Hong Kong tensions high as communist China's 70th anniversary approaches
Tensions in Hong Kong are high after protesters and riot police clashed over the weekend ahead of the Chinese communist ruling party's 70th anniversary on Tuesday.
Protesters are planning to march again on Tuesday despite a police ban, raising fears of more violent confrontations that could embarrass Chinese President Xi Jinping as his ruling Communist Party marks 70 years since taking power. Posters are calling for Oct. 1 to be marked as "A Day of Grief."
Hong Kong's government has already scaled down the city's National Day celebrations, canceling an annual fireworks display and moving a reception indoors.
A journalist stands next to fire set by protesters in Hong Kong, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2019. Protesters and police clashed in Hong Kong for a second straight day on Sunday, throwing the city's business and shopping belt into chaos and sparking fears of more ugly scenes leading up to China's National Day this week.. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
Despite security concerns, the government said Sunday that Chief Executive Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s leader, will lead a delegation of over 240 people to Beijing on Monday to participate in National Day festivities.
Pro-democracy protesters and police clashed on Saturday and Sunday. Riot police repeatedly fired blue liquid — used to identify protesters — from a water cannon truck and multiple volleys of tear gas after demonstrators hurled Molotov cocktails at officers and targeted the government office complex.
Carrie Lam is a Hong Kong politician serving as the 4th Chief Executive of Hong Kong since 2017.
The protests were sparked by a now-shelved extradition bill and have since snowballed into an anti-China movement.
Sunday's turmoil started in the early afternoon when police fired tear gas to disperse a large crowd that had amassed in the popular Causeway Bay shopping district. But thousands of people regrouped and marched along a main thoroughfare toward government offices, crippling traffic.
Protesters, many clad in black with umbrellas and carrying pro-democracy posters and foreign flags, sang songs and chanted "Stand with Hong Kong, fight for freedom." Some defaced, tore down and burned National Day congratulatory signs, setting off a huge blaze on the street.
Earlier Sunday, hundreds of pro-Beijing Hong Kong residents sang the Chinese national anthem and waved red flags at a waterfront cultural center in a show of support for Chinese rule. They were later bused to the Victoria Peak hilltop for the same repertoire.
Chief Executive Lam held her first community dialogue with the public on Thursday in a bid to defuse tensions but failed to persuade protesters, who vowed to press on until their demands are met, including direct elections for the city’s leaders and police accountability.
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Events in Hong Kong have driven markets. For example, shares on Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 4% earlier in September after a report in the South China Morning Post said the government would formally withdraw the proposed extradition bill that was among issues sparking months of violent protests.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.