* Police withdraw from university campus after nearly two-week siege
* Protests planned include rally at British consulate
* Asian financial hub has seen a week of relative calm
* Local elections delivered landslide victory to pan-democrats
HONG KONG - Hong Kong police on Friday withdrew from the wreckage of a university campus damaged in weeks of clashes, as pro-democracy activists canvassed social media for support for more rallies at the weekend.
Senior faculty members of Hong Kong Polytechnic University toured the campus after police left, visiting the canteen and sports hall and inspecting smashed windows and charred piles of what used to be barricades.
After more than five months of increasingly violent demonstrations, the Chinese-ruled city has enjoying relative calm since local elections on Sunday delivered an overwhelming victory to pro-democracy candidates.
Activists are trying to keep up momentum for the movement, after winning backing from U.S. President Donald Trump that has renewed global attention on the Asian financial hub and sparked blistering warnings from Beijing.
"Many classrooms, laboratories and library were destroyed. Even so, there's been no loss of life. We insisted on adopting a humane way to solve the crisis," university president Teng Jin-Guang told reporters.
He said more than 1,000 protesters had left the campus over the last two weeks. Despite the huge damage, he said he was confident that the next semester would start on time.
At one point on Friday, a man and woman emerged from the campus wearing black face masks and walking hand-in-hand. They walked straight out and down the street, with no sign of police. Local media were not sure if they were protesters.
Demonstrators are angry at what they see as Chinese meddling in the freedoms promised when Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese rule in 1997. China denies interfering and says it is committed to the "one country, two systems" formula put in place at that time and has blamed foreign forces for fomenting unrest.
Beijing warned Washington of "firm counter measures" after Trump signed into law congressional legislation which supported the protesters on Wednesday.
On a visit to Bangkok, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Friday tried to reassure the Thai government and businesses that Hong Kong was still an attractive financial hub.
'WE COULD ALL BE SIMON'
Anti-government protests have rocked the former British colony since June, at times forcing businesses, government, schools and even the international airport to close.
Protesters plan to gather at the British consulate at 7 p.m. (1100 GMT) on Friday to urge the British government to protect nationals based in the Chinese territory.
That comes after a former British consulate employee, Simon Cheng, said Chinese secret police beat him, deprived him of sleep and shackled him in an attempt to force him to give information about activists leading the protests.
Posters advertising Friday's event had slogans including "We could all be Simon". Cheng is a Hong Kong citizen who worked for the British government for almost two years. "Freedom is in peril. Defend it with all your might. Fight for freedom. Stand with Hong Kong," read another.
Other demonstrations planned over the weekend include a rally by secondary school students, a march to protest against police spraying tear gas near children and a "march of gratitude" where protesters are planning to march to the U.S. consulate.
A rally planned for Dec.8 by Civil Human Rights Front, the group that organised million-strong marches in June, is expected to provide the best gauge of how support for the pro-democracy movement is holding up.
'STILL UNSAFE'
Hundreds of police officers had earlier entered the campus to collect evidence, and remove dangerous items including thousands of petrol bombs, arrows and chemicals which had been strewn around the site.
"The current environment on campus is still unsafe, and the work on clean-up, inventory inspection and restoration will take time," the university said in a statement, announcing the removal of the police cordon.
Located on Kowloon peninsula, the campus turned into a battleground in mid-November, when protesters barricaded themselves in and clashed with riot police in a hail of petrol bombs, water cannon and tear gas. About 1,100 people were arrested last week, some while trying to escape.
Police said they found more than 3,000 Molotov cocktails and hundreds of bottles of corrosive liquids on the campus. (Reporting by Jessie Pang and Martin Pollard; Writing by Farah Master and David Dolan; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan, Simon Cameron-Moore & Kim Coghill)
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HONG KONG- Hong Kong's legislature on Wednesday formally withdrew planned legislation that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, but the move was unlikely to end months of unrest as it met just 1 of 5 demands of pro-democracy protesters.
The rallying cry of the protesters, who have trashed public buildings in the Chinese-ruled city, set street fires and thrown petrol bombs at police, has been "5 demands, not 1 less," meaning the withdrawal of the bill make no difference.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam had said many times the bill was as good as dead and said that other demands, including universal suffrage and an amnesty for all those charged with rioting, were beyond her control.
Protesters are also calling for her to stand down and for an independent inquiry into perceived police brutality during a long hot summer of running battles on the streets.
"There aren't any big differences between suspension and withdrawal (of the extradition bill)... It's too little, too late," said 27-year-old protester Connie, hours before the bill was withdrawn.
"There are still other demands the government needs to meet, especially the problem of police brutality."
Police have responded to the violence with water cannon, tear gas, rubber bullets, and several live rounds.
Protesters are angry at what they see as Beijing encroaching on the former British colony's "1 country, 2 systems" formula enshrined during the handover in 1997, which permits the city wide-ranging freedoms not available on the mainland such as an independent judiciary.
The extradition bill would have allowed defendants charged with serious crimes to be sent for trial abroad, including to Communist Party-controlled courts in China.
The bill was seen as the latest move by Beijing to erode those freedoms. China has denied these claims and accuses foreign countries of fomenting trouble.
A murder suspect whose case Lam had originally held up as showing the need for the extradition bill walked free on Wednesday as the city's government squabbled with Taiwan over how to handle his potential voluntary surrender to authorities.
Chan Tong-kai, a Hong Kong citizen, was accused of murdering his girlfriend in Taiwan last year before fleeing back to the financial hub. Chan was arrested by Hong Kong police in March 2018 and authorities there were only able to find evidence against him for money laundering, for which he was sentenced to 29 months in prison.
