This archive report was first published on 26 July 2019.
Hong Kong Protests Escalate Amid Fears of More Unrest ¶
On Friday, black-clad demonstrators filled the arrivals hall of Hong Kong's airport, one of the world's busiest terminals, as the city prepared for another weekend of protests.
The protests, which began weeks ago over a now-suspended government proposal to allow extraditions to mainland China, have expanded to include demands for an independent commission to investigate police conduct and direct elections for chief executive and the local legislature.
On Sunday, a group of men in white T-shirts attacked people in a train station and on nearby streets in Yuen Long, a district near the mainland Chinese border, leaving at least 45 people injured. The police, who failed to stop the mob, have since detained 12 people in connection with the attack, including some accused of having connections to the triads.
Despite objections from the police, protesters plan to hold a rally against mob violence in Yuen Long on Saturday, which has raised concerns about the risk of clashes between pro-democracy protesters and residents of the district's villages.
Carrie Lam, Hong Kong's embattled chief executive, is under pressure from Beijing to restore order in the city. On Sunday, hours before the mob attack, protesters defaced the Chinese government's main offices in the city, in a direct rebuke of the Communist leadership in China.
Matthew Cheung, the second-ranking official in Hong Kong, warned that a rally held in spite of the police's formal objection would be unlawful. However, he acknowledged that people were still likely to attend and called on them to be 'peaceful and rational' and not enter villages in Yuen Long where clashes might occur.
