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| Hong Kong Protests Spread to Airport as City Fears More Unrest | Hong Kong Protests Spread to Airport as City Fears More Unrest |
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| HONG KONG — Black-clad demonstrators rallied in Hong Kong’s airport on Friday, filling the arrivals hall of one of the world’s busiest terminals as the city braced for another weekend of potentially combustible protests. | HONG KONG — Black-clad demonstrators rallied in Hong Kong’s airport on Friday, filling the arrivals hall of one of the world’s busiest terminals as the city braced for another weekend of potentially combustible protests. |
| Activists also signaled that despite objections from the police, they would continue with plans for a Saturday rally against mob violence in Yuen Long, a district near the mainland Chinese border where last weekend a group of men attacked people in a train station and on nearby streets. | Activists also signaled that despite objections from the police, they would continue with plans for a Saturday rally against mob violence in Yuen Long, a district near the mainland Chinese border where last weekend a group of men attacked people in a train station and on nearby streets. |
| [Triads were suspected of being behind the mob attacks last week. Here is a look at their history and their past political violence in Hong Kong.] | |
| That attack on Sunday, which left at least 45 people injured, was apparently meant to intimidate the protesters who have been holding demonstrations in the city for weeks. But the men, many of whom were masked and dressed in white T-shirts, also lashed out at train passengers who had no apparent connection to the demonstrations. | That attack on Sunday, which left at least 45 people injured, was apparently meant to intimidate the protesters who have been holding demonstrations in the city for weeks. But the men, many of whom were masked and dressed in white T-shirts, also lashed out at train passengers who had no apparent connection to the demonstrations. |
| The police — who failed to stop the mob, and initially made no arrests — have since detained 12 people in connection with the train station attacks, including some accused of having connections to the criminal gangs known as triads. The authorities have said they object to the Yuen Long rally on Saturday because of the risk of clashes, with tensions running high between pro-democracy protesters and residents of the district’s villages, who are more conservative and supportive of the establishment. | The police — who failed to stop the mob, and initially made no arrests — have since detained 12 people in connection with the train station attacks, including some accused of having connections to the criminal gangs known as triads. The authorities have said they object to the Yuen Long rally on Saturday because of the risk of clashes, with tensions running high between pro-democracy protesters and residents of the district’s villages, who are more conservative and supportive of the establishment. |
| The prospect of more violence this weekend poses another challenge for Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s embattled chief executive, who is under pressure from Beijing to restore order in the semiautonomous Chinese city. On Sunday, hours before the mob attack, protesters defaced the Chinese government’s main offices in the city, in a direct rebuke of the Communist leadership in China. | The prospect of more violence this weekend poses another challenge for Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s embattled chief executive, who is under pressure from Beijing to restore order in the semiautonomous Chinese city. On Sunday, hours before the mob attack, protesters defaced the Chinese government’s main offices in the city, in a direct rebuke of the Communist leadership in China. |
| Mrs. Lam is also facing growing calls from civil servants sympathetic to the protesters, who have urged her to heed the demonstrators’ calls to set up an independent commission to investigate police conduct during the unrest. Several police unions released a letter Friday urging Mrs. Lam to oppose such a move. | Mrs. Lam is also facing growing calls from civil servants sympathetic to the protesters, who have urged her to heed the demonstrators’ calls to set up an independent commission to investigate police conduct during the unrest. Several police unions released a letter Friday urging Mrs. Lam to oppose such a move. |
| The protests in Hong Kong began weeks ago, over a now-suspended government proposal that would allow extraditions to mainland China. They have since expanded to include other issues, like accusations that the police have used excessive force, as well as demands that direct elections be held for chief executive and for more seats in the local legislature. | The protests in Hong Kong began weeks ago, over a now-suspended government proposal that would allow extraditions to mainland China. They have since expanded to include other issues, like accusations that the police have used excessive force, as well as demands that direct elections be held for chief executive and for more seats in the local legislature. |
| During the rally at the airport on Friday, protesters, including some airline employees, chanted slogans and distributed leaflets listing demands, including a full withdrawal of the extradition bill. They also set up another of the many so-called Lennon Walls that have gone up around the city (named after one that sprung up in Prague under Communist rule), consisting of slogans and messages of support for the protest movement, most on Post-It notes. | During the rally at the airport on Friday, protesters, including some airline employees, chanted slogans and distributed leaflets listing demands, including a full withdrawal of the extradition bill. They also set up another of the many so-called Lennon Walls that have gone up around the city (named after one that sprung up in Prague under Communist rule), consisting of slogans and messages of support for the protest movement, most on Post-It notes. |
| To promote the airport rally, protesters created a video modeled on in-flight safety instructions telling visitors to beware of mob attacks in Hong Kong. It referred to the police’s failure to protect the train passengers in Yuen Long on Sunday: “It is a safety requirement that you remain alert and vigilant at all times, because the police will no longer answer your calls,” it said. | To promote the airport rally, protesters created a video modeled on in-flight safety instructions telling visitors to beware of mob attacks in Hong Kong. It referred to the police’s failure to protect the train passengers in Yuen Long on Sunday: “It is a safety requirement that you remain alert and vigilant at all times, because the police will no longer answer your calls,” it said. |
