This archive report was first published on 13 October 2019.
Police Officer is Stabbed in Hong Kong During Flash-Mob Protests ¶
On Sunday, October 13, 2019, a police officer was stabbed in Hong Kong, marking an escalation of the street violence that has gripped the city for months.
The officer was attacked during flash-mob gatherings that unfolded across town, with protesters targeting government offices, subway stations, and businesses. The gatherings, which were coordinated via social media and encrypted messaging apps, highlighted the continuing opposition to the unpopular ban on wearing face masks.
President Trump had said on Friday that the United States and China had reached an interim trade deal, offering a temporary détente in a rancorous dispute that has rattled investors, lawmakers, and businesses. However, the demonstrations in Hong Kong on Sunday were varied, including smaller gatherings across the city, and also cases of vandalism and arson that targeted government offices, subway stations, and several banks and shops.
Some protesters blocked roads, broke streetlights, vandalized a train station, and spray-painted antigovernment graffiti inside shopping malls. The Hong Kong police said one of its officers had been slashed in the neck by a protester on Sunday evening with a 'sharp-edged' object, and that two people were immediately arrested at the scene.
China has increasingly depicted the protest movement in Hong Kong as being separatist in nature, even though the demonstrators' demands do not include a call for independence. China's top leader, Xi Jinping, in a meeting with the Nepalese prime minister on Sunday, delivered a stark warning against separatism that was likely targeted at advocates of Tibetan independence but could also be read as a signal to Hong Kong.
