Barricades up, shutters down as Hong Kong marks Communist China's birthday

Police detain a pro-China protester as they break up anti-government protesters and pro-China supporters as they clash in Wang Chai district, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019, in Hong Kong while the celebration of the People's Republic's 70th anniversary is taking place in Beijing. Police are warning of the potential for protesters to engage in violence "one step closer to terrorism" during this week's National Day events, an assertion ridiculed by activists as propaganda meant to scare people from taking to the streets. Photo: AP Photo/Vincent Thian.

Police detain a pro-China protester as they break up anti-government protesters and pro-China supporters as they clash in Wang Chai district, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019, in Hong Kong while the celebration of the People's Republic's 70th anniversary is taking place in Beijing. Police are warning of the potential for protesters to engage in violence "one step closer to terrorism" during this week's National Day events, an assertion ridiculed by activists as propaganda meant to scare people from taking to the streets. Photo: AP Photo/Vincent Thian.

Published Oct 1, 2019

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HONG KONG - Hong Kong was in a state of

unprecedented lockdown on Tuesday, with barricades in the city

centre, shuttered stores and a heavy police presence, as

authorities scrambled to ensure protests do not overshadow

China's National Day celebrations in Beijing.

The former British colony has been racked by nearly four

months of street clashes and demonstrations, posing the gravest

popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came

to power.

Protesters have vowed to seize on the 70th anniversary of

the founding of the People's Republic of China on Tuesday to

propel their calls for greater democracy onto the international

stage, hijacking an occasion Beijing sees as an opportunity to

showcase China's economic and military progress.

Authorities have denied permission for a protest march, but

demonstrations are expected across the city regardless.

"I’d rather die than have no freedom,” said a college

student who identified himself as just Green, speaking outside

the Che Kung Temple in the New Territories region where a

protest is expected.

Police said on Monday they expected a "very serious violent

attack" in the city but gave no details.

Police said they arrested five people, aged between 17 and

25, in the central district of Wan Chai on Monday night after

finding them with walkie-talkies, lighters and material for

petrol bombs, including 18 litres (4.75 gallons) of fuel and

empty bottles.

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

Hundreds of officials and members of the pro-establishment

elite began the day with a flag-raising ceremony and National

Day reception at the Convention and Exhibition Centre, held

early and moved behind closed doors. Roads to the centre were

closed and tightly policed.

Hong Kong has benefited from China's support under the "one

country, two systems" policy, acting Chief Executive Matthew

Cheung told the assembly, referring to guarantees of political

freedoms after the city's handover from British to Chinese rule

in 1997.

However, he said the "escalating violence of some radical

protesters, including unlawful assemblies and blockage of roads,

petrol bomb hurling, arson and attacks on other citizens, has

not only disrupted social order but also posed a severe

challenge to the rule of law, affecting the safety and normal

lives of citizens".

The protests had "further hit the local economy, which is

already facing downward pressure", he added.

The protests have taken a heavy toll on shopping malls that

house some of the world's best-known luxury brands, with many

closing early in recent weeks amid escalating violence.

The IFC mall, close to the city centre, was closed on

Tuesday. One of Hong Kong's largest upscale shopping centres,

IFC houses an Apple Inc store, jewellers Tiffany & Co

and Chow Sang Sang, cosmetics maker L'Occitane

and Gucci, which is owned by French group Kering

.

The closure of IFC and several other malls means retailers

will miss out on what would normally be a busy shopping week,

when mainland tour groups traditionally flood in for the annual

Golden Week holiday.

Latest data showed visitor arrivals plunged 39% in August

from a year earlier, with the number of mainland tourists to

Hong Kong dropping 42.3% over the period.

EARLY SCUFFLE

Cheung called a first "open dialogue" last week with

citizens an important step and said more would follow.

A group of protesters outside the venue shouted "No national

day celebrations, only national day mourning", and called for

those arrested during recent clashes to be released. Police

fired pepper spray during a scuffle outside a nearby train

station.

Rail operator MTR Corp closed some flash-point metro

stations.

The government of embattled leader Carrie Lam has already

cancelled an annual Oct. 1 fireworks display over the city's

Victoria Harbour, citing public safety.

Lam, who was trapped in a stadium for hours last week after

attending the "open dialogue", left for Beijing on Monday to

celebrate China's birthday on the mainland. She will return on

Tuesday.

PROTESTS, PARADES

In contrast to events in Hong Kong, Beijing's carefully

choreographed anniversary festivities included troops marching

through part of Tiananmen Square with new missiles and floats

celebrating the country's technological prowess.

The Communist Party leadership is determined to project an

image of national strength and unity in the face of challenges

including Hong Kong's unrest, slowing economic growth and a

trade war with the United States.

"On our journey forward, we must uphold the principles of

peaceful reunification and one country, two systems; maintain

lasting prosperity and stability in Hong Kong and Macau ... and

continue to strive for the motherland's complete reunification,"

Xi said in his nationally televised speech in Beijing.

Hong Kong protesters are angry about what they see as

creeping Chinese interference in the Asian financial centre.

China dismisses the accusation and has accused foreign

governments, including the United States and Britain, of fanning

anti-China sentiment.

Last month, Beijing moved thousands of troops across the

border into the city. The Xinhua state news agency described the

movement as routine rotation.

Asian and Western envoys in Hong Kong, however, have said

the absence of any evidence that troops had been withdrawn

suggested it was a reinforcement, with the largest-ever regular

army force now stationed in the city. 

Reuters

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