TAIPEI — Taiwan on Thursday promised to settle Hong Kongers who flee the Chinese-ruled city due to political reasons, offering help from employment to counselling as China pushes new security legislation that has triggered fresh protests.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen this week became the first world leader to pledge specific measures to help people from Hong Kong who may leave the former British colony due to the new legislation, a move that is certain to sour already poor ties between Taipei and Beijing.
Chen Ming-tong, head of Taiwan's top China-policy maker, the Mainland Affairs Council, told parliament the government will establish an organization to deliver "humanitarian relief" that includes settlement and employment in a joint effort with activists groups.
He said counselling services will also be available for Hong Kongers, some of whom may take part in increasingly violent pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
"Many Hong Kongers want to come to Taiwan. Our goal is to give them settlement and care," Chen said, urging the public not use the word "refugee" as it could be "emotionally harmful" for people from the city.
Chen, however, did not give details such as scale, timing and qualification of the relief program when pressed by lawmakers, saying the government is still working on the details.
Hong Kong's demonstrators have won widespread sympathy in democratic Taiwan, which China considers as its territory to be taken by force, if necessary. Taiwan has shown no interest in being ruled by autocratic China.
Help for Hong Kong has won rare bipartisan support in politically polarized Taiwan and 3 opposition parties have introduced bills to make it easier for Hong Kongers to live in Taiwan if they have to leave the city due to political reasons.
Taiwan has no law on refugees that could be applied to protesters seeking asylum, but its laws promise to help Hong Kongers whose safety and liberty are threatened for political reasons.
Some say Tsai's government is not moving fast enough.
"Please come up with details of the humanitarian relief at the soonest. Don't wait until people shed blood like water," said Chen Yu-jen, a lawmaker from main opposition Kuomintang party.
Ivan Tang, a Hong Kong pro-democracy activist, welcomed Tsai's support but cautioned a sense of urgency among protesters in the city, some of whom had been barred from entering Taiwan due to travel restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"They have nowhere to go... but the security law could be implemented soon," he said.
Taiwan has become a popular destination for Hong Kongers leaving the city, with the number of Hong Kong citizens granted Taiwan residency jumping 150 percent to 2,383 in the first 4 months of 2020 compared with a year ago, official data shows.
University applications to Taiwan from Hong Kong also rose 62 percent in 2020 from a year ago, and island's education ministry said this week it was planning to raise the quota for Hong Kong students.
-reuters-
TEHRAN, Iran—The millions who turned out across Iran to mourn General Qasem Soleimani have testified to the apparent across-the-board popularity of a figure hailed as a "living martyr" for the Islamic republic.
Rising above divisions in Iran, funeral processions for the Revolutionary Guard commander assassinated in a US drone strike last week in Baghdad drew massive crowds between Sunday and Tuesday in the cities of Ahvaz, Mashhad, Tehran, Qom and finally Kerman, his hometown.
"The last time I remember such a crowd was at Ayatollah (Ruhollah) Khomeini's funeral 30 years ago," prominent Iranian journalist Maziar Khosravi said of the turnout in the capital, referring to the founder of the Islamic republic.
The show of national unity has contrasted sharply with the downbeat mood in the country since nationwide demonstrations that were violently put down by security forces in November.
Soleimani, killed at the age of 62, had been at the center of power-broking in the region for 2 decades as chief of the elite external operations Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards.
Powerful and always presentable, yet discreet, he was also a popular figure during his lifetime, not just in death.
A survey published in 2018 by IranPoll and the University of Maryland—one of the few considered reliable by analysts—found Soleimani had a popularity rating of 83 percent, ahead of President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
ROOTS OF POPULARITY
Declared a "living martyr" by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei while still alive, Soleimani was widely regarded as a hero for his role in defeating the Islamic State jihadist group in both Iraq and Syria.
In the eyes of many Iranians, his military and strategic prowess were instrumental in warding off the multi-ethnic disintegration of neighboring countries such as Afghanistan as well as Syria and Iraq.
In a rare tribute to his status, a mosque in Qom, the spiritual capital of Shiite Iran, hoisted the red flag symbolizing the blood of martyrs that is traditionally reserved for the Islamic holy month of Muharram.
Khosravi, the journalist, noted that huge crowds from different sectors of society had also turned out to mourn and pay tribute to Soleimani in Ahvaz, capital of the down-at-heel province of Khuzestan and a hotspot in last year's protests.
Hassan Razavi, a lawyer and University of Tehran teacher, explained the roots of the general's popularity at home.
"What people liked about him is that while some other military commanders after the Iraq-Iran war shifted their life toward politics and economy, he continued his role in the military," said Razavi.
He was seen to have played a "significant role in pushing (late Iraqi dictator) Saddam Hussein's army out of the country" during the devastating war that raged between the 2 neighbors from 1980 to 1988.
"People witnessed that he never took financial advantage of his position for his personal life," the lawyer said.
And, "he was so courageous that instead of leading the war out of war rooms far from the battlefield, he was in the middle of the battlefield on the frontline with his soldiers," Razavi said.
Whereas previously he kept out of the limelight, Soleimani had in recent years become an unlikely celebrity in Iran—replete with a huge following on Instagram.
His profile shot up as the public face of Iran's intervention in the Syrian conflict from 2013, appearing in battlefield photos, documentaries—and even being featured in a music video and animated film.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
TEHRAN—Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Monday warned his American counterpart Donald Trump to "never threaten the Iranian nation," after he issued a US strike list of 52 targets in the Islamic republic.