Chan has offered to voluntarily surrender himself to Taiwan, but both Hong Kong and Taiwan have clashed over the next steps.
"There's no such thing as surrender," Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen told reporters. "There's only arrest... We will continue to ask for legal assistance from the Hong Kong government, including providing related evidence and to ask the Hong Kong government not to evade the matter."
Hong Kong Secretary for Security John Lee said Taiwan, which China claims as its own, was obstructing the case.
SPECULATION ABOUT LAM "WRONG"
China, which views Taiwan as a renegade province, has offered the "1 country, 2 systems" formula for it to unite with the mainland.
Fiercely democratic Taiwan has rejected the offer with Tsai saying this month such an arrangement had set Hong Kong "on the edge of disorder."
China, which has many times expressed confidence in Lam and her government to end the unrest, was drawing up a plan to replace her with an "interim" chief executive, the Financial Times reported, citing people briefed on the deliberations.
Lam has become a lightning rod for protests and another of the protesters' demands has been for her to stand down.
The leading candidates to succeed Lam include Norman Chan, the former head of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and Henry Tang, who has also served as the territory's financial secretary and chief secretary for administration, the report said.
A spokesman said Tang did not comment on speculation and that he supported Lam as chief executive.
A senior official in Beijing said the FT story was wrong and none of the suggested candidates listed in the story could possibly take over from Lam based on the Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution which came into force in 1997.
The law says that if the chief executive is unable to discharge his or her duties, such duties will be temporarily assumed by the Administrative Secretary, Financial Secretary or Secretary of Justice in that order, the official said. A new chief executive would be selected within 6 months, the law says.
But Beijing had prepared all kinds of contingency plans for different scenarios in Hong Kong, including Lam’s administration losing total control of the situation, the official said.
Over recent months, Beijing has set up a special team working from Shenzhen, just across the border from Hong Kong, to gather information and it acted as the major communication channel between Hong Kong and Beijing, according to 2 people familiar with the situation.
Lam’s office was authorized to talk to the team directly without going through Beijing’s Liaison Office, one of the people said.
The Liaison Office, the symbol of Chinese rule, was attacked and daubed with anti-China graffiti in July.
In September, in response to a Reuters report about a recording of Lam saying she would step down if she could, she said she had never asked the Chinese government to let her resign.
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Hong Kong's embattled leader abandoned a State of the Union-style speech on Wednesday after she was heckled by opposition lawmakers during chaotic scenes inside the city's legislature.
The speech by chief executive Carrie Lam was billed as an attempt to win hearts and minds after four months of seething pro-democracy protests.
But it instead laid bare the intense polarization coursing through the semi-autonomous financial hub after weeks of huge and increasingly violent protests.
Lam tried twice to begin her policy address inside the Legislative Council which had opened for a new session some three months after it was trashed by masked protesters.
But pro-democracy lawmakers, who form a minority of the pro-Beijing legislature, shouted her down.
One even used a pocket projector to broadcast protest slogans behind Lam as she stood on the podium, and later donned a face mask of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
After failing to deliver the address for a second time, Lam left the building and her office announced that she would release a pre-recorded video of the speech instead.
It is the first time in Hong Kong's history that a chief executive or governor has been unable to deliver the annual address in person since the tradition began in 1948.
The chaos inside the Hong Kong legislature comes after a summer of huge and increasingly violent democracy protests as popular anger explodes over sliding freedoms and living standards following two decades of Chinese rule.
There is huge pressure on Lam -- who currently boasts historically low approval ratings -- to unveil flagship measures that might lower some of the anger on the streets.
An advance copy of the speech seen by AFP shows Lam will focus on housing and land shortages in a city that has one of the least affordable property markets in the world and notoriously high rents.
But there are no major concessions to protesters.
CONGRESS MULLS RIGHTS BILL
At a briefing on Tuesday, Lam stuck to her oft-repeated stance that bending to violent demonstrations would be unacceptable.
"For concessions to be made simply because of escalating violence will only make the situation worse. On the other hand, we should consider every means to end the violence," she said.
The core demands of protesters include an independent inquiry into the police, an amnesty for the more than 2,500 people arrested and the right for Hong Kongers to freely elect their leaders.
Both Lam and Beijing have repeatedly dismissed those demands.
Millions have taken to the streets of Hong Kong, initially against a now-dropped bid by its leaders to allow extraditions to the authoritarian Chinese mainland.
The months-long movement has expanded into a broader pro-democracy push in the territory where activists say freedoms are being eroded by Beijing, contrary to a deal that outlined Hong Kong's 1997 return to China from British colonial rule.
Lam's speech comes after the US House of Representatives passed a bill late Tuesday that aims to defend civil rights in Hong Kong and has drawn rare bipartisan support in a polarized Congress.
China, which has accused "external forces" of fueling weeks of unrest in the city, expressed its "strong indignation" over the bill and told Washington to "stop meddling".
The Hong Kong Rights and Democracy Act would link the city's special trading status with the United States to an annual State Department certification that authorities are respecting human rights and the rule of law.
It would also require the US president to identify and sanction the people responsible for the erosion of autonomy and serious abuses of human rights in Hong Kong.
The House also approved a related bill to prohibit the export of certain non-lethal crowd control items such as tear gas to Hong Kong.
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HONG KONG, China -- The majority of Hong Kong's subway stations remained closed Sunday as the city braced for more protests with pro-democracy activists vowing to hit the streets and opposition lawmakers trying to overturn a face mask ban.
Thousands of protesters staged unsanctioned marches and flashmob protests at multiple locations on Saturday, a day after the city's leader outlawed face coverings at protests, invoking colonial-era emergency powers not used for half a century.
