Rivals fight on street, mall
Fights erupted in Hong Kong yesterday with political rivals trading blows in a mall and Beijing supporters using Chinese flags to assault opponents on a street, deepening the city’s polarisation after months of pro-democracy protests.
The once-stable international hub has been convulsed by weeks of huge, sometimes violent rallies calling for greater democratic freedoms and police accountability.
The movement is the biggest challenge to China’s rule since the city was handed back by Britain in 1997 and shows no sign of ending, with city leaders and Beijing taking a hard line.
Fights have begun breaking out with increased frequency after pro-democracy supporters began holding impromptu singalongs of a popular protest anthem -- and as pro-Beijing supporters have held rival gatherings to sing China’s national anthem.
In the district of Fortress Hill yesterday, a group of men, many waving Chinese flags and wearing blue t-shirts declaring “I love HK police”, attacked people perceived to be pro-democracy protesters.
Multiple videos posted online showed the group of men assaulting largely younger victims with flag poles -- and with punches and kicks -- as terrified onlookers ran away.
Fights later broke out between pro-China and pro-democracy supporters in Amoy Plaza, a shopping centre on the other side of the harbour.
An AFP photographer at the scene said some two hundred people had gathered to wave Chinese flags and sing the national anthem. Violence erupted after pro-democracy supporters arrived on the scene with several people on both sides visibly bloodied and bruised.
Police with shields and helmets later rushed into the mall, ending the fights. Some young pro-democracy supporters were seen being detained outside and inside the mall by police.
The South China Morning Post said fights also broke out between ideological rivals in a subway station.
Democracy protesters have accused police of taking sides, clamping down harder on their camp than violent government supporters -- accusations the force has strongly denied.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong on Friday urged US President Donald Trump to include a “human rights clause” in any trade agreement with China, and sought Washington’s backing for the city’s democracy movement.
The 22-year-old called on American politicians to pass a bill expressing support for the pro-democracy campaign during a speaking engagement in New York, a few hours after arriving in the United States.
Wong arrived in the US after visiting Germany as he seeks global support for Hong Kong’s widening pro-democracy protests that have crippled parts of the Asian financial hub in recent months, including its airport.
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