spokesman today said two vessels had been blocked from entering the port, hours after President Donald Trump said China was moving its troops towards the border.
The president’s claims were made without specific evidence, according to The Australian
Commander Nate Christensen, the deputy spokesman for the United States Pacific Fleet, confirmed this morning the two US ships, USS Green Bay and USS Lake Erie, had been barred from entering the port. The first vessel, an amphibious dock landing ship, was due to stop in Hong Kong on Saturday, and the second was due in the city next month.
The last time the US Navy visited Hong Kong was in April.
Our Intelligence has informed us that the Chinese Government is moving troops to the Border with Hong Kong. Everyone should be calm and safe!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 13, 2019
Scenes of chaos have erupted at Hong Kong, with protesters detaining several people including a mainland Chinese journalist.
The city’s chief executive Carrie Lam warned Hong Kong was “on the brink of no return”.
Hong Kong Airport was forced to cancel all flights for the second day in a row after protesters stormed the international airport’s terminals.
The situation has been labelled a “disaster” for Hong Kong.
Increasingly violent protests have plunged the Asian financial hub into its most serious political crisis in decades, posing a challenge to the central government in Beijing.
The latest protest led to ugly scenes, when small groups of hardcore demonstrators turned on two men they accused of being spies or undercover police — and as desperate travellers pleaded in vain to be allowed onto flights.
Hong Kong’s 10-week political crisis, in which millions of people have taken to the streets calling for a halt to sliding freedoms, was already the biggest challenge to Chinese rule of the semi-autonomous city since its 1997 handover from Britain.
But two days of protests at the airport have again raised the stakes for the financial hub.
Beijing is sending increasingly ominous signals that the unrest must end, with state-run media showing videos of security forces gathering across the border.
All check-ins were cancelled on Tuesday afternoon after thousands of protesters wearing their signature black T-shirts made barricades using luggage trolleys to prevent passengers from passing through security gates.
Scuffles broke out between protesters and travellers, and vigilantism occurred when demonstrators turned on two men.
MOB JUSTICE
Police have recently disguised themselves as activists to make arrests, a move that has sent paranoia soaring among protesters.
The first man was held for about two hours before eventually being led away in an ambulance. Riot police briefly deployed pepper spray and batons to beat back protesters while they escorted the vehicle away from the departures hall.
Another man, wearing a yellow journalist vest, was surrounded, zip-tied and then beaten by a small group who accused him of being a spy.
In a tweet, Hu Xijun, the editor of China’s state-controlled Global Times tabloid — which has vociferously condemned the protests — confirmed the man was a journalist working for the paper.
The man was later driven away in an ambulance after protesters and volunteer medics carried him off.
By early Wednesday, most protesters had left and the South China Morning Post reported that the airport authority had obtained an injunction to remove demonstrators, although it was unclear how it would be enforced.
FLIGHTS
In a statement just after 5pm local time, flagship carrier Cathay Pacific said it had been forced to suspend check-in services.
“Customers are encouraged to postpone non-essential travel from Hong Kong on Tuesday 13 August and Wednesday 14 August and should not proceed to the airport,” the airline said.
Yesterday, Cathay Pacific was forced to cancel more than 200 flights while the South China Morning Post reported up to 300 flights had been cancelled in total.
Earlier, the airport authority said it was suspending all departing flights as of 4.30pm.
“Terminal operations at Hong Kong International Airport have been seriously disrupted as a result of the public assembly at the airport today,” the airport authority said.
After filling up the arrivals hall, demonstrators streamed into the departures area despite increased security measures designed to keep them out.
Pictures from the airport showed dozens of protesters lining baggage trolleys up to block departure gates this afternoon.
“This is a disaster for Hong Kong that will cost tens of millions of dollars,” editor in chief and managing director of AirlineRatings.com Geoffrey Thomas told CNN.
The airport contributes 5 per cent to Hong Kong’s GDP, directly and indirectly, Hong Kong’s transport secretary Frank Chan added.
Travellers lucky enough to have completed their processes were allowed to operate.
Today is the second day in a row thousands of protesters disrupted one of the world’s busiest airports.
It’s the fifth consecutive day protesters have managed to block the airport’s arrival and departure halls.
Over a loudspeaker, the airport authority said it did not expect arriving flights to be affected, though dozens of arriving flights were already cancelled.
Some flights were able to depart and land earlier Tuesday, a day after more than 200 flights were cancelled.
The public has been advised for days not to come to the airport.
NEAR SHOOTING
A video from deep inside the airport has shows how terrifyingly close police came to shooting protesters at one of the world’s major transport hubs.
A reporter who filmed the incident said he was “astonished no one was killed” as the violence escalated.
Wall Street Journal reporter Mike Bird caught one moment on video where a policeman pulled out a gun.
In the video, a seemingly lone officer enters part of Terminal 1, where Cathay Pacific flights depart, and brings one protester to the floor before raising and then lowering his baton.
A group of other protesters proceed to surround the officer. He uses his baton before it is taken from him and then repeatedly hit with it. The officer then takes out his hand gun and points it at the protesters who promptly run away from him before other officers come to the policeman’s aid.
Mr Bird said the officer “drew his pistol and aimed at protesters” after being beaten. “Astonished nobody killed here tonight,” he said on Twitter.
Police officer had his baton taken from him and was attacked with it. Drew his pistol and aimed at protesters. Astonished nobody killed here tonight. pic.twitter.com/Wox8yziDnz
— Mike Bird (@Birdyword) August 13, 2019
The situation calmed down after a few hours without the violence worsening and the crowds thinned out, Reuters reported.
ONE COUNTRY, TWO SYSTEMS
The action followed an unprecedented shutdown of the airport on Monday. Hong Kong’s airport authority said operations had been “seriously disrupted” on Tuesday and departing passengers had been unable to reach immigration counters.
Demonstrators say they are fighting the erosion of the “one country, two systems” arrangement that enshrined some autonomy for Hong Kong since China took it back from Britain in 1997.
While Hong Kong is a sovereign part of China, the former colony has significant differences to the mainland, including separate legal and political systems, distinct currency, national sporting teams and a greater tolerance for freedom of expression.
Hong Kong also retains many of its pre-colonial features, including driving on the same side of the road as Britain and Australia but not China, the retention of many British place names and statues of British monarchs and dignitaries.
Those two different systems are supposed to remain in place for at least 50 years.
However, Beijing has sought to erode these freedoms in recent years through changes to the law, attempts to not allow pro-independence politicians to take their seats in the region’s parliament and even the disappearance of booksellers critical of the Communist Party leadership.
The increasingly violent clashes between police and protesters have roiled the Asian financial hub. Hong Kong’s stockmarket fell to a seven-month low on Tuesday.
The United Nations human rights commissioner Michele Bachelet urged Hong Kong authorities to exercise restraint and investigate evidence of their forces firing teargas at protesters in ways banned under international law. China responded by saying her comments sent the wrong signal to “violent criminal offenders”.
Some travellers from the city state’s airport voiced sympathy with the demonstrators.
“I understand the basics of the protest and they’ve got a point: It’s about freedom and democracy and it’s incredibly important,” said Pete Knox, a 65-year-old Briton on his way to Vietnam.
Others were conflicted. Chun-sun Chan, 46, trying to fly home to his two children in Britain, said he felt for the protesters “but I can’t quite reconcile with myself whether this is the right way of doing it”.
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