The finance hub has been convulsed by widespread chaos in recent days as hardcore protesters trashed dozens of subway stations, vandalized shops, set fires and blocked roads.
Pro-democracy lawmakers are seeking an emergency injunction later Sunday in a bid to overturn the face mask ban and declare the emergency powers invalid because they bypass the city's legislature.
Last deployed in 1967, the powers allow chief executive Carrie Lam to make "any regulations whatsoever" during a time of public danger.
The move was welcomed by government supporters and Beijing.
But opponents and protesters saw it as the start of a slippery slope tipping the international finance hub into authoritarianism.
"I would say this is one of the most important constitutional cases in the history of Hong Kong," lawmaker Dennis Kwok told reporters outside court on Sunday.
"This could be the very last constitutional fight on our part. In the name of law they are trying to hurt the people and they try to crush the opposition.
"If this emergency law just gets a pass just like that Hong Kong will be deemed into a very black hole."
2 TEEN PROTESTERS SHOT
Hong Kong has been battered by four months of huge and increasingly violent pro-democracy protests.
The rallies were ignited by a now-scrapped plan to allow extraditions to the mainland, which fuelled fears of an erosion of liberties promised under the 50-year "one country, two systems" model China agreed ahead of the 1997 handover by Britain.
After Beijing and local leaders took a hard line, the demonstrations snowballed into a wider movement calling for more democratic freedoms and police accountability.
Lam has refused major concessions but struggled to come up with any political solution, leaving police and demonstrators to fight increasingly violent battles as the city tips into recession.
The worst clashes to date erupted on Tuesday as China celebrated 70 years of Communist Party rule, with a teenager shot and wounded by police as he attacked an officer.
A 14-year-old boy was then shot and wounded on Friday night when a plainclothes police officer who was surrounded by a mob of protesters throwing petrol bombs fired his sidearm.
That night masked protesters went on a rampage in dozens of locations, trashing subway stations and businesses with mainland China ties.
The city's subway system -- which carries four million people daily -- was shut down entirely on Friday night and throughout Saturday, bringing much of the metropolis to a halt.
Major supermarket chains and malls announced they were closing leading to long lines and panic buying as residents stocked up on essentials.
Thousands of masked protesters still came out onto the streets throughout Saturday despite the mask ban and transport gridlock, although the crowds were smaller than recent rallies.
SUBWAY PARTIALLY REOPENS
On Sunday, the subway operator said 45 stations would open but 48 remained shuttered, many of them in the heart of the city's main tourist districts as well as those neighborhoods areas hit hardest by the protests and vandalism.
Online forums used by the largely leaderless protest movement to organize were encouraging protesters to hold an unsanctioned rally in the city's Victoria Park later Sunday.
But with most of the stations in that area of the city closed it was unclear if they would be able to muster decent numbers.
Lam has defended her use of the emergency powers and says she is willing to make more executive orders if the violence continues.
"We cannot allow rioters any more to destroy our treasured Hong Kong," Lam said in a stony-faced video statement on Saturday.
But protesters have vowed to keep hitting the streets.
"The anti-face mask law is the first step," Hosun Lee, a protester in Causeway Bay, told AFP, saying he feared more laws under the emergency order were on the way.
Protester demands include an independent inquiry into the police, an amnesty for the more than 2,000 people arrested and universal suffrage -- all requests rejected by Lam and Beijing.
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HONG KONG - Hong Kong's metro system will stay shut on Saturday, the rail operator said, paralyzing transport in the Asian financial hub after a night of chaos in which police shot a teenage boy and pro-democracy protesters torched businesses and metro stations.
Friday's protests across the Chinese-ruled city erupted hours after its embattled leader Carrie Lam invoked colonial-era emergency powers last used more than 50 years ago to ban face masks, which demonstrators use to conceal their identities.
Increasingly violent demonstrations that have roiled the city for four months began in opposition to a bill introduced in April that would have allowed extradition to mainland China but have since spiraled into a broader pro-democracy movement.
MTR Corp said its network, which carries about 5 million passengers each day, would remain suspended, while shopping malls and supermarkets also closed, in a new blow for retailers and restaurants in a city on the edge of recession.
"As we are no longer in a position to provide safe and reliable service to passengers in the circumstances, the corporation had no choice but to make the decision to suspend the service of its entire network," it said in a statement.
Protesters had set fires at stations, as well as to an empty train, and injured two staff, added MTR, which is known for operating one of the world's most efficient rail networks.
All stations closed late on Friday, stranding passengers and forcing many to walk home, a situation set to worsen as the city goes into a holiday weekend.
Further demonstrations are planned across Hong Kong through Monday, which is a public holiday, but it was not immediately clear how the transport shutdown would affect them.
More than a dozen shopping malls, supermarkets, and branches of Bank of China (Hong Kong), Bank of East Asia , and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China , which have been targeted by protesters, said they would not open on Saturday.
Lam, Hong Kong's Beijing-backed leader, said the ban on face masks that took effect from Saturday was ordered under emergency laws allowing authorities to "make any regulations whatsoever" in what they deem to be the public interest.
But the move enraged protesters, who took to the streets to vent their anger, many wearing masks in defiance of the ban. There were no immediate reports of arrests over the masks.
Demonstrators set fires, hurled petrol bombs at police and burned the Chinese national flag, in a direct challenge to authorities in Beijing.
Police said an officer in Yuen Long, a district in the outlying New Territories that saw fierce clashes in July, had fired a shot in self-defense after a protester threw a petrol bomb at him, setting him on fire.
Media said a 14-year-old boy had been shot and the city’s Hospital Authority said his condition was now stable, but gave no details.