"Those who refer to the number 52 should also remember the number 290. #IR655 Never threaten the Iranian nation," he tweeted, referring to 290 lives lost in July 1988 when a US warship shot down passenger plane Iran Air 655 in the Gulf.
Trump warned Saturday that Washington had lined up 52 targets in Iran if it attacked American personnel or assets in retaliation for a US drone strike in Baghdad that killed Iran's top commander Qasem Soleimani.
He said 52 represented the number of Americans held hostage at the US embassy in Tehran for more than a year starting in late 1979.
Trump said some of these sites are "at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD."
Later, the president tweeted again, this time warning Iran that the US will hit Iran "harder than they have ever been hit before!"
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BANGKOK - Several thousand people took part in Thailand's biggest protest since a 2014 coup on Saturday after authorities moved to ban a party that has rallied opposition to the government of former military ruler Prayuth Chan-ocha.
The demonstration in Bangkok, called just a day earlier by Future Forward party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, a 41-year-old billionaire, revived memories of the spasms of street protest that have roiled the Thai capital periodically during the past two decades of political turbulence.
But there was no sign of any attempt to block the biggest demonstration since Prayuth seized power in 2014 on promises to end such unrest.
"This is just the beginning," Thanathorn told the cheering crowd that spilled across walkways and stairways close to the MBK Centre mall, in the heart of Bangkok's shopping and business district.
Thanathorn has emerged as the most outspoken opponent of the government headed by Prayuth, 65, since an election in March that the opposition said was manipulated to favor the army.
Thailand's election panel has asked the Constitutional Court to dissolve the Future Forward party, accusing it of infringing the laws governing political parties by accepting multi-million dollar loans from Thanathorn.
Last month, the Constitutional Court disqualified Thanathorn as member of parliament for holding shares in a media company on the date his election candidacy was registered. Thanathorn disputed the ruling.
Among Saturday's crowd were some veteran "red shirt" protesters, supporters of ousted populist leader Thaksin Shinawatra, who had once clashed in Bangkok with the "yellow shirt" conservatives - hardline loyalists of the palace and army.
NEW GENERATION
But there were more younger anti-government protesters, many of whom said it was their first protest.
"It's time," said office worker Pantipa Tiakhome, 30. "They have done everything to hinder democracy from flourishing."
Helped by social media, Thanathorn has struck a chord with younger Thais. Meanwhile, the army has made plain its dislike of a movement it accuses of trying to rally the young against the monarchy and the armed forces.
"Today is a show of strength so that in the future others may join us. We're just here today as a test run. Prayuth, don't be afraid yet. The real thing is next month," Thanathorn told the protest.
A party spokeswoman said more than 10,000 people had joined the demonstration. Authorities did not give an estimate.
Many gave the three-finger salute of resistance to the former junta, a symbol drawn from the film The Hunger Games.
Government opponents are also planning a "Run Against Dictatorship" for Jan. 12.
Thanathorn signed an agreement on Saturday with six parties in an opposition alliance to push for changes to the constitution that was drawn up by the junta before the election.
He also won their support for the protest.
Among those parties was Pheu Thai, linked to Thaksin, who lives in self-exile since he was overthrown in 2006. His sister was ousted as prime minister by Prayuth.
Pheu Thai won the most seats in the 500-member lower house but has adopted a quieter approach to challenging the government than Future Forward, which came third in the election.
Palang Pracharat, the pro-military party formed last year by members of the junta's cabinet, came second. Prayuth told reporters on Friday it was inappropriate to organize a demonstration towards the end of the year.
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BAGHDAD - Iraq's embattled premier announced Friday he will resign in keeping with the wishes of the country's top Shiite cleric, after nearly two months of anti-government protests that have cost more than 400 lives.
Adel Abdel Mahdi's written statement was greeted with cheers and blaring music across Baghdad's iconic Tahrir (Liberation) Square, where crowds have amassed since early October against a ruling class deemed corrupt and inefficient.
"I will submit to the esteemed parliament a formal letter requesting my resignation from the premiership," Abdel Mahdi wrote, just hours after Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani called in his weekly sermon on parliament to replace the cabinet.
The sermon set off an avalanche of statements from political figures in support of a no-confidence vote on the government, before the prime minister's announcement.
Celebrations broke out in Tahrir, where young protesters dropped the stones they were preparing to throw at riot police and began dancing, an AFP photographer said.
"It's our first victory, and we're hoping for many more," shouted one demonstrator as the three-wheeled tuk-tuk vehicles used to ferry casualties pumped patriotic music into the square.
"It's also a victory for the martyrs who fell," he said.
The grassroots movement is the largest Iraq has seen in decades but also the deadliest, with more than 400 people dead and 15,000 wounded in the capital and Shiite-majority south, according to an AFP tally.
For weeks, Sistani had called for restraint in dealing with demonstrators and urged political parties to get "serious" about reform, but he ramped up demands on Friday.
"The parliament, from which this current government is drawn, is asked to reconsider its choice in this regard," he said in Friday's sermon delivered by a representative.
Within minutes, MP and former premier Haider al-Abadi called on lawmakers to convene Saturday for a "special session for a vote of no-confidence and to form a new independent government".
And the powerful Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary network, which had backed the government, also appeared to change course.
Its parliamentary bloc, Fatah, called for "the necessary changes in the interests of Iraq".
