Hong Kong Protesters Clash With Police as China Plans Political Intervention
Posted: November 6, 2016 Filed under: Asia, Breaking News, Censorship, China, Global, Law & Justice, Politics | Tags: Basic Law, Beijing, China, Chongqing, Gas explosion, Hong Kong, Hong Kong’s Basic Law, Huaping County, State Administration of Work Safety, Xinhua News Agency Leave a comment
Officers use pepper spray on protesters angry that Beijing will issue an interpretation of the semiautonomous city’s Basic Law.
Police used pepper spray on protesters in Hong Kong on Sunday evening as thousands rallied against Beijing’s plans to intervene in a political standoff over two local lawmakers who insulted China in the city’s legislature.
“The police was using very brutal violence to depress us. We were very angry because we think that for such an important issue, we at least have our right to protest.”
On Sunday, thousands marched in central Hong Kong to protest against China’s looming intervention. In scenes reminiscent of the city’s mass pro-democracy protests of 2014, video taken by local press showed police spraying the crowd and protesters protecting themselves with umbrellas.
“We were trying to occupy Connaught Road…but there were too many police and there were some conflicts between us. They used pepper spray. We tried to step back and fight again, but they kept on spraying.”
— Hayley Lee, 27, an airline cabin-crew member
Hong Kong Police Force senior superintendent Lewis Tse confirmed officers used pepper spray during a “chaotic” confrontation with some protesters late Sunday. He said two men—aged 39 years and 57 years—had been arrested.
Hundreds of protesters gathered near Western Street, in the city’s Sai Ying Pun district, as the march against China’s reinterpretation of the Basic Law turned into a standoff with the police. People held umbrellas aloft and wore face masks to protect themselves from the pepper spray.
“We were trying to occupy Connaught Road…but there were too many police and there were some conflicts between us,” said Hayley Lee, 27, an airline cabin-crew member. “They used pepper spray. We tried to step back and fight again, but they kept on spraying.”
[Read the full story here, at WSJ]
In the crowd, familiar faces from the so-called Umbrella movement two years ago were present.
“The police was using very brutal violence to depress us,” said Nathan Law Kwun-chung, the 23-year-old newly elected “localist” who has advocated for greater autonomy from China. “We were very angry because we think that for such an important issue, we at least have our right to protest,” he said of police attempts to move the crowd near China’s official Liaison Office on Connaught Road.
Sixtus Leung and Yau Wai-ching during a protest march in Hong Kong on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2016. Photo: European Pressphoto Agency
As the night wore on, rows of police held their lines, while others looked on from the steps of the Western Police Station. Officers stood with shields, warning protesters to keep maintain control and stay calm.
Protesters continued to mill around, disorganized, and many were unsure about whether they would stay out for whole night. Still, they agreed they wanted to take a stand with Beijing’s decision expected to be made Monday. Read the rest of this entry »
China Ship Disaster Takes Nearly 400 Lives
Posted: June 6, 2015 Filed under: Asia, China | Tags: China, Chongqing, Hubei, Jiangsu, Jianli County, Nanjing, Reuters, Xinhua News Agency, Yangtze River Leave a comment
Hundreds more bodies from the Eastern Star were found, bringing the death toll to 396
JIANLI, China—The death toll in the Eastern Star capsizing rose to nearly 400 on Saturday after disaster teams stabilized the river cruiser in an upright position and searched it for more bodies, making it China’s deadliest boat disaster in nearly seven decades.
Authorities have attributed the overturning of the ship in the Yangtze River late Monday to sudden, severe winds, but also have placed the captain and his first engineer under police custody.
Passengers’ relatives have raised questions about whether the ship should have continued its cruise after the storm started in a section of Hubei province and despite a weather warning earlier in the evening.
Heavy rains in the Yangtze area over four days beginning Monday have killed 15 people and left eight others missing, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said.
Hundreds more bodies from the Eastern Star were found overnight and Saturday, bringing the death toll to 396, Hu Kaihong, the vice director-general of the press bureau of the State Council Information Office, told a news conference. Read the rest of this entry »
Rent-A-Boyfriend: Single Chinese Women under pressure to find Suitable Partner turn to web for by-the-hour BF Rental Service
Posted: November 12, 2013 Filed under: Asia, China | Tags: China, Chinese New Year, Chongqing, People's Daily, Taobao, Xu Li, Yancheng Leave a comment
False romance: Women under pressure are resorting to fake boyfriends in a bid to impress their families
Chinese website offers men by the hour to women ashamed of their single status
- Rent-a-boyfriends can advertise their wares on Taobao.com
- Increasingly popular with women under parental pressure to marry
- Services include dinners and cinema visits. Hand-holding is free
Ruth Styles reports: Meeting someone new isn’t always the easiest of tasks, so spare a thought for China’s young women who face intense parental pressure to find the right man.
As a result, women terrified of returning home without a handsome other half resort to hiring ‘boyfriends’ for the duration of their visit.
Now a shopping website, Taobao, has launched a new rent-a-boyfriend service which allows would-be fake other halves to advertise their services – complete with price lists.
pundit from another planet 