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Threatening China will end in 'crushed bodies', says Xi Jinping amid Hong Kong protests Hong Kong protests are at 'life-threatening level', say police
(about 13 hours later)
Chinese president Xi Jinping has warned that any attempt to divide China will be crushed, as Beijing faces political challenges in months-long protests in Hong Kong and US criticism over its treatment of Muslim minority groups. Violent pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong have escalated to a “life-threatening level”, police have said, after a small bomb exploded and a police officer was stabbed in clashes overnight.
“Anyone attempting to split China in any part of the country will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones,” he told Nepal’s prime minister, KP Sharma Oli, in a meeting on Sunday, according to China’s state broadcaster CCTV. Peaceful rallies descended into chaos in the Chinese-ruled city on Sunday with running skirmishes between protesters and police in shopping malls and on streets. Black-clad activists threw 20 petrol bombs at one police station, while others trashed shops and metro stations.
“And any external forces backing such attempts dividing China will be deemed by the Chinese people as pipe-dreaming,” he was quoted as saying. A crude explosive device, which police said was similar to those used in terrorist attacks, was remotely detonated as a police car drove past and officers were clearing roadblocks on Sunday night. An officer also had his neck slashed by a protester.
“Violence against police has reached a life-threatening level,” said the deputy commissioner of police, Tang Ping-keung, on Monday. “They are not protesters, they are rioters and criminals. Whatever cause they are fighting for it never justifies such violence.”
Hong Kong has been rocked by four months of violent protests against what is seen as Beijing’s tightening grip on the city. The unrest has plunged the city into its worst crisis since Britain handed the territory back to China in 1997 and poses the biggest popular challenge to the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, since he came to power in 2012.
Xi has said any attempt to divide China will be crushed. “Anyone attempting to split China in any part of the country will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones,” he said in a meeting with leaders during a visit to Nepal on Sunday, according to China’s state broadcaster, CCTV.
China rejects complaints it is stifling the city’s freedoms and stresses its commitment to the “one country, two systems” formula under which the city is ruled, allowing it freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, including an independent judiciary. China also accuses western countries of stirring up trouble in Hong Kong.
The protests were prompted by a now-abandoned bill that would have allowed extradition of suspects from Hong Kong to China and Communist party-controlled courts. But they have widened into a pro-democracy movement and an outlet for anger at social inequality in a city with some of the world’s most expensive real estate. The protests have attracted millions of people but have gradually become smaller in recent weeks. Yet violence by hardcore activists has risen, prompting debate among protesters over tactics. But they say they remained united.
“Violence is always undesirable, but in the case of Hong Kong, we have no other option,” said Jackson Chan, 21, regular protester. “In June, 2 million took to the street and demonstrated peacefully, yet the government showed a complete disregard to the public opinion … Escalation of violence is inevitable.”
Protesters have five main demands, which include universal suffrage and an independent inquiry into perceived police brutality.
Hong Kong protesters use new flashmob strategy to avoid arrestHong Kong protesters use new flashmob strategy to avoid arrest
Xi, the first Chinese president to visit Nepal in 22 years, arrived in the country on Saturday on a state visit. Both sides are expected to sign a deal expanding a railway link between the Himalayan nation and Tibet. Thousands of activists rallied on Monday night, the first with government permission since the introduction of colonial-era emergency powers, which provoked some of the worst violence since the unrest started.
Oli told Xi the country would oppose any “anti-China activities” on its soil, CCTV reported. The protesters, overwhelmingly young and chanting “fight for freedom, fight for Hong Kong”, called for international support in their fight for democracy. One speaker called on US senators to vote for the proposed Hong Kong human rights and democracy act of 2019, saying it would be their “most powerful weapon”. Some protesters waved US flags.
China, which is trying to de-escalate a protracted trade war with the US, has seen its political authority tested by increasingly violent protests in Hong Kong against what is seen as Beijing’s tightening grip on the Chinese-ruled city. The bill supports human rights in Hong Kong with measures under consideration such as annual reviews of its special economic status and sanctions on those who undermine its autonomy. The text will not be finalised until it passes both houses of Congress and is signed by the president.
Police in Hong Kong have used rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannon against pro-democracy demonstrators in the former British colony, which has been plunged into its worst political crisis in decades. “We are exhausted and scared, many of us have been detained and tortured … We believe international help will come one day,” said the main speaker, who gave his name as Isaac.
US president Donald Trump had said it would be difficult to negotiate with China if anything “bad” happens in its handling of the Hong Kong protests. Police have fired thousands of rounds of teargas and rubber bullets at brick- and petrol bomb-throwing protesters and arrested more than 2,300 people since June, many of them teenagers.
Trump said he discussed Hong Kong with Chinese vice premier Liu He on Saturday during their latest round of talks. Both sides reached a “phase-one deal” that has raised optimism for a broader agreement although many fundamental issues remained unresolved and existing tariffs are still not lifted. The Hong Kong leader, Carrie Lam, is due to deliver her annual policy address on Wednesday amid pressure to restore confidence in the government. Hong Kong is also facing its first recession in a decade because of the protests, with the tourism and retail sectors hardest hit.
Washington last week also blacklisted 28 Chinese companies over Beijing’s treatment of predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities. China has faced growing international condemnation for over mass detention camps that are believed to hold more than 1 million ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims. Hong Kong
Before arriving in Nepal, Xi was in India for talks with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi to try to mend ties over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir amid scattered anti-China protests from Tibetan groups.
China sent troops into remote, mountainous Tibet in 1950 in what it officially calls a peaceful liberation and has ruled there with an iron fist ever since.
The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader, fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule. China brands him a dangerous reactionary seeking to split off nearly a quarter of the Chinese land mass.
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Asia PacificAsia Pacific
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Xi JinpingXi Jinping
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