About 100 demonstrators besieged a branch of the Bank of China (Hong Kong) in the high-end shopping district of Causeway Bay, while across the harbor in the district of Kowloon, protesters smashed the glass store front of a China Life branch.
Police fired volleys of tear gas to disperse protesters in flashpoint districts such as Causeway Bay, Sha Tin and Wong Tai Sin, underscoring the challenges authorities face as the protests show no sign of letting up.
Hospital authorities said 31 people were hurt in Friday's protests, two of them seriously.
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KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's prime minister said Friday Hong Kong's embattled leader should resign over the city's increasingly violent pro-democracy protests and warned China would take "harsh action" to end the demonstrations.
Hong Kong has been rocked by unprecedented protests for nearly four months, with millions taking to the streets angered by what they see as Beijing's authoritarian rule of the semi-autonomous city.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad -- who at 94 is the world's oldest leader -- said Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam "is in a dilemma".
"She has to obey the masters, at the same time she has to ask her conscience," he told a press conference.
"Her conscience says that the people of Hong Kong are right in rejecting the (extradition) law.
"But on the other hand, she knows the consequence of rejecting the law."
The protests were sparked by opposition to a now-scrapped law that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China but have morphed into a wider movement calling for democratic freedoms.
"For the administrator (Lam), I think (the) best thing is to resign," Mahathir added.
Referring to the bloody 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing, Mahathir said eventually China sent the military in and "took action, harsh action to put an end to the demonstration.
"I think in the end, that is what China will do (in Hong Kong)."
On Friday, thousands of masked protesters took to the streets of Hong Kong again as the government readied to use emergency powers to ban face coverings in a bid to end the demonstrations.
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HONG KONG - Hong Kong's government is expected to discuss sweeping emergency laws on Friday that would include banning face masks at protests, two sources told Reuters, an unprecedented move to ease months of violent unrest in the Chinese-ruled city.
Demonstrations are planned on Friday against any potential anti-mask law, with multiple protests also expected over the weekend as activists denounce the police shooting of a teenage secondary school student on Tuesday.
Police said the officer involved in the shooting acted in self-defense because his life was under threat. The teenager, the first protester hit by live fire during months of unrest, is in hospital in a stable condition.
Invoking emergency law would allow Beijing-backed Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam to make any regulations she considers in the public interest, including censorship of the media and control of transport.
The government's move comes after activists rampaged across the former British colony in recent months, setting fires, blocking roads and vandalizing shops and metro stations.
Growing opposition to the Hong Kong government has plunged the financial hub into its biggest political crisis in decades and poses the gravest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.
Riot police moved in to districts across Hong Kong overnight, firing tear gas at a chanting crowd in a residential area, while rail operator MTR Corp shut several stations as violence escalated.
All stations were operating normally on Friday morning.
Any implementation of emergency law could further antagonize demonstrators already angry at what they perceive as creeping interference by Beijing in their city's affairs despite a promise of autonomy in the "one country, two systems" formula under which Hong Kong returned to China in 1997.
China dismisses accusations it is meddling and has accused foreign governments, including the United States and Britain, of stirring up anti-China sentiment.
Police, who have responded to petrol bomb-throwing protesters with tear gas, water cannon and, on Tuesday, live ammunition, had urged the government to impose curfews to help maintain public order.
The government declined to comment on whether it was considering imposing emergency laws, stating they would study existing legislation to cope with the protests.
Authorities have already loosened guidelines on the use of force by police, according to documents seen by Reuters.
Black-clad protesters, who typically wear masks to shield their appearance, have targeted police, who in turn have been accused of excessive force and heavy-handed tactics. Police say they have shown restraint in the face of increased violence.
Pro-Beijing groups have also been pushing for legislation to ban face masks at public demonstrations.
The protests began over a now-withdrawn extradition bill, which would have allowed people to be sent to mainland China for trial, and have intensified markedly since June. They have also evolved into wider calls for democracy, among other demands.
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HONG KONG - Hong Kong was bracing for a weekend of unrest with pro-democracy protests likely to mount in the China-ruled territory ahead of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic on Tuesday.
Thousands of people are expected to rally in the city center on Saturday evening after authorities granted a permit for a gathering at Tamar Park, next to the headquarters of Hong Kong's legislative council. The Asian financial hub marks the fifth anniversary this weekend of the start of the "Umbrella" protests, a series of pro-democracy demonstrations in 2014 that failed to wrest concessions from Beijing.
Rallies are also expected on Sunday to mark Global Anti-Totalitarianism Day, with solidarity events planned in cities across the world, including Paris, Berlin, Taipei, New York, Kiev, and London.
But the biggest protests are likely to be on the Oct 1 national day, with protesters saying they plan to use the holiday to propel calls for greater democracy on the international stage and to embarrass political masters in Beijing.
Activists plan a mass rally from Victoria Park in the bustling Causeway Bay district to Chater Garden near government headquarters.
Official festivities have been scaled back, with authorities keen to avoid embarrassing Beijing at a time when President Xi Jinping is seeking to project an image of national strength and unity.
Pro-Beijing rallies are also planned in the city, raising the prospect of clashes.
Hong Kong has been roiled by sometimes violent demonstrations for months, with protesters blocking roads and vandalizing metro stations and riot police firing tear gas, pepper spray, and water cannon at crowds.
Sparked by a bill – since withdrawn – that would have allowed extradition of suspected criminals to mainland China, the protests have since expanded into a broader pro-democracy movement.
Crowds chanting anti-government slogans trapped city leader Carrie Lam in a stadium for hours on Thursday after she held her first “open dialogue” with the people in bid to quell the unrest. More than four hours after the talks had ended, a convoy carrying Lam and other senior officials left the area under police guard.
