This archive report was first published on 1 September 2019.
On August 31, 2019, a dispute between protesters and older men in Prince Edward Station in Hong Kong turned violent, with one of the men swinging a hammer at the protesters. The clashes led to the suspension of subway service across much of the city, with three stations remaining closed on Sunday.
The subway operator, MTR, has been a target of vandalism since it began suspending service last month to stations near protest sites. On Saturday, it stopped service at Sai Ying Pun Station, near the Chinese government liaison office, a site of some protests.
Chinese news outlets, including the Communist Party's main newspaper, People's Daily, urged the Hong Kong government to take tough steps against the protesters. An online outlet controlled by the Communist Party's law-and-order committee described the protesters as using 'terrorist methods.'
Front-page editorials in People's Daily and CCTV's online report called for the Hong Kong government to invoke emergency powers to restore social order. This step could empower the government to ban demonstrators from wearing masks, speed up arrests, and censor 'harmful media.'