Bloodshed resumes
The sudden turnaround came after one of the bloodiest days of protests yet, with 44 demonstrators killed and nearly 1,000 wounded on Thursday in Baghdad and across the south.
The bloodshed resumed on Friday, with two protesters shot dead in the flashpoint city of Nasiriyah and another killed in the shrine city of Najaf.
"The increasing numbers of deaths and injuries cannot be tolerated," said the UN's top official in Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.
The majority of Thursday's dead fell in Nasiriyah, which counted 26 dead, including two who died Friday from injuries suffered the previous day.
In renewed rallies Friday in Nasiriyah, demonstrators encircled a police station and set ablaze five police cars.
And in Najaf, a massive funeral procession snaked through the streets carrying coffins of some of the 16 people killed there the previous day.
Clashes erupted there between protesters and armed men dressed in civilian clothes, with volleys of gunfire heard outside political party offices, according to witnesses.
Demonstrators felt emboldened by Sistani's sermon, which was "different than the previous ones", said Ali al-Sunbuli, an activist in Najaf.
The sermon began with a prayer for the protesters who died and then addressed parliament directly, not the cabinet or political parties.
"It's a sign that he doesn't recognise their legitimacy," said Sunbuli.
In Diwaniyah, another hotspot, protester Ahmad al-Badr said that Sistani's speech "was a big push for us".
Turning tides
The unrest in Iraq's south was unleashed after protesters stormed the Iranian consulate in Najaf late Wednesday, accusing the neighbouring country of propping up Iraq's government.
Tehran demanded Iraq take decisive action against the protesters, saying it was "disgusted" by developments.
In response, Abdel Mahdi ordered military chiefs to deploy in several provinces to "impose security and restore order" -- but chaos reigned instead.
Men in civilian clothes opened fire at demonstrators and tribal fighters deployed in the streets in their defence.
As the death toll climbed late Thursday, the premier sacked the commander he had dispatched to Nasiriyah and the provincial governor based in the city resigned.
Police officers speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP they had received orders Thursday to "finish off" the rallies.
Baghdad and the south have been rocked by the most widespread street unrest since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
Protesters are seeking an overhaul of the ruling elite, accused of corruption and embezzling state funds in a country scarred by decades of conflict and where infrastructure is failing.
Iraq is OPEC's second-largest crude producer but one in five Iraqis lives in poverty and youth unemployment stands at 25 percent, according to the World Bank.
Demonstrators have also called out Iraq's large eastern neighbour Iran, accusing it of political, economic and military overreach.
Top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani last month convinced political factions to back the government, including firebrand cleric Moqtada Sadr, who had called on the premier to resign.
But as the tide appeared to turn again, Sadr resurfaced Thursday, saying it would "be the beginning of the end for Iraq" if the government did not step down.
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BAGRAM, Afghanistan — President Donald Trump said Thursday the US had resumed talks with Taliban insurgents as he made a surprise trip to Afghanistan to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with troops.
On a brief visit to Bagram Airfield outside the capital Kabul, Trump served turkey dinner to soldiers, posed for photographs and delivered a speech after meeting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.
"The Taliban wants to make a deal and we're meeting with them and we're saying it has to be a ceasefire," he told reporters.
About 13,000 US troops remain in Afghanistan, 18 years after the United States invaded after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Trump said he planned to reduce the number to 8,600 without giving further details.
"There's nowhere I'd rather celebrate this Thanksgiving than right here with the toughest, strongest, best and bravest warriors on the face of the earth," the president, who was making his first trip to the war-torn country, told the troops.
"I've just come from serving Thanksgiving dinner to some of you... and we had a good time."
Trump joked that he had just started eating when he was called away, and didn't even get to taste his turkey.
"I should've started with that, instead of the mashed potatoes," he said.
"But I hope everyone enjoyed the fantastic meal, it certainly did look good and hopefully everyone can get some well-deserved rest this holiday."
AMERICA'S LONGEST WAR
The United States earlier this year reached a deal with Taliban insurgents to pull US troops from Afghanistan and wind down America's longest war in return for security guarantees.
But Trump made a shock move in September, describing the year-long talks as "dead" and withdrawing an invitation to the insurgents to meet near Washington due to the killing of a US soldier.
The Taliban refuses to negotiate formally with the Afghan government, though diplomatic efforts have continued to foster dialogue and an eventual peace deal.
Trump said Thursday the war in Afghanistan "will not be decided on the battlefield" and that "ultimately there will need to be a political solution" decided by people in the region.
The US president has often vowed to pull out of the US's "endless wars," and he is keen to withdraw many troops from Afghanistan ahead of the November 2020 election when he faces a tough battle to win a second term.
Afghanistan remains roiled by violence, and US presidents are still only able to make fleeting, unannounced visits to Bagram -- the biggest US base in the country -- due to the security threat.
Ghani, who was only given a few hours' notice about the visit, thanked Trump for pushing for "the type of peace that will ensure the gains of the past year and ensure your security and our security."
The Taliban last week handed over 2 hostages -- an American and an Australian -- after 3 years in captivity in exchange for 3 high-ranking insurgent prisoners, a move seen as a boost to peace talks.
FRICTION WITH US MILITARY LEADERS
Back in Washington, Trump's relations with the US military leadership have recently soured over his repeated interference in high-profile discipline cases.
Trump reversed the demotion of Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher who was accused of war crimes but only found guilty of a lesser offense.
Gallagher's cause had been championed by Fox News and Trump's conservative base.
The case drew sharp criticism from the top brass concerned that the president was undermining military judicial process.
