One day after the most severe clashes of police and demonstrators in Hong Kong in five years, the situation was tense this morning, but calm. The offices in the government complex and the nearest subway station Admiralty remained closed. By the end of the week, the government offices should remain closed.
The number of injured rose according to new data to 79. Some were seriously injured. How many demonstrators and demonstrators were arrested, was not yet known. Thousands of people had besieged the area and surrounding streets the day before to protest against a planned law for deliveries to China. The police eventually used tear gas, batons, water cannons and pepper spray to drive out the demonstrators.
Debate about law postponed
Through the siege of the Legislative Council, the government, the planned debate of the law had to be postponed indefinitely. For new unrest caused first a report of the newspaper „Apple Daily“ that the debate could be made up already this morning. However, the Legislative Council had not scheduled a meeting for today. The opponents of the law called for further protests.
The bill would allow Hong Kong authorities to hand over people suspected by China’s judiciary to the People’s Republic. Critics warn that China’s courts are not independent and followed state security and communist leadership. They are a tool for political persecution. Detainees were threatened with torture and ill-treatment. There is a conviction rate of 99 percent.
EU calls for restraint
The EU called for restraint on both sides. „Violence and escalating responses need to be avoided,“ said a statement by an EU spokesman, distributed by the EU delegation in Beijing. The EU says it shares „many of the Hong Kong’s concerns about the new law that will allow for extradition to China, and has also sent it to Hong Kong’s government.
„It is a delicate matter that has potentially far-reaching implications for Hong Kong and its people, for the EU and its citizens, as well as for the confidence of business people in Hong Kong.“ In-depth public consultations, which include everyone, could help pave the way to find, said the spokesman. The government should engage in such a dialogue with its citizens.
