Riot police rescue Chinese affairs minister trapped in his car by Hong Kong protesters, who threw metal poles at him at event celebrating National Day
- Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Patrick Nip was in Tsing Yi to attend a regional carnival for 70th anniversary of People’s Republic
- Anti-government protesters hijack event in show of belligerence and defiance
Anti-government protesters gave Hong Kong’s minister in charge of constitutional and mainland Chinese affairs a taste of belligerence and defiance on Sunday, harassing him at a public event and trapping him in his car for 20 minutes before riot police rescued him.
The episode happened just four days ahead of the first Community Dialogue session by Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Thursday, where she will meet 150 residents in Wan Chai in her latest effort to alleviate the months-long social unrest triggered by the now-withdrawn extradition bill.
More than 100 protesters had flocked to the Tsing Yi promenade on Sunday afternoon as Patrick Nip Tak-kuen attended an event celebrating the National Day there.
During his speech – in which he called on Hongkongers to seize the opportunities in the Greater Bay Area development plan – protesters chanted slogans, sang the protest anthem Glory to Hong Kong, and even pointed their laser pens at him.
“Five demands, not one less!” the crowd continued to chant when a group of children took to the stage for a dance performance.
Lam announced the withdrawal of the bill on September 4, fulfilling one of the protesters’ five demands, but demonstrators are still pushing for an inquiry into police handling of the unrest, and universal suffrage, among other demands.