Trump this month also dismissed a murder conviction against a soldier who ordered his men to fire on 3 unarmed Afghans in 2012.
And he granted clemency to another soldier charged with murder over the death of an alleged Taliban bomb-maker in 2010.
Before taking the secret 13-hour flight to Afghanistan, Trump had been expected to spend Thanksgiving at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida and to make video calls to US troops deployed abroad.
The White House scheduled tweets that were sent from the president's account during the flight when he did not have access to the internet.
Agence France-Presse
A supporter of former President Evo Morales holds a Bolivian flag during clashes with police in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday. Bolivia's new interim president Jeanine Anez faces the challenge of stabilizing the nation and organizing national elections within three months at a time of political disputes that pushed Morales to fly off to self-exile in Mexico after 14 years in power.
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BAGHDAD - Thousands of Iraqis thronged central Baghdad on Friday demanding the root-and-branch downfall of the political elite, in what was expected to become the biggest day of mass anti-government demonstrations since the fall of Saddam Hussein.
Protests in which 250 people have died over the past month have accelerated dramatically in recent days, drawing huge crowds from across Iraq's sectarian and ethnic divides to reject the political parties in power since 2003.
Thousands have been camped out in Baghdad's central Tahrir Square, with many thousands more joining them by day. Friday, the Muslim day of prayer, was expected to draw the biggest crowds yet, with many taking to the streets after worship.
More than 50 people were wounded overnight and early Friday morning, police and hospital sources said. By late morning hundreds were marching to the square from side streets, condemning elites they see as deeply corrupt, beholden to foreign powers and responsible for daily privations.
In recent days protests have been comparatively peaceful by day, joined by elderly people and young families, becoming more violent after dark as police use tear gas and live ammunition to battle self-proclaimed "revolutionary" youths in the street.
Amnesty International said on Thursday security forces were using "previously unseen" tear gas canisters modeled on military grenades that are 10 times as heavy as standard ones.
In Baghdad, protesters had set up checkpoints in the streets leading into and surrounding Tahrir Square, redirecting traffic.
New arrivals joined and assisted those who had camped overnight. A group of young people was sweeping the streets in to "make things comfortable" for fellow protesters.
Mohammed Najm, an engineering graduate with no job, said the square had become a model for the country he and his comrades hope to build: "We are cleaning streets, others bring us water, they bring us electricity, they wired it up.
"A mini-state. Health for free, tuk-tuks transporting for free," he said. "The state has been around for 16 years and what it failed to do we did in seven days in Tahrir. If they can't do it, leave."
Many were singing about the sit in. Helmets and gas masks were now a common sight. A group of middle-aged women sat making falafel sandwiches.
"We are making food for the protesters. They are our sons and brothers," said Umm Idrees, mother to three university graduates who have all failed to find jobs. "We are here until the regime falls, every day."
'NOT ENOUGH'
In his weekly sermon, top Shi'ite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani warned of "civil conflict, chaos and destruction" if the security forces or paramilitary groups crack down on the protests. And he gave an apparent nod to protesters who say the government is being manipulated from abroad, above all by Iran.
"No one person or group or side with an agenda, or any regional or international party, can infringe upon the will of Iraqis or force an opinion upon them," Sistani's representative said during a sermon in the holy city of Kerbala.
Despite OPEC member Iraq's vast oil wealth, many Iraqis live in poverty or have limited access to clean water, electricity, basic health care and education. The protests are driven by young people who above all want jobs.
The government of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, in office for a year, has failed to find a response to the protests. A crackdown that saw police fire into crowds from rooftops has only inflamed the anger of the crowds.
Many see the political class as subservient to one or another of Baghdad's main allies, the United States and Iran, who use Iraq as a proxy for a struggle for regional influence.
"The leadership is controlled by Iran," said barber Amir, 26. "When we make demands we shouldn't even talk to the government, we should talk to Iran. We don't have a government."
Reuters reported this week that a powerful Iran-backed faction had considered abandoning Abdul Mahdi, but decided to keep him in office after a secret meeting attended by a general from Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
An Iranian security official confirmed General Qassem Soleimani had attended Wednesday's meeting, saying he was there to "give advice."
President Barham Salih said on Thursday that Abdul Mahdi was willing to resign if parliament's main blocs could agree on a replacement.
Protesters say that wouldn't be enough; they want to undo the entire post-Saddam political system, which distributes power among sectarian parties, giving them little incentive to reform.
"We don't want to oust just Adel Abdul Mahdi, we want all the corrupt ones. So what if he resigns? What will happen? They will get someone worse," said Amir. "It is not enough. What about the rest of them? We don't want the parties."
There were protests in other provinces, with the unrest having spread across much of the southern Shi'ite heartland.
Some protesters in oil-rich Basra tried to block the road leading to Majnoon oilfield and pitched a tent on Friday in support of the Baghdad protests but oil sources said operations were not interrupted.
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HONG KONG - Hundreds of Hong Kong medical workers and other anti-government protesters rallied in the Chinese-ruled city's financial center on Saturday, angry at perceived police brutality during more than four months of sometimes violent unrest.
Pro-democracy activists have attacked police with petrol bombs and rocks and shone lasers in their eyes. One officer was slashed in the neck with a knife.
Police have responded with tear gas, water cannon, rubber bullets and occasional live rounds, wounding several protesters, many of whom received treatment from volunteer first aiders at the roadside.