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Local residents sing a theme song written by protesters "Glory be to thee" at a shopping mall in Hong Kong Wednesday. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam reassured foreign investors Wednesday that the Asian financial hub can rebound from months of protests, despite no sign that the unrest will subside.
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Lam regrets "interference by foreign parliaments"
Hong Kong football fans boo Chinese national anthem
Billionaire urges political leaders to offer olive branch
U.S. senators call for assessment of U.S. export controls
China warns interfering "black hands" to get out
HONG KONG - Anti-government protests that have roiled Hong Kong for more than three months spread to the sports field on Tuesday, as many local fans defied Chinese law to boo the country's national anthem ahead of a soccer World Cup qualifier against Iran.
The latest sign of unrest in the former British colony followed another weekend of sometimes violent clashes, in which police firing tear gas engaged in cat-and-mouse skirmishes with protesters who at times smashed windows and started fires in the streets.
Earlier on Tuesday, the city's Beijing-backed leader, Carrie Lam, warned against foreign interference in Hong Kong's affairs, adding that an escalation of violence could not solve social issues in the Asian financial hub.
Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" formula that guarantees freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland. But many Hong Kong residents fear Beijing is steadily eroding that autonomy.
Weeks of protests over a now withdrawn extradition bill have evolved into a broader backlash against the government and greater calls for democracy.
At Hong Kong's main stadium on Tuesday night, a sizeable contingent of the crowd of more than 10,000 football fans jeered and held up "boo" signs as China's anthem played before the game, while others chanted "Revolution of our time" and "Liberate Hong Kong". Disrespecting the national anthem is an offence in China.
Other fans sang "Glory to Hong Kong," a song that has become a rallying cry for more democratic freedoms in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
"We hope we can unite Hong Kong," said one of those booing, Ah Wing, wearing a red Hong Kong team shirt and glasses. "Even if we lose, we'll keep going. That's what we do against strong teams, against strong enemies."
Some local fans continued to chant protest slogans during the match, which saw Iran beat Hong Kong 2-0.
"BLACK HANDS"
During a rally at the U.S. consulate on Sunday, thousands of demonstrators, some waving the American flag, called for help in bringing democracy to Hong Kong.
The protesters urged the U.S. Congress to pass proposed legislation that would require Washington to make an annual assessment of whether Hong Kong is sufficiently autonomous from mainland China to retain special U.S. trade and economic benefits.
A bipartisan group of senior U.S. senators stepped up the pressure on Tuesday by writing to the U.S. State and Commerce Departments asking them to assess U.S. export rules for Hong Kong and expressing concern about China's potential acquisition of sensitive U.S. technologies via the special treatment Hong Kong is allowed.
The lawmakers also expressed concern about whether current export control laws allowed U.S. persons to "inappropriately" export police equipment to Hong Kong that could be used to suppress dissent.
Lam, Hong Kong's chief executive, responded to those calls at a news conference on Tuesday.
"It's extremely inappropriate for foreign parliaments to interfere in HKSAR internal affairs in any way, and (we) will not allow (the United States) to become a stakeholder in HKSAR matters," she said, referring to Hong Kong by its status as a special administrative region of China.
China denies meddling in the city and Chinese officials have accused foreign forces of trying to hurt Beijing by creating chaos in Hong Kong. They have also warned outsiders to keep out of what they call an internal matter.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, asked about the protests in front of the U.S. Consulate and Lam's comments, said Beijing was resolutely opposed to any foreign government interfering in China's affairs.
"We hope they can withdraw their black hands in Hong Kong as soon as possible," she said.
The sometimes violent demonstrations have taken a toll on Hong Kong's economy, which is on the verge of its first recession in a decade. Hong Kong visitor arrivals plunged nearly 40% in August from a year earlier.
Stephen Schwarz, head of sovereign ratings for the Asia-Pacific region at Fitch Ratings, said the agency's downgrade of Hong Kong last week reflected damage to the city's reputation as a place to do business.
"The downgrade reflects months of ongoing conflict environment which are testing the 'one country, two systems' framework and which have inflicted damage to the international perception of the quality and effectiveness of Hong Kong's governance and rule of law as well as the stability of its business environment," Schwarz said.
TYCOON'S CALL
China expressed anger on Tuesday after German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas met prominent Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong, reiterating that no foreign country had a right to interfere in its internal affairs.
On Monday, former U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the anti-government protests were not an internal Chinese matter and the United States should offer at least moral support to the demonstrators.
Lam last week withdrew the controversial extradition bill that had triggered the unrest, but the gesture failed to appease many demonstrators.
Anger over the now-shelved bill has rekindled opposition to Beijing that had waned after 2014, when authorities faced down 79 days of pro-democracy protests in the city's central business district.
Lam called for dialogue on Tuesday.
"Escalation and continuation of violence cannot solve the issues faced by our society now," she said. "It will only deepen the conflict, contradiction, splits, and even hatred in society."
The protests, beamed live to the world since June, have also prompted some of the city's powerful tycoons to appeal for calm.
In his first speech mentioning the unrest, billionaire Li Ka-shing urged political leaders to offer young people an olive branch, calling them "masters of our future", according to an online video of remarks to a small crowd during a monastery visit on Sunday.
Lam said her administration's actions, including the bill's formal withdrawal, were "not directly to stop these protests and violence".
"It is really to express my sincerity to start a dialogue with the people," she said.
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HONG KONG - Global credit rating agency Fitch Ratings downgraded Hong Kong's long-term foreign currency issuer default rating to "AA" from "AA+" after months of unrest and protests in the region.
Hong Kong's rating outlook is negative, Fitch Ratings said on Friday.
