Thousands of people yesterday gathered for a rally in downtown Hong Kong, belting out songs, speeches and slogans to mark the fifth anniversary of the start of the 2014 “Umbrella movement” that called for democratic reforms in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
The rally at Tamar Park by the Civil Human Rights Front was approved by police, but security was tight, with barriers blocking access to government offices and the Legislative Council building, which was stormed by protesters in July.
Demonstrators unfurled a big banner that read “We are back” on a footbridge to the government office. Walls along a staircase leading to the bridge were filled with posters in a throwback to 2014, when protesters occupied key thoroughfares in the same area for 79 days, but failed to win any government concessions.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Just before yesterday’s rally started, a small group of black-clad protesters wearing goggles and masks attempted to scale barricades outside the government offices, prompting riot police behind the barriers to fire pepper spray.
The protesters retreated, but returned, heckling police and thumping metal fencing.
Police used pepper spray again, and the scene repeated several times. Some journalists were hit by the spray.
Earlier, democracy advocate Joshua Wong (黃之鋒) — who played a key role as a youth leader in the 2014 protests — announced plans to contest district council elections in November.
Wong, 22, said the vote is crucial to send a message to Beijing that the people are more determined than ever to win the battle for more rights.
“Five years ago, we claimed that we will be back and now we are back with even stronger determination,” he told a news conference. “The battle ahead is the battle for our home and our homeland.”
Wong, who has been arrested and jailed repeatedly, said he is aware that he could be disqualified.
Members of the Demosisto party that he cofounded in 2016 have in the past been disqualified from serving and running for office because they advocated self-determination.
“If they disqualify me, it will just generate more and more momentum ... they will pay the price,” he said.
Wong is out on bail after he was rearrested with several other people last month and charged with organizing an illegal rally.
It did not stop him from going to Taiwan, the US and Germany to drum up support for this year’s protest movement, which started in June over an extradition bill, but has since snowballed into an anti-China campaign.
FORCED LABOR: A US court listed three Taiwanese and nine firms based in Taiwan in its indictment, with eight of the companies registered at the same address Nine companies registered in Taiwan, as well as three Taiwanese, on Tuesday were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) as a result of a US federal court indictment. The indictment unsealed at the federal court in Brooklyn, New York, said that Chen Zhi (陳志), a dual Cambodian-British national, is being indicted for fraud conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding Group’s forced-labor scam camps in Cambodia. At its peak, the company allegedly made US$30 million per day, court documents showed. The US government has seized Chen’s noncustodial wallet, which contains
SUPPLY CHAIN: Taiwan’s advantages in the drone industry include rapid production capacity that is independent of Chinese-made parts, the economic ministry said The Executive Yuan yesterday approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion (US$1.44 billion) into domestic production of uncrewed aerial vehicles over the next six years, bringing Taiwan’s output value to more than NT$40 billion by 2030 and making the nation Asia’s democratic hub for the drone supply chain. The proposed budget has NT$33.8 billion in new allocations and NT$10.43 billion in existing funds, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Under the new development program, the public sector would purchase nearly 100,000 drones, of which 50,898 would be for civil and government use, while 48,750 would be for national defense, it said. The Ministry of
SENATE RECOMMENDATION: The National Defense Authorization Act encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s navy to participate in the exercises in Hawaii The US Senate on Thursday last week passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026, which strongly encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s naval forces to participate in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, as well as allocating military aid of US$1 billion for Taiwan. The bill, which authorizes appropriations for the military activities of the US Department of Defense, military construction and other purposes, passed with 77 votes in support and 20 against. While the NDAA authorizes about US$925 billion of defense spending, the Central News Agency yesterday reported that an aide of US
NINE-IN-ONE ELECTIONS: Prosecutors’ offices recorded 115 cases of alleged foreign interference in the presidential election campaign from August 2023 to Dec. 13 last year The National Security Bureau (NSB) yesterday said that it has begun planning early to counter Chinese interference in next year’s nine-in-one elections as its intelligence shows that Beijing might intensify its tactics, while warning of continued efforts to infiltrate the government and military. The bureau submitted a report to the Legislative Yuan ahead of a meeting today of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee. “We will research situations in different localities and keep track of abnormalities to ensure that next year’s elections proceed without disruption,” the bureau said. Although the project is generally launched during election years, reports of alleged Chinese interference
RSS