2014-07-02
RFA
Policemen remove protesters in the Central business district after a pro-democracy rally seeking greater democracy in Hong Kong early on July 2, 2014. AFP
Hong Kong police arrested more than 500 protesters early Wednesday during an all-night sit-in following a mass pro-democracy march that drew up to half a million people who called for universal suffrage and the right to political autonomy.
The arrests prompted immediate criticisms from rights groups and activists, who said the protesters shouldn't have been detained for "peaceful and legitimate" actions in the former British colony, which has traditionally enjoyed the freedoms of expression and association.
The mass arrests came after police gave verbal and written warnings to the crowd, before moving to clear the streets in Hong Kong's Central business district of thousands of student-led protesters, who had linked arms and were sitting in the road.
The operation began at around 3.00 a.m. local time and continued until the beginning of the business day, as each of the 2,000 or more protesters was removed individually, or eventually left of their own accord, at the prearranged time of 8.00 a.m.
Police later said that 511 demonstrators were arrested for illegal assembly or obstructing police, including a number of pro-democracy lawmakers.
Police had read out a message, displaying a printed version in Chinese and English: "Please cooperate with police and move towards the vehicles provided by police. Otherwise, the police may employ necessary force to remove you," it said.
Protesters continued to sing and chant slogans calling for democracy as police carrying plastic handcuffs moved in, removing protesters and carrying them off to waiting buses.
'Peaceful, legitimate'
London-based Amnesty International called on Hong Kong's Special Administrative Region (SAR) government to release all those detained solely for peacefully protesting in pro-democracy demonstrations.
"This was not an illegal assembly; it was a peaceful and legitimate protest under international law," Mabel Au, director of Amnesty International Hong Kong, said in a statement on Wednesday.
"The police action was hasty and unnecessary and sets a disturbing precedent," Au said.
Under international law, protests do not require approval by the authorities, though advance notice can be requested, Amnesty International said.
"The dispersal of protests should only be taken as a last resort and it is questionable this was the case," Au said.
Police were also seen on the live online feed of the sit-in asking journalists to leave the scene before beginning to move protesters, although the journalists appeared to move back only a few feet without leaving the scene.
"The authorities must remember peaceful assembly is a legitimate and valid use of public space," Au said.
"The request for journalists to leave the protests was wrong and is another worrying sign of the Hong Kong authorities' growing hostility to press freedom."
Police 'ill-prepared'
Alex Chow, secretary general of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, said he had heard through "informal channels" that 31 of the detainees looked likely to face public order charges.
He said police had seemed ill-prepared for the large number of detainees.
"There wasn't enough room for protesters to sleep, and they weren't given anything to eat for three hours," Chow said. "Their lawyers had to wait two to three hours for a call-back."
"I think if there were more detainees than 500 during an Occupy Central movement, the whole police system would be paralyzed," he said.
Students told RFA beforehand that they saw the civil disobedience action as a form of dress rehearsal for a proposed Occupy campaign in Central, which organizers have vowed to move ahead with if the government fails to respond to popular demands for democracy according to international standards.
While the ruling Chinese Communist Party has said Hong Kong can elect its own leader in the 2017 race for chief executive, it has stopped short of allowing candidates to run who have not been previously approved by Beijing.
Mixed support
A poll conducted by the English-language South China Morning Post newspaper found that 91 percent of marchers questioned had joined the march in support of public nominations.
Another major reason given was opposition to a June 10 white paper in which Beijing asserted its rule over Hong Kong, saying the city's traditionally independent judges are "administrators" who should be "patriotic."
However, support for the Occupy movement was less unanimous, with around 20 percent saying they would be prepared to join it and 36 percent rejecting it.
Meanwhile, 52 percent said they wouldn't want an individual vote if candidates had to be vetted by Beijing.
A marcher surnamed Dai said she supported the student sit-in. "Basically I think this is an acceptable form of action," she said. "I just don't want to see any sort of [violent] dispersal of the crowd."
And a Hong Kong resident surnamed Ling said he didn't believe such actions would have much effect on policy.
"I don't think sitting in until 8.00 a.m. the following morning is going to be very effective," Ling said. "I don't think the government will be worried by this at all."
"I think they should just occupy [Central] the whole time."
China stands firm
Chinese state media and officials gave no sign of changing their stance in the wake of the protests on Wednesday.
Zhang Xiaoming, head of Beijing's representative office in Hong Kong, said: "The central government supports Hong Kong's determination and sincerity to hold universal elections, but it isn't about to waver just because of a so-called referendum or the size of a demonstration," Zhang said in a statement on Wednesday.
Beijing has denounced as illegal an unofficial poll held last week in which 800,000 voted, mostly electronically, for some form of public nomination of candidates.
The tabloid Global Times newspaper, which has strong links to party mouthpiece the People's Daily, ran an opinion article headlined "The government won't make concessions in the face of the July 1 demonstrations in Hong Kong."
"These sorts of methods will never force the government to back down," the paper said. "The wave of political enthusiasm will eventually diminish, and demonstrations and protests will become a daily occurrence in Hong Kong, and a humdrum part of its political culture."
In a front-page editorial carried only in its mainland edition, the People's Daily said patriotism is a "natural emotion" and that patriots should be put in charge of Hong Kong as a matter of course.
It denied that the white paper had attacked judicial independence in the territory, which was promised "a high degree of autonomy" under the terms of its 1997 handover from Britain to China.
Reported by Wen Yuqing for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Yang Fan for the Mandarin Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.
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