Increasingly violent protests have roiled the Asian financial hub as thousands chafe at a perceived erosion of freedoms and autonomy under Chinese rule.
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HONG KONG - Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Wednesday withdrew an extradition bill that triggered months of often violent protests so the Chinese-ruled city can move forward from a "highly vulnerable and dangerous" place and find solutions.
The announcement, live on television, came after Reuters reports on Friday and Monday revealed that Beijing had thwarted an earlier proposal from Lam to withdraw the bill and that she had said privately that she would resign if she could, according to a leaked audio recording.
"Lingering violence is damaging the very foundations of our society, especially the rule of law," Lam said in her address on Wednesday.
The withdrawal, a key demand of protesters, came after unrest that drove the former British colony to the edge of anarchy as the government repeatedly refused to back down - igniting pitched battles across the city of seven million, the arrests of more than 1,000 protesters, and leaving a society deeply divided.
Many are furious at perceived police brutality and the number of arrests - 1,183 at the latest count - and want an independent inquiry.
"The government will formally withdraw the bill in order to fully allay public concerns," Lam said.
"I pledge that the government will seriously follow up the recommendations of the IPCC's (Independent Police Complaints Council) report. From this month, I and my principal officials will reach out to the community to start a direct dialogue ... we must find ways to address the discontent in society and look for solutions."
The protests began in March but snowballed in June and have since evolved into a push for greater democracy for the city which returned to China in 1997.
The bill would have allowed extraditions to mainland China where courts are controlled by the Communist Party.
It was not immediately clear if the bill's withdrawal would help end the unrest. The immediate reaction appeared skeptical and the real test will be how many people take to the streets.
"This won't appease the protesters," said Boris Chen, 37, who works in financial services. "In any kind of time, people will find something they can get angry about."
One woman, Pearl, 69, said the protests were no longer about the bill.
"Some of those guys may change their minds, maybe, but just a minority," she said of the protesters. "Some of them just want to create trouble and they will continue to do so."
"Too little, too late," said Joshua Wong, a leader of the 2014 pro-democracy protests which were the precursor to the current unrest, on his Facebook page.
The chief executive's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the bill's withdrawal.
Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index jumped after the report of the bill's imminent withdrawal, trading up about 4%. The property index also jumped.
Lam had said before that the bill was "dead", but she did not withdraw it.
The protesters' other four demands are: the retraction of the word "riot" to describe rallies, the release of all arrested demonstrators, an independent inquiry into the police perceived brutality and the right for Hong Kong people to democratically choose their own leaders.
CHINA'S WARNINGS
Hong Kong returned to China under a "one country, two systems" formula that allows it to keep freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, like the freedom to protest and an independent legal system, hence the anger at the extradition bill and perceived creeping influence by Beijing.
China denies it is meddling in Hong Kong's affairs but warned again on Tuesday that it would not sit idly by if the unrest threatened Chinese security and sovereignty.
China has regularly denounced the protests and warned about the impact on Hong Kong's economy.
Cathay Pacific Airways has been one of the biggest corporate casualties.
China’s aviation regulator demanded it suspend staff from flying over its airspace if they were involved in, or supported, the demonstrations. The airline has laid off at least 20 including pilots and cabin crew.
The airline on Wednesday announced the resignation of chairman John Slosar, following the departure of CEO Rupert Hogg last month.
The unrest has shown no sign of easing.
Riot police fired beanbag guns and used pepper spray - both anti-riot weapons - to clear demonstrators from outside the Mong Kok police station and in Prince Edward metro station, with one man taken out on a stretcher with an oxygen mask over his face, television footage showed.
The police, who have repeatedly denied using excessive force, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Clare Jim, Twinnie Siu, Jessie Pang, Lukas Job, Noah Sin, Anne Marie Roantree; Writing by Joe Brock and Nick Macfie Editing by Robert Birsel)
source: news.abs-cbn.com
HONG KONG, China - When Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam appeared before the press on Tuesday, she appeared to be expecting to deliver a brief statement and move on. Instead she faced a media onslaught.
No sooner were her prepared remarks finished than the full-frontal assault -- in both Cantonese and English -- began.
"You blame your own political misjudgment on others, and refuse to acknowledge your mistakes," one journalist said.
"When will you accept political responsibility to end citizens' fear?... When will you be willing to step down? When will you tell the police to stop?," the reporter from Hong Kong's public broadcaster RTHK asked.
Before Lam could respond, the reporter added an admonition: "You asked me in the past to take my job seriously, so please answer me seriously as well."
The embattled Beijing-backed leader began to reply but more questions were shouted.
"Citizens are afraid of you and the police, can you answer the question?"
The combative press conference was an indication of the rising tensions in the city after a weekend of violence that left dozens of people with injuries, some of them serious.
Under the "One country, two systems" principle, the media in Hong Kong enjoys freedoms unheard of in mainland China. A broad spectrum of political leanings are represented, from feisty independent elements to strongly pro-Beijing outlets.
Lam at times appeared caught off-guard by the intensity of the questioning, with reporters repeatedly interrupting her and accusing her of failing to respond.
"Please don't interrupt," an official pleaded as reporters shouted over Lam.
At one point she paused, looked down, and then looked up again at reporters with her eyebrows raised as they continued to fire questions at her.
At other moments, she sipped from a glass of water as the barrage of questions continued.
In her opening remarks she called for calm.
"I again ask everyone to put aside your differences and calm down," Lam said, who appeared to be on the verge of tears at one point.
"Take a minute to think, look at our city, our home, do you all really want to see it pushed into an abyss?"
Lam defended the police against accusations of excessive force over the weekend, when rounds of tear gas were fired into subway stations and on crowded shopping streets.