A 26-year-old nurse, who gave his name only as Stephen, said police would often come into the hospital where he works on the Kowloon peninsula and stand outside the wards or search for protesters in the accident and emergency department.
"Sometimes they bring their guns and weapons. The patients may be scared. This is not good practice," he said. "The protesters have injuries. This searching must be done after they are healed."
He said he worked as a first aider at protest sites in his spare time.
"I didn't tell any of my supervisors - only some colleagues with the same values," he said. "...But when I see people injured, I have to provide first aid."
Police deny accusations of brutality, saying they have shown utmost restraint in life-threatening situations and issue warnings to protesters with color-coded signs before they respond with tear gas or baton charges.
Protesters are angry about what they see as creeping Chinese interference in Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" formula intended to guarantee freedoms that are not enjoyed on the mainland.
China denies meddling. It has accused foreign governments, including the United States and Britain, of inciting the unrest.
The demonstrators gathered peacefully on Saturday, occasionally chanting "Hong Kong people, resist."
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Hong Kong police fired water cannon and tear gas Sunday as crowds held an illegal march, with hardcore protesters throwing petrol bombs and trashing businesses to cap a week of anger after recent attacks on pro-democracy demonstrators.
Authorities had forbidden the rally in Tsim Sha Tsui, a densely-packed shopping district filled with luxury boutiques and hotels, citing public safety and previous violence from hardcore protesters.
But tens of thousands nevertheless joined the unsanctioned demo, showing the movement can still keep pressure on the city's pro-Beijing leaders after nearly five months of protests and political unrest.
In a familiar pattern, the huge rally began peacefully.
But it soon descended into chaos as smaller groups of protesters hurled petrol bombs at police, subway entrances and at Chinese mainland bank branches, and vandalized multiple shops.
Police responded with volleys of tear gas and rubber bullets, and baton charges.
Throughout the afternoon, a water cannon truck chased protesters down Nathan Road, one of the city's busiest shopping thoroughfares, leaving it streaked with blue dye.
The dye in the water, used to identify protesters, also contains a painful pepper solution.
The entrance to the city's largest mosque was bathed in blue when the water cannon blasted a handful of people outside the building. Police said hitting the mosque was an accident.
As the protesters fled, frontliners stayed behind to slow the advance of riot police, setting fire to makeshift barricades. Clashes went on deep into the night.
A Xiaomi and a Best Mart store -- both mainland Chinese businesses -- were set alight.
ACTIVISTS ATTACKED
Tensions were running high after the leader of the group organizing the weekend rally, Jimmy Sham, was hospitalized after being attacked by unknown assailants wielding hammers earlier in the week.
Then late Saturday, a man handing out pro-democracy flyers was stabbed in the neck and stomach, reportedly by an assailant who shouted pro-Beijing slogans.
Many on Sunday's march said they wanted to show they were unbowed by the attacks and moves by authorities to ban public gatherings.
"The more they suppress, the more we resist," a 69-year-old demonstrator, who gave her surname as Yeung, told AFP. "Can police arrest us all, tens of thousands of people?"
Philip Tsoi, a self-described frontline protester, said they needed to keep getting numbers out even though many hardcore activists like him had been "arrested or wounded" in recent weeks.
"What I want is a truly democratic government whose leader is elected by Hong Kong people instead of selected by a Communist regime," he told AFP.
Vigilante violence has mounted on both sides of the ideological divide.
In recent weeks pro-democracy supporters have badly beaten people who vocally disagree with them -- although those fights tend to be spontaneous outbursts of mob anger during protests.
In contrast, pro-democracy figures have been attacked in a noticeably more targeted way, with at least eight prominent government critics, including politicians, beaten by unknown assailants since mid-August.
Protesters have labelled the attacks "white terror" and accused the city's shadowy organised crime groups of forming an alliance with Beijing supporters.
Beijing has denounced the protests as a foreign-backed plot and condemned attacks on those voicing support for China.
But it has remained largely silent on the attacks carried out against pro-democracy figures.
MONTHS OF UNREST
Hong Kong has now been battered by 20 weeks of protests and with no political solution in sight, clashes have intensified each month.
Hardliners have embraced widespread vandalism, while riot police are quick to respond with tear gas, rubber bullets and, more recently, live rounds.
The rallies were triggered by a now-abandoned plan to allow extraditions to the authoritarian mainland, but have morphed into wider calls for democracy and police accountability.
Protesters are demanding an independent inquiry into the police, an amnesty for those arrested and fully free elections, all of which have been rejected by Beijing and Hong Kong's unelected leader Carrie Lam.
Earlier this month, Lam invoked a colonial-era emergency law to ban face masks.
The decision set off a new wave of protests and vandalism that shut down much of the city's transport network.
In the last fortnight, the clashes have become less intense, with the city's subway closing each night at 10 pm.
But protests have continued, with many defying the mask ban during "flashmob" rallies.
Separately, Chinese state television CCTV claimed that "sooner or later," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will be punished for refusing to apologize for an earlier tweet by Daryl Morey of the Houston Rockets supporting the Hong Kong demonstrators.
CCTV accused Silver of "inventing lies to dirty China," and said that by defending Morey he had "crossed the bottom line by showing a lack of respect to Chinese."
The backlash against Morey's comments has cast a cloud over the NBA's lucrative broadcasting, merchandising and sponsorship interests in China, where it has legions of fans.
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OSLO, Norway - A Norwegian politician has nominated the "people of Hong Kong" for the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize, in a move which risks drawing China's ire.