| Jeremy Tam, a lawmaker and former pilot, posted on Facebook an unsigned letter attributed to a group of air traffic controllers that warned of a “noncooperation movement” unless the government responded to the protesters’ demands. | Jeremy Tam, a lawmaker and former pilot, posted on Facebook an unsigned letter attributed to a group of air traffic controllers that warned of a “noncooperation movement” unless the government responded to the protesters’ demands. |
| “As we hear the people cry and witness the city descend into chaos, we feel that it is not right to continue to perform our duties silently as if nothing has happened and let the abusers get away with their evil deeds,” it said. | “As we hear the people cry and witness the city descend into chaos, we feel that it is not right to continue to perform our duties silently as if nothing has happened and let the abusers get away with their evil deeds,” it said. |
| Concerns about Saturday’s protest were running high. | Concerns about Saturday’s protest were running high. |
| Matthew Cheung, the second-ranking official in Hong Kong, warned that a rally held in spite of the police’s formal objection would be unlawful. But in a news conference on Friday, he acknowledged that people were still likely to attend, and he called on them to be “peaceful and rational” and not enter villages in Yuen Long where clashes might occur. | Matthew Cheung, the second-ranking official in Hong Kong, warned that a rally held in spite of the police’s formal objection would be unlawful. But in a news conference on Friday, he acknowledged that people were still likely to attend, and he called on them to be “peaceful and rational” and not enter villages in Yuen Long where clashes might occur. |
| Mr. Cheung also apologized for the government’s handling of the violence in Yuen Long, where many have accused the police of being slow to respond. | Mr. Cheung also apologized for the government’s handling of the violence in Yuen Long, where many have accused the police of being slow to respond. |
| “If it’s for this event, the method of how we handled it, and how the police force said they fell short of the citizens’ expectations, I am absolutely willing to apologize to the citizens,” he said. | “If it’s for this event, the method of how we handled it, and how the police force said they fell short of the citizens’ expectations, I am absolutely willing to apologize to the citizens,” he said. |
| Police officials said they received calls about the Yuen Long attacks at 10:41 p.m. on Sunday, and that two officers arrived at 10:52 p.m. But they retreated because they were outnumbered, and 40 riot police officers arrived at 11:20 p.m., officials said. | Police officials said they received calls about the Yuen Long attacks at 10:41 p.m. on Sunday, and that two officers arrived at 10:52 p.m. But they retreated because they were outnumbered, and 40 riot police officers arrived at 11:20 p.m., officials said. |
| The men in white had been seen gathering hours earlier, and warnings about an attack on protesters had circulated in the area as early as a day before the attacks. | The men in white had been seen gathering hours earlier, and warnings about an attack on protesters had circulated in the area as early as a day before the attacks. |
| “We understand that the outcome of our actions might have slightly fallen short to the citizens’ expectations,” Tsang Ching-fo, a police official in New Territories North, where Yuen Long is located, said on Thursday. “We are also very saddened that civilians got hurt because we were not able to stop the event.” | “We understand that the outcome of our actions might have slightly fallen short to the citizens’ expectations,” Tsang Ching-fo, a police official in New Territories North, where Yuen Long is located, said on Thursday. “We are also very saddened that civilians got hurt because we were not able to stop the event.” |
| A week before the attack at the train station, a representative of the Chinese government’s office in Hong Kong, known as the liaison office, had urged Yuen Long residents to drive activists away, Reuters reported on Friday, citing a recording of his remarks. | A week before the attack at the train station, a representative of the Chinese government’s office in Hong Kong, known as the liaison office, had urged Yuen Long residents to drive activists away, Reuters reported on Friday, citing a recording of his remarks. |
| “We won’t allow them to come to Yuen Long to cause trouble,” Li Jiyi, the director of the liaison office’s local district office, said at a community banquet, according to the report. | “We won’t allow them to come to Yuen Long to cause trouble,” Li Jiyi, the director of the liaison office’s local district office, said at a community banquet, according to the report. |
| The liaison office dismissed any reports linking it to the Yuen Long violence as “malicious rumors,” according to a report carried on the liaison office’s website. | The liaison office dismissed any reports linking it to the Yuen Long violence as “malicious rumors,” according to a report carried on the liaison office’s website. |
| This week, Chinese state media outlets, which previously ignored the Hong Kong demonstrations, have begun running coverage that is sharply critical of them. Chinese officials have also denounced the demonstrators, particularly since the liaison office was vandalized on Sunday, with protesters painting graffiti on the exterior and splashing ink on the national crest. | This week, Chinese state media outlets, which previously ignored the Hong Kong demonstrations, have begun running coverage that is sharply critical of them. Chinese officials have also denounced the demonstrators, particularly since the liaison office was vandalized on Sunday, with protesters painting graffiti on the exterior and splashing ink on the national crest. |
| A spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense hinted on Wednesday that the Chinese military could be called in to restore order. But Hong Kong officials have repeatedly denied they have any plans to request assistance from the People’s Liberation Army. | A spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense hinted on Wednesday that the Chinese military could be called in to restore order. But Hong Kong officials have repeatedly denied they have any plans to request assistance from the People’s Liberation Army. |