China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office yesterday said that the territory would never be calm unless “black-clad violent protesters” were all removed, describing them as a “political virus” that seeks independence from Beijing.
The strongly worded statement came amid mounting concerns among democracy advocates that China is tightening its grip over the former British colony, while a lockdown to prevent COVID-19 infections has largely kept their movement off the streets.
The office said that China’s central government would not sit idly by “with this recklessly demented force in place,” and that Beijing has the greatest responsibility in maintaining order and safeguarding national security.
“The scorched-earth action of the black-clad violent protesters is a political virus in Hong Kong society and a big enemy to ‘one country two systems,’” the office said in a statement.
“As long as the protesters are not removed, Hong Kong will never be calm,” it said.
The territory was rocked last year by months of massive, and sometimes violent, political protests over a now-withdrawn extradition bill that would have allowed people to be sent to mainland China for trial.
Many young protesters dressed in black fought running battles with Hong Kong police as the demonstrations evolved into calls for greater democracy.
Protesters said that Beijing was seeking to erode the “one country, two systems” style of governance that guarantees broad freedoms for Hong Kong since its return to Chinese rule in 1997.
Hong Kong riot police late last month dispersed a crowd of 300 pro-democracy advocates, some wearing black — the first sizeable protest since the government imposed a ban on public meetings at the end of March to curb coronavirus infections.
The arrests last month of 15 democracy advocates, including veteran politicians, a publishing tycoon and senior barristers, thrust the protest movement back into the spotlight, and drew condemnation from Washington and international rights groups.
Beijing’s top representative office in Hong Kong on Saturday condemned what it described as extreme radicals for holding illegal assemblies over the International Workers’ Day holiday and accused them of undermining the rule of law.
A war of words has intensified in the past few weeks, with Beijing’s top official in Hong Kong urging the local government to work to enact national security legislation “as soon as possible,” fueling worries over what many see as encroachment on the territory’s freedoms.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
STORM’S PATH: Kong-Rey could be the first typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in November since Gilda in 1967. Taitung-Green Island ferry services have been halted Tropical Storm Kong-rey is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon early today and could make landfall in Taitung County between late Thursday and early Friday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, Kong-Rey was 1,030km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the nation’s southernmost point, and was moving west at 7kph. The tropical storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126 kph, CWA data showed. After landing in Taitung, the eye of the storm is forecast to move into the Taiwan Strait through central Taiwan on Friday morning, the agency said. With the storm moving
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
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