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The situation in Hong Kong has boiled over in the last week. And now one university is being stormed by police, as student protestors try to hold them off.
Protestors holed up at Polytechnic University and attempted to barricade themselves on campus, blocking off a bridge. As police moved in and fired tear gas, they began throwing Molotov cocktails.
Hong Kong police have moved in on protesters who had barricaded themselves at a university campus in the centre of the city and were hurling petrol bombs and debris at officers.”
According to ABC China correspondent Bill Birtles, who is on the ground near Hong Kong Polytechnic University, “All hell is breaking loose”.
“The police Raptors — the special tactical forces — I saw them race past the no-man’s land through the protest line, and they’re firing a tremendous amount of tear gas,” he told ABC Radio National.”
He said protesters were continuing to push back, including with the use of molotov cocktails.”
“Police earlier in the night said they may resort to live rounds if protesters continued to throw fire bombs at them, and so this is what everybody is really concerned about,” Birtles said.”
When dawn broke on Monday morning, the devastation was obvious.
Morning has broken in #HongKong at Poly U and it’s an awful start – at least hundreds of students are inside that campus… which is on fire. Small explosions every minute. The middle of the campus is quite open so hopefully students can take refuge there pic.twitter.com/4wb95bRUh4
— Bill Birtles (@billbirtles) November 18, 2019
As we all know, the police have already fired on protestors, shooting one at point-blank range just last week. It’s clear now that China has issued the order to Hong Kong police to crush the protests, and if it isn’t obvious, Hong Kong is now a war zone. And there’s only one way that China will let this end for the protestors – and that means that the protestors are using any and all means necessary to avoid being arrested by the police.
Protesters and protest supporters in Kowloon’s Tsim Sha Tsui district are building bamboo barricades on Nathan Road, a main thoroughfare that is usually packed with traffic.”
Many tell CNN they are doing it as a diversionary tactic — to draw police away from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), where police and protesters remain locked in a tense, hours-long standoff. Many of the protesters have been attempting to escape the fortified campus all morning, but many are being arrested by police, who have surrounded the area.”
One 29-year-old female student laying barricades told CNN that the protesters are PolyU are “lacking resources now, food and water.”
Police have ordered students to leave the campus — but there’s only one exit, she said. “People getting out from that exit will be arrested.”
Two 17-year-old girls say they are also pulling bamboo scaffolding onto the road to cause a disruption and draw the police away.”
“We just want to save the students in PolyU,” one said. “When we grow up we will be the ones who can change Hong Kong so we don’t (want) our next generation to suffer.”
And if this picture doesn’t break your heart, I don’t know what to tell you.
Gondor calls for aid! #hongkong pic.twitter.com/n3xuLewoLV
— Brandon Morse (@TheBrandonMorse) November 18, 2019
So, what is the United States doing right now? The Trump administration, per usual, is offering a mild rebuke to China while doing jack shit to actually support protestors.
“We condemn the unjustified use of force and urge all sides to refrain from violence and engage in constructive dialogue,” the senior US official said.”
“As the President has said, the United States expects Beijing to honour its commitments under the Sino-British joint Declaration and to protect Hong Kong’s freedom, legal system and democratic way of life,” the official said.”
Congress is attempting to push through sanctions, but what will good will that do after what we have seen?
The Hong Kong High Court, on the other hand, is trying to assert itself against the government’s reaction to the protests. No wonder China wants the Hong Kong judicial system made redundant and undermined with that extradition bill.
“The court holds that the Emergency Regulation Ordinance (which was used to introduce the mask ban law), insofar as it empowers the Chief Executive in Council to make regulations on any occasion of public danger, is incompatible with the Basic Law…”
Photo source: Claudia Mo pic.twitter.com/LTbdkBIKtY
— Kinling Lo 盧建靈 (@kinlinglo) November 18, 2019
What happens now? We in the West owe it to the protestors who are standing up to China to do something. The Trump administration could completely make the case to Americans about tariffs on China in order to support the cause of freedom in Hong Kong, but that doesn’t seem to be on anyone’s radar. The NBA could have used their influence to speak to mainland China, but they made sure that they abdicated all moral authority for money. Are we left to just bear witness to what comes next, as we did with Tiananmen Square? I pray not.
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Featured image via Pixabay, Pixabay license
Charles N. Steele says: Vladimir Putin has said that the only thing Westerners care about is keeping our comfortable lifestyle, and only over the immediate future at that. This is what gives him, or in this case Xi, strength with what otherwise would be a weak hand.
I think he’s certainly right about political elites. Unfortunately he may be right about everyone else.
Kevin says: This is not going to end well for the people of Hong Kong. Once China realizes they may lose control, they will, with a heavy hand and in the dark of night, obliterate any sign of opposition in the streets of Hong Kong and that includes killing those that stand in their way. I know the Trump Administration’s silence is deafening … it would be nice if former Presidents Carter, Clinton, Bush, and Obama would say something in unison to support the people of Hong Kong.
Kathleen Doherty says: The protesters are so very brave. After the police ran some down in vans Tuesday morning, the police let victims lay with severe injuries, including compound fractures that could be seen via video, for more than 5 hours. There are accounts of women being arrested and raped repeatedly by police. It’s horrendous. Yet, the US does nothing, not even saying more than, “Remember human rights. . .” as if.
Richard Cranium says: Anyone still in Hong Kong who thought this would have had a different end after the Brits left is a fool.
Hong Kong is too small and too close to the mainland to be defended by anyone. About all that Hong Kong can do now is provide a warning to Taiwan about its future if the Taiwanese don’t decide to fight to the bitter end.
Unless you have some type of idea that would actually stop the CPC from stomping Hong Kong into the dirt, your comment about “The Trump administration, per usual, is offering a mild rebuke to China while doing jack shit to actually support protestors.” is simply whining. What would *you* have the Trump administration do that would have any effect?
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