One visitor from China who attended Hong Kong's huge march for meaningful voting rights said it brought back memories of the Tiananmen Square democracy movement that was crushed by troops in Beijing on June 4, 1989.
The man, who identified himself only as Yan, said he participated in the student protests in Beijing, where hundreds if not thousands were killed in the crackdown. Yan said he was pleased to see that Hong Kong still clings to the speech rights that are denied in the rest of China.
"This feels like I'm back at the June 4 movement again," Yan said Thursday night as Hong Kong's march was winding down. "You can only experience this kind of feeling in Hong Kong."
Tour operators said the number of mainland visitors slowed to a trickle over the past three days, as the 400 to 600 groups that normally enter each day fell to only about 50 a day. Some democracy activists voiced suspicions that China cut off the flow of visitors so mainlanders wouldn't get any ideas from having a firsthand look at the Hong Kong democracy protest.
But there were plenty of mainland residents in Hong Kong on Thursday, when local activists organized the massive march to demand universal suffrage in the former British colony. Organizers put the turnout at 530,000, while police said there had been 200,000.
The Chinese visitors voiced differing views about the rally -- which would not be permitted in the mainland.
Xiao Yang, 40, a doctor from Hubei Province, knew about the protest but said he had no plans to join it.
"It is the demonstration of Hong Kong's freedom and an open government," Xiao said. "I think the protest is a proper channel for people to voice their opinions."
But outside an official flag-raising ceremony Thursday morning that marked the seventh anniversary of Hong Kong's return from Britain to China, another mainlander had harsh words for the activists.
A small group of demonstrators -- carrying a mock black coffin -- tried to push their way toward the official gathering but were held back by police.
"They are so stupid," said accountant Bob Zhuang, 30, who was waving a Chinese red flag on his way out of the official ceremony. "Should such a protest really be allowed in this territory?"
After speaking briefly with a reporter, Zhuang stepped into a chauffeur-driven Jaguar and was quickly whisked away -- showing his status as one of the mainlanders who have achieved financial success amid China's economic boom without rocking any political boats.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
UNREST: The authorities in Turkey arrested 13 Turkish journalists in five days, deported a BBC correspondent and on Thursday arrested a reporter from Sweden Waving flags and chanting slogans, many hundreds of thousands of anti-government demonstrators on Saturday rallied in Istanbul, Turkey, in defence of democracy after the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu which sparked Turkey’s worst street unrest in more than a decade. Under a cloudless blue sky, vast crowds gathered in Maltepe on the Asian side of Turkey’s biggest city on the eve of the Eid al-Fitr celebration which started yesterday, marking the end of Ramadan. Ozgur Ozel, chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which organized the rally, said there were 2.2 million people in the crowd, but
RSS