Fresh anti-govt. protests, clashes cause disruption in Hong Kong

Unrest shows no signs of abating in Hong Kong, with more anti-government protests and clashes causing disruption in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

According to Press TV, as the new week started, school students and alumni in Hong Kong formed human chains across the island before school early Monday in support of the protesters, who have been calling for the administration of Chief Executive Carrie Lam to resign over the past three months.

“The school-based human chain is the strongest showcase of how this protest is deep rooted in society, so deep rooted that it enters through the school students," said Alan Leong, an alumni of Wah Yan College in the city’s Kowloon district.

The student protests followed another weekend of clashes in China’s international financial hub.

Pockets of protest broke out in Kowloon and Hong Kong’s Central district on Sunday night, with crowds setting up barricades, smashing windows, starting street fires and vandalizing the metro station in the former British colony.

Hong Kong police fired tear gas to disperse the protesters, who chanted anti-government slogans, rallied at the US consulate and urged American President Donald Trump to intervene and “liberate” them.

The protesters sang the national anthem of the United States, waving US flags and demanding “democracy.”

Central district, home to banks, jewellery shops and top-brand shopping arcades, was awash in graffiti, broken glass and bricks torn up from pathways. The protesters set cardboard boxes on fire, building barricades with metal fencing.

The protests initially began in June over a bill, which would have allowed criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China.

The bill was suspended later that month in the wake of the unrest. The protesters have, however, rejected the suspension, calling for a full withdrawal of the measure, which critics say would undermine Hong Kong’s legal freedoms and serve as a tool to stifle critics of Beijing.

The demonstrations have also expanded into a broader backlash against the government and calls for the city’s pro-China leader to step down.

ME