"I have nominated the people of Hong Kong, who risk their lives and security every day to stand up for freedom of speech and basic democracy, to the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020," Guri Melby, a member of Norway's parliament for the liberal party, said in a Twitter post on Tuesday.
In an interview published by newspaper Aftenposten on Wednesday Melby explained that "what they do has an impact far beyond Hong Kong, both in the region and in the rest of the world".
The former British colony is going through its worst political crisis since its return to China in 1997.
Millions have taken to the streets of Hong Kong, initially against a now-dropped bid by its leaders to allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland.
But after Beijing and Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam took a hard line, the movement snowballed into a broader push for democracy and police accountability.
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.
Melby's initiative is likely to displease China, which was already angered by the Nobel Committee's 2010 decision to give the award to imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, who has since died.
Although the Nobel Committee is independent from the government in Norway, Beijing froze its relations with the Scandinavian country, suspended negotiations for a free trade agreement and blocked imports of Norwegian salmon.
Relations between the countries did not normalize until December 2016, after Oslo committed to not "support actions that undermine" Chinese interests.
Nominations are however common and this year the Nobel Committee had to pick from 301 candidates.
In the end, the prize was awarded to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for his work in resolving the conflict with bitter foe Eritrea.
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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.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
HONG KONG, China- Flash-mob rallies broke out in Hong Kong on Wednesday as anger mounted over the police shooting of a teenage protester who attacked officers in a dramatic escalation of the violent unrest that has engulfed the territory for months.
A large crowd of demonstrators, including office workers in shirts and suits, mustered in a park and then began marching through the city's commercial district in an unsanctioned rally, chanting anti-police and anti-government slogans.
Hundreds of students also staged a sit-in at the school of 18-year-old Tsang Chi-kin, who was shot in the chest by a police officer as he and a group of masked protesters attacked officers with umbrellas and poles. He survived the shooting.
The international finance hub has been left reeling from the shooting, the first time a demonstrator has been struck with a live round in nearly four months of increasingly violent pro-democracy protests.
Tuesday witnessed the worst clashes of the summer as China celebrated 70 years of Communist Party rule with a massive military parade in Beijing.
The spiraling violence underscored seething public anger against Beijing's rule and shifted the spotlight from China's carefully choreographed birthday party.
Running battles raged for hours across multiple locations as hardcore protesters hurled rocks and petrol bombs. Police responded for the most part with tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannon.
As criticism rose the police launched a spirited defense of their colleague at a press conference on Wednesday saying he feared for his life and the safety of his colleagues.
"He only had one option, that is to fire the gun to immediately resolve the danger," deputy commissioner Mr. Tang Ping-keung told reporters.
But protest groups said the officer charged into the melee with his firearm drawn and failed to fire a warning shot as they condemned the increasing use of live rounds.
"The people of Hong Kong are sick and tired of having mere words of condemnation as their only shields against lethal bullets and rifles," a masked protester said at a press conference near Tsang's school.
RECORD ARRESTS AND TEAR GAS
The shooting was captured on video that quickly went viral.
Opinion towards the shooting has largely cemented along ideological divides with pro-democracy activists condemning the police and establishment figures calling it a justified use of force.
Tsang, who was filmed trying to strike the officer with a pole as he was shot, was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition but authorities said his condition had since improved.
A friend and classmate of Tsang, who gave his first name Marco, said the 18-year-old is a keen basketballer who was infuriated by sliding freedoms in Hong Kong and the police response to the protests.
"If he sees any problems or anything unjust, he would face it bravely, speak up against it, instead of bearing it silently," Marco told AFP.
Police said 30 officers were injured in the National Day clashes, including some who suffered chemical burns from a corrosive liquid that was thrown at them by protesters. The liquid also wounded some journalists.
Hospital authorities said more than 70 people were admitted on Tuesday.
Outlining the sheer extent of Tuesday's clashes, police revealed that they arrested 269 people, ranging from 12 to 71 years old -- the largest daily toll since protests began.
They also unleashed a record 1,400 rounds of tear gas, 900 rubber bullets, 230 sponge rounds, 190 bean bag rounds and five live rounds as warning shots.
To compare, police fired 1,000 tear gas canisters in the first two months of the protests.
Hong Kong's courts are rapidly filling up.
On Wednesday, 96 protesters arrested on Sunday appeared in court charged with rioting.
Ages ranged from 14 to 39 and while the majority were students in their twenties, other occupations listed included a waitress, a teacher, a doctor, an advertising executive, and a cook.
The protests were ignited by a now-scrapped plan to allow extraditions to the mainland.
But after Beijing and local leaders took a hard line they snowballed into a wider movement calling for democratic freedoms and police accountability.
With Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam seemingly unwilling or unable to find a political solution, police have been left to battle increasingly radicalized protesters.
Sentiment is hardening on all sides.
Protesters and some local residents routinely shout "triads" at officers who often respond by calling demonstrators "cockroaches."
The protest movement's main demands are an independent inquiry into police actions, an amnesty for those arrested and universal suffrage.
But Beijing and Lam have said they are unwilling to meet those demands.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
HONG KONG - Hong Kong police shot a pro-democracy protestor in the chest on Tuesday as violent clashes erupted across the city hours after China held a massive military parade in Beijing to celebrate 70 years of Communist Party rule.
It was the first such injury from a live round in nearly four months of increasingly violent protests and threatened to strip the spotlight from China’s carefully-choreographed birthday party, designed to underscore its status as a global superpower.
