TEHRAN, Sept 14 -Hong Kong pro-democracy activists plan sit-ins at shopping malls on Saturday after a night in which protesters took to the hills to form lantern-carrying human chains, the latest demonstrations in months of unrest in the Chinese-ruled city.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club(YJC)_Demonstrators also plan to gather outside the British Consulate on Sunday to demand that China honors a Sino-British Joint Declaration that was signed in 1984, laying out the former British colony’s future after its return to China in 1997.
Protesters came out peacefully in their hundreds across the territory on Friday, singing and chanting on the Mid-Autumn Festival, in contrast to the violence of many previous weekends when police have responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon.
They have also gathered in malls, with occasional scuffles with flag-carrying China supporters.
The spark for the protests, due to resume on Saturday afternoon, was a now-withdrawn extradition bill and concerns that Beijing is eroding civil liberties, but many young protesters are also angry about sky-high living costs and a lack of job prospects.
The bill would have allowed people to be sent to mainland China for trial in Communist Party-controlled courts, but the protests have now broadened into calls for greater democracy.
Hong Kong returned to China under a “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland - including a much-cherished independent legal system.
China says Hong Kong is now its internal affair. It says it is committed to the “one country, two systems” arrangement and denies meddling in Hong Kong’s affairs.
China is eager to quell the unrest before the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on Oct. 1. It has accused foreign powers, particularly the United States and Britain, of fomenting the unrest.
However, China accuses UK of ‘gross interference’ over Hong Kong.
In a rare press conference at the Chinese embassy in London, Liu Xiaoming, ambassador to the UK, vigorously attacked the way British ministers have been defending the rights of Hong Kong demonstrators as they seek to protect their freedoms.
“The UK government chose to stand on the wrong side,” Mr Liu told reporters. “It has made inappropriate remarks not only to interfere in internal affairs of Hong Kong but also to back up the violent lawbreakers.”
The ambassador added: “I would like to reiterate that Hong Kong is China’s special administrative region; it is not what it used to be under British colonial rule.”
source:reuters
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