In Hong Kong, wanted suspects can fetch a high price. Information leading to the prosecution of a man accused of murder can lead to a reward of HK$300,000 (£30,200). For two men wanted in connection with an arson case that killed 17 people, the incentive goes up to HK$400,000. But the highest prize goes to those who can help capture eight overseas-based pro-democracy activists who are accused of violating Hong Kong’s national security law. For them, the bounties are HK$1m each. For several of the accused, the warrants came as…
Tag: Protest
Hong Kong protesters allegedly attacked by Chinese activists in Southampton
Police are investigating after footage emerged apparently showing pro-Hong Kong demonstrators being violently attacked by a group of Chinese activists in Southampton. The alleged incident occurred after a rally to mark the anniversary of the 2019 protests for democratic changes in Hong Kong. Hampshire constabulary said they had received a report about a “hate-related assault” in Southampton, while Hong Kong community leaders denounced what they called a “blatant violation of the fundamental principles of freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and the right to protest”. The group Hongkongers in Britain said:…
From the archive: How Hong Kong caught fire: the story of a radical uprising – podcast
We are raiding the Guardian Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors This week, from 2020: Hong Kong used to be seen as cautious, pragmatic and materialistic. But protests have transformed the city. As Beijing tightens its grip, how much longer can the movement survive? How to listen to podcasts: everything you need to know The Guardian
Torches and T-shirts: Hongkongers defy attempts to forget Tiananmen
For the past three years, Hong Kong authorities have gone to great lengths to stop people from lighting candles in Victoria Park and publicly commemorating the Tiananmen Square massacre – an annual tradition tens of thousands of residents had kept alive for three decades since the bloody crackdown in 1989. This year, the city took it a step further. On Sunday, in place of a mass vigil was a patriotic carnival held by pro-Beijing groups, celebrating the city’s return to Chinese rule with food booths, and dance and music performances.…
Hong Kong police detain eight people on eve of Tiananmen anniversary
Hong Kong police detained eight people, including activists and artists, on the eve of the 34th anniversary of China’s Tiananmen Square crackdown, a move that signals the city’s shrinking freedom of expression. Police said in a statement late on Saturday that four people had been arrested for allegedly disrupting order in public spaces or carrying out acts with seditious intent. Four others were taken away for investigation on suspicion of breaching public peace. Authorities did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment late on Saturday. The bloody 1989 clampdown…
Chinese censors remove protest site Sitong Bridge from online maps
Chinese censors scrubbing the internet of any words or symbols that could be used to reference the Tiananmen Square massacre in the run-up to Sunday’s anniversary have a new target in their sights: a bridge in Beijing where a rare protest was staged last year. As the 34th anniversary of the 1989 massacre approaches, anyone searching in Chinese for Sitong Bridge on Baidu maps will draw a blank. On 13 October 2022 white banners with large red characters criticising the Chinese Communist party (CCP) were hung over the bridge near…
Protesters clash with police outside mosque in China – video
Videos shared on social media show protesters clashing with police outside a mosque in Yunnan in south-western China. Tensions rose after a ruling ordered parts of the Najiaying mosque to be removed and verified videos from Saturday show police officers near the entrance of the mosque and demonstrators chanting and appearing to try to enter the grounds The Guardian
Hong Kong: 13 go on trial over 2019 storming of legislature by pro-democracy protesters
A Hong Kong court has began the trial of 13 people over the storming and ransacking of the city’s legislature in 2019, which was an unprecedented challenge to the Beijing-backed government. It was the most violent episode in the initial phase of the huge pro-democracy protests that shook Hong Kong that year, with millions marching and staging sit-ins for weeks. Hundreds of protesters broke into the legislature on the night of 1 July 2019 – the 22nd anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover from Britain to China – smashing windows and…
Surge in strikes at Chinese factories after Covid rules end
Protests in China are often small- scale. On 17 May, a handful of workers at an air-purifier factory in Xiamen, a coastal city in Fujian province, south-east China, gathered to demand the payment of wages that, they said, were in arrears. The protest was quiet, but it was one of nearly 30 similar demonstrations this month alone. With China’s factories reopened and draconian coronavirus measures abandoned, workers are also going on strike at a remarkable rate. This year in China there have already been at least 130 factory strikes, more…
Tiananmen Square books removed from Hong Kong libraries in run-up to anniversary
Books about the Tiananmen Square massacre, Hong Kong protest movements, and other subjects deemed politically sensitive by Beijing have been removed from the former British colony’s public libraries in the lead-up to the 34th anniversary of the killings. Hong Kong media have reported a marked increase in the number of book and documentary removals, which have been growing since the authoritarian clampdown on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement and the introduction of the national security law in 2020. It has resulted in a major curtailing of political freedoms in the city,…