Hong Kong braces for protests over Christmas holidays

Hong Kong is gearing up for demonstrations over Christmas week with protesters planning occasions in districts throughout town, together with in prime buying malls, the most recent in additional than six months of unrest.

This week’s protests observe a weekend of rallies, together with one on Sunday, which resulted in chaotic clashes between black-clad, masked demonstrators, who kicked and beat cops, hurling bricks and glass at them. Police retaliated with bursts of pepper spray and one officer pulled out a gun in the direction of a crowd however didn’t hearth, in response to Reuters witnesses and Cable Tv.

Protests deliberate all through the week embody night demonstrations in 5 malls on Christmas eve. A countdown rally can also be deliberate close to town’s harbour entrance within the bustling Tsim Sha Tsui buying district.

Protesters are additionally planning an occasion referred to as “Suck the Christmas” on Christmas Day the place they’re anticipated to protest in several districts in response to notices on social media.

Earlier on Sunday, greater than 1,000 folks rallied calmly in assist of China’s ethnic Uighurs, who’ve been detained en masse in camps in China’s northwestern Xinjiang area.

The rally had acquired police permission to be held however police stated they took motion after protesters “assaulted” officers to assist an arrested particular person escape.

Protesters, some advocating Hong Kong independence, additionally eliminated the nationwide flag from its place on the protest website, a transfer the federal government stated was unlawful.

“Advocating Hong Kong independence … is not conducive to the overall and long term interest of Hong Kong society. It is also contrary to the established basic policies of the People’s Republic of China regarding Hong Kong,” the federal government stated in an announcement in a single day.

Protests in Hong Kong are actually of their seventh month, albeit in a relative lull in comparison with the size and depth of violence since they began in June.

Many residents are indignant at what they see as Chinese language meddling within the freedoms promised to the previous British colony when it returned to Chinese language rule in 1997.

China denies interfering and says it’s dedicated to the one nation, two methods method put in place at the moment and has blamed overseas forces for fomenting unrest.

Many Hong Kong individuals are additionally livid at perceived police brutality, and are demanding an unbiased investigation into allegations of extreme pressure. Different calls for embody the discharge of all arrested demonstrators and full democracy.