She said she was "heartbroken" by reports of serious injuries, but offered no concessions to the demonstrators and insisted that police were facing "extremely difficult circumstances".
"This question has been answered," she repeated as she was pressed on whether Beijing would allow her to fully withdraw a now-suspended bill allowing extradition to the mainland -- a key protester demand.
And the barrage continued as she abruptly left the podium: "Do you have a conscience?" shouted one journalist.
"Mrs Lam, many citizens have been asking recently when you will die," yelled another.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
HONG KONG - Hong Kong police fired tear gas and rubber bullets in fresh clashes with protesters after a general strike caused transport chaos on Monday, and as night fell in the Asian financial hub thousands of activists blocked roads in several districts.
The latest protests surpassed all the earlier shows of dissent for scale and intensity, escalating after Hong Kong's Beijing-backed leader warned that the city is on the verge of an "extremely dangerous situation" and represented a challenge to China's sovereignty.
What started several months ago as demonstrations over an extradition bill that would have allowed people to be sent to mainland China for trial have now evolved into a much broader backlash against the city's government and its political masters in Beijing.
As some train and bus services resumed, tens of thousands of demonstrators fanned out across several districts, and there were running battles with riot police as some activists besieged police stations.
Thousands of black-clad protesters later occupied roads in Admiralty district near government buildings for several hours before moving to other areas. By nightfall, protests continued across the city.
Earlier, speaking to the media for the first time in two weeks, Beijing-backed leader Carrie Lam remained defiant as she rejected calls from protesters demanding her resignation, saying the government would be resolute in maintaining law and order.
She warned that the protests were putting the former British colony on a path of no return and had hurt its economy.
"They claim they want a revolution and to restore Hong Kong. These actions have far exceeded their original political demands," said a stern-faced Lam, flanked by senior members of her administration.
China's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council said it would hold a press conference on Tuesday at 2.30 pm (0630 GMT) to discuss the situation in the city.
The protests pose the greatest political challenge to the government of the former British colony since it returned to Chinese rule and represent the biggest popular challenge to Chinese leader Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.
"These illegal acts that challenge our country's sovereignty, and jeopardize 'one country two systems', will destroy the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong," Lam said, referring to the territory's administrative system since 1997, when it was handed back to China.
Some demonstrators accused Lam of again fueling the crisis by ignoring public sentiment, however, and pledged to continue their movement.
It was "totally a waste of time" to hear her speak, said Jay Leung, 20, a university student.
"I don't think the government is doing anything to heal society," he added. "They provide no solution to solve the political problem brought on by themselves."
Russell, 38, who works in the tourism industry said, "Nothing, she said nothing. I didn't hear anything positive, she just made it worse."
COMMUTER CHAOS
Within hours of the comments, protesters hurled umbrellas and other items at police in the residential district of Wong Tai Sin, where officers responded with pepper spray. Police also fired tear gas in Tin Shui Wai district, as tension flared.
The demonstrators blocked key roads, including three tunnels, cutting major arteries linking Hong Kong island and the Kowloon Peninsula. In Yuen Long district, a car rammed through a barricade, knocking down protesters.
Commuters struggled to get to work in the rush hour before Lam spoke, with many rail and bus services suspended by activists who blocked trains from leaving stations, some by sitting in doorways, in the latest anti-government campaign.
Long lines of traffic snaked across Hong Kong island into the heart of the business center and hundreds of people were stranded at the airport, where more than 200 flights were canceled at one point.
The Airport Express train service was temporarily suspended.
"(The government) are making police the scapegoat and creating a situation that is becoming unbearable for everyone who lives here. So that's one of the reasons we have joined the strike," said Mark Schmidt, 49, a restaurant manager who closed his business on Monday.
"Losing a bit of money now is not such a problem,(compared) with losing everything that the freedom of Hong Kong used to stand for," he added.
Lam's speech focused mainly on the violence at recent protests, which have galvanized people to join rallies by civil servants, teachers, lawyers and religious groups, among others.
SHOPS SHUTTERED
In an upmarket shopping mall in Sha Tin, scores of shops were shuttered, including clothing retailer H&M as well as luxury brands Chanel and Dior.
Protesters in the shopping center chanted, "Strike! Support to the end."
Many stores in the bustling shopping district of Causeway Bay were closed as well as businesses close to the protests.
Members of the Hong Kong Disneyland Cast Members Union went on strike, as did many lifeguards, forcing authorities to close some beaches and swimming pools.
Demonstrators besieged police stations over the weekend in flash mob-style actions, spray-painting walls with graffiti and breaking windows. More than 40 people were arrested.
Police, who some have accused of using excessive force on protesters, said the violence was escalating rapidly and the situation was spiraling out of control.
Authorities said 420 people have been arrested over the protests since June 9, while police have fired 1,000 rounds of tear gas and about 160 rubber bullets.
The government has refused to accede to any of the protesters' main demands, which include a complete withdrawal of the extradition bill and an independent inquiry into government handling of the crisis.
With tourist numbers falling and hotel occupancy rates slumping, the protests are piling pressure on a struggling economy.
IHS Markit's July Purchasing Managers' Index for Hong Kong showed private sector business activity dropped to its lowest level in a decade, weighed down by the protests and the Sino-US trade war.
"I would not be surprised if we see a technical recession - two consecutive quarters of contraction. That is highly probable now," said Raymond Yeung, chief China economist at ANZ.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed down 2.9 percent, falling to its lowest level since January. (Reporting by Clare Jim, Donny Kwok, James Pomfret, Noah Sin, Twinnie Siu, Vimvam Tam, Kevin Liu, Lukas Job, Felix Tam; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Paul Tait, Clarence Fernandez & Simon Cameron-Moore)
source: news.abs-cbn.com
HONG KONG - Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday the extradition bill that sparked the territory's biggest political crisis in decades was dead, admitting that the government's work on the bill had been a "total failure".