While President Xi Jinping took salutes from some 15,000 troops in the capital, pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong threw eggs at his portrait, with tens of thousands of people defying police orders to disperse.
Running battles raged for hours across multiple locations, with some hardcore protesters hurling rocks and Molotov cocktails, while police responded for the most part with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon.
But in one area north of the skyscraper district, a police officer unloaded his weapon at close range into a young man, video footage showed.
"An officer discharged his firearm after coming under attack and a protester was struck in the chest in Tsuen Wan district today," a police source said, requesting anonymity.
The wounded protester received initial first aid from officers before paramedics arrived and took him to hospital, the source added.
Many of the fights in the city were especially fierce with police in one district having corrosive liquid thrown at them and officers in another area retreating into a town hall from projectile-throwing crowds.
Burning barricades sent a pall of black smoke over the city, a regional hub for some of the world's biggest banks.
The violence cast a shadow over the lavish parade in Beijing where tanks, new nuclear missiles and a supersonic drone paraded down the Avenue of Eternal Peace as Xi and other Communist Party leaders watched from a rostrum overlooking Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
The event was meant to showcase China's journey from a poor nation broken by war to the world's second-largest economy.
New weapons
Xi, who wore the distinctive "Mao suit", delivered a speech invoking the "Chinese dream" of national rejuvenation -- his grand vision of restoring the country to perceived past glory.
"There is no force that can shake the foundation of this great nation," Xi said from the Tiananmen rostrum where Chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949.
Helicopters flew in a "70" formation over the city as troops goose-stepped across Tiananmen Square in what state media described as the country's biggest-ever military parade, featuring 580 pieces of armament and 160 aircraft.
The People's Liberation Army brought out its newest hardware, including the DF-41, a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile with range enough to reach the entire United States, and the DF-17, a launcher for a hypersonic glider.
Warplanes including the J-20 stealth fighter soared through the smog-choked skies, and state media said a high-altitude, high-speed reconnaissance drone made a public appearance for the first time.
"The party hopes that this occasion will add to its legitimacy and rally support at a time of internal and external challenges," Adam Ni, China researcher at Macquarie University in Sydney, told AFP.
US trade war negotiations have dragged on, and African swine fever has raced through the country's pig supply, sending pork prices soaring.
But a major headache remains Hong Kong.
Despite increasing levels of violence, there is still huge public support for a movement that presents the most serious threat to Beijing's rule since Britain returned it to China in 1997.
In his speech, Xi said China "must adhere" to the one country, two systems policy governing Hong Kong and "maintain the long-term prosperity and stability" of the city.
He also called for the "peaceful development" of relations with self-governed Taiwan but also reiterated his determination to seize the island, by force if necessary.
Mao portrait
The Beijing festivities continued with a pageant involving 100,000 civilians and 70 floats depicting China's greatest achievements.
A giant portrait of Mao, followed by those of past leaders and Xi, streamed across the avenue as the president and other officials waved.
Replicas of a space rocket, a homegrown passenger plane and high-speed trains were followed by smiling ethnic minorities -- imagery that glosses over accusations of human rights abuses in the frontier regions of Tibet and Xinjiang.
Party survives
The Communist Party has repeatedly defied the odds to remain in power for seven decades.
Under Mao, tens of millions of people died during the disastrous Great Leap Forward, and the country was plunged into violent chaos during the decade-long Cultural Revolution.
After Mao's death in 1976, the party launched the reform and opening-up policy under paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, starting decades of breakneck growth and development.
But the party retained a stranglehold on power, sending troops to end the biggest challenge to its rule in 1989 when pro-democracy protesters occupied Tiananmen Square.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
As pro-democracy protests grind on for a fourth month, Hong Kong has been left counting the cost, with the city’s tourist industry battered and businesses forced to lay off staff as they struggle to stay afloat.
Images beamed around the world of black-clad demonstrators battling police in full riot gear on streets usually lined with shoppers have led travelers to shun the financial hub.
And with protesters and the government showing no signs of backing down, there are worries things will not improve any time soon.
August witnessed the biggest fall in overseas visitors since the SARS epidemic of 2003 claimed nearly 300 lives and unleashed widespread panic in the city, according to government data.
Among the worst-hit areas is Causeway Bay, a normally bustling commercial precinct home to a slate of luxury brands where last weekend shoppers and bystanders were caught up as police fired volleys of tear gas at masked youths.
A neighborhood pharmacist, who asked to be identified only by his surname Chiu, told AFP the overseas customers who accounted for half his sales had slowed to a trickle since the protests began in June.
"The social atmosphere is not good," he said, adding that he has repeatedly had to shut his shop as tear gas canisters bounce down the street. Takings, he says, have tumbled 40-50 percent.
"Local customers also seem to buy less."
He said his business was faring worse than during 2014's Umbrella Movement, which saw the city grind to a standstill after a months-long blockade of busy roads.
Across Hong Kong, on-year tourist arrivals fell 40 percent in the last month, the city’s financial secretary Paul Chan said, led by a collapse in visitors from the mainland -- by far the largest group.
Hotel occupancy rates are down around half and the retail and dining sectors have been severely impacted.
"It is worrying that so far there is no sign of improvement in the near future," Chan wrote in a blog post.
'I DON'T KNOW IF WE CAN SURVIVE'
Adding to the problems for Hong Kong, the long-running crisis has coincided with weak global demand and the grinding China-US trade war.
Earlier this month Fitch downgraded the city's sovereign rating citing the protests.
