What future for a movement beaten into retreat by a pandemic and looming national security law?
Opposition holds on to ambitious target of ‘35-plus’ seats, but braces itself for new obstacles.
It started with a mass protest on June 9, 2019 to demand the withdrawal of the government’s extradition bill which would have allowed the transfer of fugitives to mainland China, Macau and Taiwan. The bill was eventually withdrawn, but the protests have not died down.
The new police chief’s strategy has impacted the unrest amid growing international interest and during US police strife.
As the bleak year of 2020 plays out under the spectre of a pandemic, it remains to be seen where the movement will head with a new normal.
John Lee accuses foreign forces of fanning the flames of protest and suggests anti-government movement is running out of funding sources.
New group will have intelligence gathering, investigation and training capabilities, city security chief John Lee says in exclusive interview.
Few had read between the lines when Beijing signalled last October it had run out of patience over the national security law.
Rupert Dover, who was making tactical calls for officers around Lung Wui Road that day, stands by his decision to use canisters of the irritant. Police needed to get to a government minister trapped in car beneath an underpass and the option was the safest given the circumstances, he says.
Constable was sent to protect district’s town hall on National Day when he was hit with corrosive liquid that dissolved skin and muscle. He spent nearly two months in hospital and will feel physical pain for the rest of his life, but says he harbours no anger towards his attacker.
Hong Kong police have made 8,981 protest-related arrests. The oldest is aged 84, the youngest 11.
Jack Chan left Hong Kong when police started looking for him over his involvement in a serious offence during the protests.
In a wide-ranging interview with the Post, Rupert Dover explains his thoughts and feelings during many of the most pivotal moments of the demonstrations.
Pessimists say Hong Kong’s best days are over, but others predict city will bounce back.
Hongkongers are now accustomed to seeing fights between police and protesters; mess and mayhem and clouds of tear gas. Psychology professor says ‘people are habituated to violence’, while activist says ‘city needs more people with kind hearts and critical minds’.
Staff’s involvement in anti-government protests saw the airline paying ‘a painful price’, and showed how much it relied on the mainland market.
For years, the city’s labour movement has been dominated by pro-Beijing voices deeply supportive of the government. But the social unrest lay the groundwork for employees in dozens of industries to organise, some for the first time.
The Chinese leadership once relied on a handful of families to help keep the city stable, but as residents’ anger swelled they blamed them for hoarding land. Although their influence has waned slightly, the moguls remain a pillar of power in Hong Kong.
