While we were preparing for our New Years celebrations, protestors filled the streets of Hong Kong for a New Year’s Day demonstration. Surprisingly, Hong Kong police did not issue a letter of objection to the planned event, and thousands hit the streets, while organizers say a million Hong Kongers attended this demonstration for democracy. The protests began peacefully at 2:40 pm Hong Kong time, but violence soon erupted.

Around 5 pm, police arrested five people for vandalizing ATM machines, although some witnesses reported that police didn’t merely arrest the vandals. They beat them and dragged them back into the bank, out of view of other protestors.

Another witness reported that he saw nine undercover police beat two young adults near the bank:

“I saw a protester being beaten and she hadn’t done anything at all. She hadn’t vandalized at all.”

Of course onlookers became irate, and police employed pepper spray and water cannons to beat back the crowds. At about 5:30, police informed organizers that they were canceling the march. One protest leader reported that the police gave his group a mere 30 minutes to “evacuate” all protestors. Some Hong Kongers were still in staging areas, waiting their turn to march.

This isn’t the first time HK police have overreacted. Over months of protests, Hong Kong police have become more brutal in their attacks on protestors. In fact, American blogger Michael Yon posted a picture on Instagram of a new grenade launcher Hong Kong police have employed. Even worse, he reported that a British citizen was directing the police in their attacks on the protestors.

View this post on Instagram

Hong Kong Police with new grenade launcher: I made this photo about 20 hours ago while Hong Kong Police under command of a British citizen was attacking anti-communist, pro-American Liberators

A post shared by Michael Yon (@michael_yon_world) on Jan 1, 2020 at 3:25am PST

Plus, it appeared that the police arrested just about anyone in their paths — if shoppers or bystanders didn’t manage to leave quickly enough to suit the police, they caught them up in their snares. Phoebe Kong, Hong Kong correspondent for Deutsche Welle, tweeted that police were even arresting middle-aged women with shopping bags.

Let’s review again: why the violence? What is the problem with Hong Kongers? After all, they live on an island that has enjoyed prosperity for decades.

It’s simple, really. They want independence from Beijing. Because they know the brutality Communist China is capable of. As one protestor said:

“Compared to most people, we have fewer illusions about China.”

Beijing and its puppet, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, have no problem with turning up the violence on protestors. In fact, dignitaries from 18 countries wrote as much in an open letter to Lam:

“We have been horrified to see reports of police firing teargas, pepper spray and rubber bullets at close-range at shoppers, peaceful protesters and innocent bystanders on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and again on Saturday 28 December.”

Plus, they see what is happening to China’s Uighar Muslim minority, where Communist authorities are turning them into slave laborers and brainwashing them in prison camps. And for average Chinese citizens, the regime is ramping up its ability to spy on them, engulfing them in a digital totalitarian state.

In addition, Beijing is trying to undermine media freedom in both Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Credit: geralt/pixabay/pixabay license.

Do not forget the people of Hong Kong in the New Year. While American progressives fawn over would-be despots who would take your weapons, your speech on social media, and even the food you would consume in the name of “the planet,” Hong Kongers recognize tyranny looming over them. And they will not bend to those who would enslave them.

Let them be an example to freedom-loving Americans.

Welcome, Instapundit readers!

Featured image: Jakob Nillson-Ehle/flickr/cropped/CC BY-SA 2.0.