HONG KONG, China- Pro-democracy demonstrators holed up in a Hong Kong university campus set the main entrance ablaze Monday after police surrounding the building warned they may use live rounds, deepening fears over how nearly 6 months of unrest across the city will end.
The violence extended a dangerous new phase of the crisis, which over the past week has seen schools shut down, roads barricaded and Chinese soldiers briefly leave their local barracks to clean up streets.
China has refused to budge on any of the protesters' key demands, which include free elections for the city of 7.5 million people.
China has instead repeatedly warned it will not tolerate any dissent, and concerns are growing it could intervene militarily to quell the unrest.
On Monday several loud blasts were heard around dawn before a wall of fire lit up an entrance to the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), AFP reporters said, as what appeared to be a police attempt to enter the campus was repelled by protesters determined to hold their ground.
Police said they had fired 3 live rounds in the early hours of Monday at a protest site near the university but that no one appeared to have been hit.
INTENSE CLASHES
Intense clashes on Sunday, which saw a police officer hit in the leg by an arrow and protesters meet police tear gas with volleys of petrol bombs, rolled overnight across the Kowloon district, as a call went out to defend the besieged campus.
There, protesters had hunkered down under umbrellas from occasional fire from police water cannon and hurled Molotov cocktails at an armored vehicle, leaving it ablaze on a flyover near the campus.
Police declared the campus a "riot" scene -- rioting is punishable by up to 10 years in jail -- and blocked exits as spokesman Louis Lau issued a stark warning in a Facebook live broadcast.
"I hereby warn rioters not to use petrol bombs, arrows, cars or any deadly weapons to attack police officers," he said.
"If they continue such dangerous actions, we would have no choice but to use the minimum force necessary, including live rounds, to fire back."
Hong Kong police routinely carry sidearms, but until now they have only used them in isolated incidents during running street clashes with protestors. Three people have been shot, none of them fatally.
Faced with large groups throwing bricks and Molotov cocktails, the police have mostly relied on tear gas, water cannon, and rubber bullets as dispersal tools, but the new warning suggests a more active use of live rounds to counter the unrest.
'HELPLESS'
Fear gripped protesters still inside the campus -- whose occupation is a twist in tactics by a leaderless movement so far defined by its fluid, unpredictable nature.
One 19-year-old, who gave her name as "K", said there was desperation among the 200 demonstrators she estimated remained.
"Some people were crying badly, some were furious, some agonizing because they felt hopeless as we were left no way out of the campus.
"We don’t know when the police will storm in."
A few hundred meters from the campus, protesters erected barricades in the Tsim Sha Tsui and Jordan areas.
One 16-year-old, who gave his name as Joshua, said it was an attempt to draw police attention away from the university.
'BLOSSOM EVERYWHERE'
The nearly 6 months of unrest has rocked previously stable Hong Kong, tipping the international financial hub into recession and frightening off tourists.
What began as a series of mostly peaceful demonstrations against a now-shelved bill to allow extradition to the Chinese mainland has morphed into wider calls for democracy and an inquiry into alleged police brutality.
Violence has worsened this month, with two men killed in separate incidents.
Demonstrators last week engineered a "Blossom Everywhere" campaign of blockades and vandalism, which forced the police to draft in prison officers as reinforcements, shut down sections of Hong Kong's transport network and closed schools and shopping malls.
Chinese President Xi Jinping last week issued his most strident comments on the crisis, saying it threatened the "one country, two systems" model under which Hong Kong has been ruled since the 1997 handover from Britain.
Chinese state media remains robustly hostile to the demonstrations, and frequently urges Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam to brook no compromise.
On Saturday dozens of soldiers from Chinese People's Liberation Army briefly left their Hong Kong barracks to help clean-up the streets.
It was a rare and symbolic operation, as the troops are normally confined to barracks and are meant to be only called out in a time of emergency.
Chinese defense ministry spokesman Wu Qian on Monday defended the clean-up operation, as he repeated warnings from Beijing that the military had the capabilities to quell the unrest.
"Ending violence and restoring order is the most pressing task we have in Hong Kong," Wu said in Bangkok.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
HONG KONG—As Hong Kong entered its 20th weekend of anti-government demonstrations, triggered by the now-withdrawn fugitive bill, some Filipino domestic workers say they are facing termination as their employers have decided to relocate overseas.
Hong Kong on Wednesday, Oct. 23, formally announced the withdrawal of the extradition bill that would have allowed the transfer of criminal suspects it does not have an extradition treaty with such as Macau, Taiwan, and mainland China. The demands of the protests have since grown, among them an independent probe into alleged police brutality, amnesty for arrested protesters, categorizing the protests as riots as those convicted could face a hefty jail term of up to 10 years, and universal suffrage.
Among those preparing for her termination is "Roberta" (not her real name), a Filipino domestic worker who has been with her Indian employers for eight months.
