Protest safety fears put paid to Hong Kong climate march
- Class strike was to be part of global movement demanding governments take action to limit global warming
- Amid clashes at recent demonstrations, organisers put plans on hold ‘due to the safety of students’, but three other groups say they will still strike
Student climate activists in Hong Kong have abandoned a planned march on Friday as ongoing anti-government protests heighten safety concerns.
The event, including a school strike, was to be part of a global student movement demanding governments take action to limit climate change.
Instead, the student-led Climate Action Hong Kong called on young people to join a photo campaign, writing “#morethan1%” on their bodies to demand the city government raise the share of energy that comes from renewables, which currently stands at 1 per cent.
“This doesn’t mean that we don’t care or we don’t think it’s important or we do not need to act now, [but] we decided the timing is quite unsuitable for us to be doing the climate strike due to the safety of students,” organiser Zara Campion said, noting the risk that it could spill into an anti-government protest.
The group, which organised two previous strikes in conjunction with a wider global movement in March and May, attended by children as young as six, had spoken to police about obtaining a permit to strike as early as June, the 18-year-old said.