The bill, which would have allowed people in Hong Kong to be sent to mainland China to face trial, sparked huge and at times violent street protests and plunged the former British colony into turmoil.
In mid-June, Lam responded to huge protests by suspending the bill, but on Tuesday she said "there are still lingering doubts about the government's sincerity or worries whether the government will restart the process in the legislative council".
"So, I reiterate here, there is no such plan, the bill is dead," she told a news conference.
Lam's declaration appeared to be a win for opponents of the bill, but it was not immediately clear if it would be enough to satisfy them.
Demonstrators have also called for Lam to resign, for an independent investigation into police actions against protesters, and for the government to abandon the description of a violent protest on June 12 as a riot.
Hong Kong was returned to China from Britain in 1997 with the promise of a high degree of autonomy, but in recent years there has been growing concern about the erosion of those freedoms at the hands of Beijing.
The crisis over the extradition bill has been the biggest challenge Beijing has faced to its rule in the territory in the 22 years since it re-gained control over Hong Kong.
The planned bill triggered outrage across broad sections of Hong Kong society amid concerns it would threaten the much-cherished rule of law that underpins the city's international financial status.
Lam's appearance on Tuesday was her first since a rare pre-dawn news conference a week ago after protesters besieged and ransacked the legislative building in the heart of the city.
Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" formula that allows freedoms not enjoyed in mainland China, including the right to protest and an independent judiciary.
Lawyers and rights groups say China's justice system is marked by torture, forced confessions and arbitrary detention, claims that Beijing denies.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
HONG KONG - China redoubled its support for Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Monday after days of protests against a planned extradition bill, and a source close to Lam said Beijing was unlikely to let her go even if she tried to resign.
Lam's attempts to pass a bill that would allow people in Hong Kong to be extradited to China for trial triggered the biggest and most violent protests in decades in the former British colony, now under Chinese rule.
As the crisis entered its second week, demonstrators and opposition politicians braved intermittent rain to gather near the government's offices and urge her to kill the bill and quit.
The upheaval comes at a delicate time for Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is grappling with a deepening U.S. trade war, slowing economic growth and regional strategic tension.
Hong Kong has been governed under a "one country, two systems" formula since its return to Chinese rule in 1997, enjoying freedoms not granted to the mainland, including an independent judiciary but short of a fully democratic vote.
Many residents are increasingly unnerved by Beijing's tightening grip and what they see as the erosion of those freedoms. Many say changes to the rule of law could imperil Hong Kong's status as a global financial centre.
"The Chinese government, the central government, has always fully affirmed the work of chief executive Carrie Lam and the Hong Kong government," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a news conference in Beijing.
"The central government will continue to firmly support the chief executive and the SAR government’s governing in accordance with the law," he said, referring to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Hong Kong police said late on Monday that 32 people had been arrested since Wednesday, when police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at protesters.
TWO MILLION
Protest organisers said almost 2 million people - out of a population of around 7 million - turned out on Sunday to demand that Lam resign, in what is becoming the most significant challenge to China's relationship with the territory since 1997.
The mass rally, which police said drew 338,000 participants at its peak, forced Lam to apologise for planning to push the bill through.
On Monday, protesters near the government's offices blocked roads and urged Lam to withdraw the bill, release arrested students, drop the official description of a rally on Wednesday that involved clashes with the police as a riot, and step down.
A senior Hong Kong official close to Lam told Reuters that Beijing was not likely to let her do so, even if she wanted to, saying "it would create more problems than it solves, at all sorts of levels".
Lam stopped short of explicitly killing the bill, but the official said the postponement meant it was effectively dead.
Still, many in Hong Kong are unhappy to have faced the prospect of legislation that lawyers and judges say risks exposing people to the mercy of a mainland justice system plagued by torture, forced confessions and arbitrary detention.
The bill would cover Hong Kong residents and foreign and Chinese nationals living there or passing through.
"We cannot accept her apology, it doesn't remove all our threats," said social worker Brian Chau, one of several hundred protesters who stayed overnight in the Admiralty district around the government headquarters and legislature.
'EVIL LAW'
In a coincidence of timing, 22-year-old Joshua Wong, the face of Hong Kong's push for full democracy, walked free from prison on Monday.
"I will join to fight against this evil law," said Wong, one of the leaders of the 2014 pro-democracy "Umbrella" protests that blocked major roads for 79 days. "I believe this is the time for her, Carrie Lam the liar, to step down."
Two former post-colonial leaders, Tung Chee-Hwa and Leung Chun-ying, were forced to cut short their time in office amid controversies linked to policies that stoked fears of Chinese encroachment on Hong Kong's freedoms.
The latest crisis escalated during Wong's five-week jail term for contempt of court. Until this month, the failure of the Umbrella protests to win concessions, coupled with prosecutions of at least 100 protesters, had discouraged many young people from going back out on the streets.
But Lam's efforts to ram through the extradition bill galvanised opposition.
On Monday, the benchmark share index climbed 0.4%, having risen more than 1% in early trade, outperforming gains in Asia ex-Japan and onshore China .
Opposition politicians echoed marchers' calls for both Lam and the proposed law to go.
"Her government cannot be an effective government, and will have much, much, much difficulties to carry on," veteran Democratic Party legislator James To told government-funded broadcaster RTHK.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that U.S. President Donald Trump was likely to raise the issue of Hong Kong human rights with China's Xi if they met at the G20 summit in Japan next week.
British Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman said she would raise the protests with Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua, who is on a visit to London to boost economic and financial cooperation.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