Seasonally adjusted, the economy contracted by 0.4 percent in the second quarter -- most of which came before the pro-democracy rallies began -- while Chan also reported a 5.7-percent yearly fall in overall exports in the first half.
No one is looking forward to third-quarter statistics.
Crucially, the number of visitors from mainland China has tumbled after several full-throated condemnations of demonstrators by Beijing, which has likened the unrest to "terrorism".
The number of mainland tour groups to the city plunged 90 percent on-year in the first 10 days of September, Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong spokeswoman Jessica Wan told AFP.
Hong Kong’s flagship airline Cathay Pacific also reported an 11-percent yearly drop in passengers for August, when two occupations of the airport saw the blockade of departure gates and the cancellation of hundreds of flights.
The airport saw a 12.4-percent monthly drop in passengers -- some 850,000 fewer travelers.
Several other businesses told AFP their bottom lines had suffered through the long summer of discontent, sparked by a controversial extradition bill many fear would strengthen Beijing’s control over the city and further erode its cherished freedoms.
Since June, when more than a million people marched through the city to protest the measure, the manager of a watch store said he had been forced to lay off half of its workforce.
"You can see if you walk down the streets, several watch shops have been closed already," said the store's manager, surnamed Wong. "I’m pessimistic. I don’t know if we can survive through the new year."
The protests tend to break out over the weekends -- the two days his shop is usually at its busiest.
On the other side of the harbor in Mongkok, businesses said they were regularly shutting their doors early to avoid melees outside.
The area around the neon-soaked retail precinct has seen escalating violence, with demonstrators barricading main roads and vandalizing the local subway station -- and officers responding with baton charges.
At one late-night outdoor market stall, a vendor selling imitation designer handbags said her takings were down five-fold from average sales at the start of the year.
With no end in sight, Chiu, the pharmacist, seemed to be torn between his sympathies for the protesters and protecting his livelihood.
"I don't support them damaging facilities, but I feel awful seeing them being beaten by police," he told AFP.
He said he and his staff had left supplies of water outside his shop for protesters during street rallies, knowing other stores had closed.
"I support the youngsters," he said. "But I also have a business to run."
source: news.abs-cbn.com
HONG KONG - Hong Kong activists called off protests on Wednesday in remembrance of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and denounced a Chinese state newspaper report that they were planning "massive terror" in the Chinese-ruled city.
Hong Kong has been rocked by months of sometimes violent unrest, prompted by anger over planned legislation to allow extraditions to China, but broadening into calls for democracy and for Communist rulers in Beijing to leave the city alone.
"Anti-government fanatics are planning massive terror attacks, including blowing up gas pipes, in Hong Kong on September 11," the Hong Kong edition of the China Daily said on its Facebook page, alongside a picture of the hijacked airliner attacks on the twin towers in New York.
"The 9/11 terror plot also encourages indiscriminate attacks on non-native speakers of Cantonese and starting mountain fires." The post said "leaked information was part of the strategy being schemed by radical protesters in their online chat rooms."
The former British colony of Hong Kong returned to China in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" formula that guarantees freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, including an independent legal system, triggering the anger over the extradition bill.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has said she would withdraw the bill but many Hong Kong residents fear Beijing is steadily eroding the autonomy of the Asian financial hub.
China denies meddling and has accused the United States, Britain and others of fomenting the unrest.
"We don’t even need to do a fact check to know that this is fake news," said one protester, Michael, 24, referring to the China Daily post.
"The state media doesn’t care about its credibility. Whenever something they claimed to have heard on WhatsApp or friends’ friends, they will spread it right away."
The protesters called off action on Wednesday.
"In solidarity against terrorism, all forms of protest in Hong Kong will be suspended on Sept. 11, apart from potential singing and chanting," they said in a statement.
The China Daily report was worrying, said another protester, Karen, 23. "When they try to frame the whole protest with those words, it alarms me," she said. "They are predicting rather than reporting. I think people calling it off today is a nice move."
FAMILY FRICTIONS
The chairwoman of the Hong Kong Federation of Women, Pansy Ho, a prominent businesswoman and daughter of Macau casino operator Stanley Ho, said she was worried about violent extremism.
"Children of all ages are indoctrinated with police hatred and anti-establishment beliefs at school and online mobilized to conduct massive school strikes," she told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Lam said in a speech on Wednesday that Hong Kong was grappling with significant challenges.
"My fervent hope is that we can bridge our divide by upholding the one country, two systems principle, and the Basic Law, and through the concerted efforts of the government and the people of Hong Kong," she told business leaders.
The Basic Law is Hong Kong's mini constitution.
Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd has become the biggest corporate casualty of the unrest after China demanded it suspend staff involved in, or who support, the protests.
Cathay Pacific said on Wednesday inbound traffic to Hong Kong in August fell 38 percent and outbound traffic 12 percent compared to a year earlier, and that it did not anticipate September to be any less difficult.
Joshua Wong, one of the prominent leaders of the 2014 "Umbrella" pro-democracy movement which brought key streets in Hong Kong to a standstill for 79 days, said in Berlin that the fight for democracy was an uphill battle.
"I hope one day not only Hong Kong people, but also people in mainland China, can enjoy freedom and democracy," he said.
The protests spread to the sports field on Tuesday, as many football fans defied Chinese law to boo the national anthem ahead of a soccer World Cup qualifier against Iran.
Several peaceful protests are planned for the next few days, combining with celebrations marking the Mid-Autumn Festival.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
