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China Urges 'Tougher Line' in Hong Kong after Attack on Xinhua

posted by martyb on Wednesday November 06 2019, @10:15AM   Printer-friendly
from the getting-roughed-up dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Chinese state media has urged authorities to take a "tougher line" against protesters in Hong Kong who vandalised state-run Xinhua news agency and other buildings at the weekend, saying the violence damaged the city's rule of law.

[...] In an editorial, state-backed China Daily newspaper criticised the "wanton" attacks by "naive" demonstrators, adding, "They are doomed to fail simply because their violence will encounter the full weight of the law."

Police fired tear gas at black-clad protesters on Saturday and Sunday in some of the worst violence in the Asian financial hub in weeks, with metro stations set ablaze and buildings vandalised.

Violence also erupted on Sunday after a man with a knife attacked several people and bit off part of the ear of a pro-democracy politician. Two of the victims are reportedly in critical condition, according to reports.

The past five months of anti-government protests in the former British colony represent the biggest popular challenge to President Xi Jinping's government since he took over China's leadership in late 2012.

Protesters are angry at China's perceived meddling with Hong Kong's freedoms, including its legal system, since the Asian financial hub returned to Chinese rule in 1997. China denies the accusation.

The widely-read Global Times tabloid on Sunday condemned the protesters' actions targeting Xinhua and called for action by Hong Kong's enforcement agencies.

"Due to the symbolic image of Xinhua, the vandalizing of its branch is not only a provocation to the rule of law in Hong Kong, but also to the central government and the Chinese mainland, which is the rioters' main purpose," it said.

On Friday, after a meeting of China's top leadership, a senior Chinese official said it would not tolerate separatism or threats to national security in Hong Kong and would "perfect" the way it appointed the city's leader.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 06 2019, @06:47PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 06 2019, @06:47PM (#916908)
    The opponents of China would like this outcome, as it weakens China. The whole trouble was started with this purpose. People just do not self-organize to protest an insignificant detail of international agreements.

  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 06 2019, @07:24PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 06 2019, @07:24PM (#916927)

    People just do not self-organize to protest an insignificant detail of international agreements.

    If Ukraine had a Russian-appointed leader, and tried to pass a law saying "if Russia asks for it, you will be extradited to Russia with no right of appeal," I imagine they would self-organize a protest.

    I agree many armchair activists in more complacent Western countries wouldn't do this. That is not representative of the world cultures.

    Hong Kong is in a very precarious situation, and many people there are hyper-aware of their state vis-a-vis mainland China, and are prepared to take action. Just look at what happened with SOPA/PIPA... now imagine it was your life and liberty at stake.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 07 2019, @05:12AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 07 2019, @05:12AM (#917195)
      They would not, and they do not. There was a law that sent people into war to die - and they went. (In Ukraine? In the USA? The answer is both.) People always think "it's some rapist, extradite him on two separate airplanes." People think "this cannot happen to me." And they are predominantly right. The danger of extradition is far less than the danger of being flattened by a bus. Certainly not something to lose job for. Examples abound in the USA, as the current government is cheerfully presenting tens of bad news per week. And? Nothing. Silence. Nobody in any significant numbers is protesting against Facebook or against FAA-Boeing self-certification or against the trade war with China... not that many care. As HK people are there, they have a valid motivation, but that cannot be what is claimed, the cause is too negligible for such an effect.

  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday November 07 2019, @01:52PM

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday November 07 2019, @01:52PM (#917307) Journal

    The opponents of China would like this outcome, as it weakens China.

    The Chinese government will come out of this weaker no matter what. China? Not so.

    People just do not self-organize to protest an insignificant detail of international agreements.

    Unless, of course, it is not an "insignificant detail". One wonders how China missed this alleged foreign influence? Perhaps they need to replace their leadership with someone more competent?

    I'll note also that I think a democratic China would be far more powerful in the long run than the present state!