Her employers are due to relocate to Singapore within the year, as their family would often find themselves caught in the crossfire between police and protesters in Kowloon. Roberta has been working in Hong Kong for eight years. She is due to return to the Philippines this month for a two-week vacation and will then break the news to her family. Her employment ends on Nov. 24.
"Actually mga June ganyan, nag-uusap na mga amo namin. Maglilipat na sila ng lugar kasi tinanong na rin nila ako kung nakapunta na ako ng Singapore. Sabi ko, hindi," said Roberta. "Nagbigla din ako kasi nagsabi siya na pupunta na daw silang Singapore, na humanap na daw ako ng bagong amo," she added.
(Actually it was around June when my employers talked about it. They're going to move, because they asked me if I've ever been to Singapore and I told them I've never been. I was taken aback when they said they would move to Singapore, that I needed to start looking for a new employer.)
Despite the current political and economic climate in Hong Kong, Roberta is hopeful she will be able to find new employers here. Singapore, for her, is not an option as domestic workers are paid higher in Hong Kong at 4,520 Hong Kong dollars while Singapore does not have a minimum wage set for maids.
The situation is a double-edged sword for Libeth A.C. and Marie M. who arrived in Hong Kong in May and July, respectively.
Libeth and Marie are colleagues who work for a British-Chinese man, who is a lawyer, and Hong Kong Chinese woman hotelier, a married couple in their 80s.
The couple, who owns a 4,500 square-foot house in Clear Water Bay in the New Territories, has told Libeth and Marie's other colleague that they are due to relocate to the United Kingdom this January. The couple employs three maids and two Chinese drivers. They are unaware of the fates of their male colleagues.
While the Filipinos have avoided much of the weekend mayhem, as their rest days are usually on weekdays, but with no fixed day, they consider the termination a blessing because they have complained of abuse from their elderly employers.
"Minsan nanduduro ’yung mga amo namin, hinahagis ’yung plato na aluminum. Nagdadabog. ’Pag may mga basura itatapon sa amin," Libeth told ABS-CBN News.
(Sometimes they would point their fingers at us, throw aluminum plates at us. They would throw tantrums. When there's trash, they would throw it in front of us.)
Marie added: "Masaya po (ako) para makalayo sa kalupitan."
Both domestic workers have children they left behind in the Philippines. They are hopeful they will still find luck in Hong Kong. Prior to Hong Kong, Libeth worked for some years in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, while Marie had spent some three years in the Middle East and two years in Malaysia.
If worse comes to worst, both domestic workers are eyeing Singapore as their next destination.
"Gusto ko sana du’n na lang sa Pilipinas ulit pero wala pong budget. Negosyo mag-umpisa sana kahit sa maliit pero wala pang ipon," said Libeth.
Marie added: "Sa Pilipinas? Mahirap doon. Walang makukunan ng pagtustusan."
For long-time domestic worker Aurora Villahermosa, a mother of one who has been working in Hong Kong for 27 years, the situation has not affected her French employer of 12 years. But she empathizes with friends who have lost their jobs and are no longer in Hong Kong because their expat employers were forced to migrate elsewhere due to the unrest.
"Napakarami dito na affected talaga. Marami na nga nag-ano . . . ’yung mga expat . . . Dami ng mga kaibigan ko nawalan ng trabaho. Mga iba Korean ang amo at Japanese. Mostly Korean," said Villahermosa.
(Many are affected. I have many friends who've lost their jobs, some have Korean employers and Japanese. Mostly Korean)
Villahermosa told ABS-CBN News she also has siblings working for Chinese employers. But all appeared to be well with them, too.
" ’Yung mga kapatid ko Chinese mga amo nila s’yempre nag-uusap kami araw-araw. Napag-uusapan ’yang ganyan bagay. Wala naman. ’Yung amo nila wala naman sinasabi sa kanila na sooner or later," said Villahermosa.
(My siblings have Chinese employers. Of course, we speak with each other every day. We talk about these things, but there's nothing. Their employers have not said anything about losing their jobs sooner or later.)
For Rowena Libunao, an OFW in Hong Kong for 19 years now, says she has been with her employer for 12 years. They've also discussed developments in Hong Kong, but are not letting go of her just yet.
"Sabi niya (employer), if comes things worse (sic), maybe 5 to 10 years, no more helper. But I don't know kung ano totoo. Basta sabi niya, we are safe still. Sabi niya don't worry. You have family here because you stay here for so long. You are my family," Libunao told ABS-CBN News.
(My employer said if things worsen, maybe in five to 10 years, there'd be no more helpers. But I don't know what's true. My employer says we're safe. She said don't worry. You have a family here because you've stayed here for so long. You are my family.)
"’Pag ayaw pa ni amo at sabihin safe ako, stay pa rin dito kasi walang . . . Ewan ko kung may trabaho roon sa Pilipinas na naghihintay. Kung meron, why not, di ba?" Libunao said.
(If my employer doesn't want me to leave yet and I am safe, I'll still stay here. I don't know if there's work waiting for me in the Philippines. But if there is, why not, right?)
source: news.abs-cbn.com
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.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
