This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/04/world/asia/hong-kong-protests.html
The article has changed 13 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 10 | Version 11 |
|---|---|
| Violence Erupts in Hong Kong as Protesters Are Assaulted | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| HONG KONG — Pro-democracy demonstrations in two of Hong Kong’s most crowded shopping districts came under attack on Friday from unidentified men who assaulted protesters and tore down their encampments, after a week of erratic and unsuccessful attempts by the Beijing-backed government to end the protests. The protesters said the attackers were pro-government gangs, and several protest groups called off planned negotiations with the government in response. | HONG KONG — Pro-democracy demonstrations in two of Hong Kong’s most crowded shopping districts came under attack on Friday from unidentified men who assaulted protesters and tore down their encampments, after a week of erratic and unsuccessful attempts by the Beijing-backed government to end the protests. The protesters said the attackers were pro-government gangs, and several protest groups called off planned negotiations with the government in response. |
| On Saturday morning a police spokesman said 19 men, including eight with links to organized crime syndicates, or triads, had been arrested in connection with the violence in one of the districts, Mong Kok, according to Radio Television Hong Kong. Some residents, fed up with the inconveniences of the protests, had cheered on the attacks on the camps. | On Saturday morning a police spokesman said 19 men, including eight with links to organized crime syndicates, or triads, had been arrested in connection with the violence in one of the districts, Mong Kok, according to Radio Television Hong Kong. Some residents, fed up with the inconveniences of the protests, had cheered on the attacks on the camps. |
| The police also said that at least 18 people had been injured in the violence, including six police officers. | The police also said that at least 18 people had been injured in the violence, including six police officers. |
| A week after the protests began with a student rally, the pro-democracy movement and the government were showing increasing signs of wear and desperation, each improvising its next moves like chess players in the face of dwindling options. | A week after the protests began with a student rally, the pro-democracy movement and the government were showing increasing signs of wear and desperation, each improvising its next moves like chess players in the face of dwindling options. |
| The protest movement, fighting to remain relevant, was suffering from internal discord and exhaustion even before the attacks began. The sit-ins on major roads across this financial capital still drew thousands on Friday night, but the crowds were diminished as the city returned to work after a two-day holiday. | The protest movement, fighting to remain relevant, was suffering from internal discord and exhaustion even before the attacks began. The sit-ins on major roads across this financial capital still drew thousands on Friday night, but the crowds were diminished as the city returned to work after a two-day holiday. |
| The Hong Kong authorities, meanwhile, have resorted to one contradictory tactic after another in trying to end the demonstrations: sending in riot police officers with tear gas one day, pulling them back the next, refusing in principle to talk to protesters, then calling for talks with university students at the forefront of the pro-democracy campaign, disclosing a plan to wait out the protests, and then appearing ill prepared and tardy as the protesters were attacked. | The Hong Kong authorities, meanwhile, have resorted to one contradictory tactic after another in trying to end the demonstrations: sending in riot police officers with tear gas one day, pulling them back the next, refusing in principle to talk to protesters, then calling for talks with university students at the forefront of the pro-democracy campaign, disclosing a plan to wait out the protests, and then appearing ill prepared and tardy as the protesters were attacked. |
| The new elements injected on Friday were the gangs of attackers, who entered the fray a day after the Communist Party warned that there would be “chaos” in Hong Kong if the protests did not end. | The new elements injected on Friday were the gangs of attackers, who entered the fray a day after the Communist Party warned that there would be “chaos” in Hong Kong if the protests did not end. |
| The skirmishing opened in the Mong Kok neighborhood, a hive of shops, apartment blocks and hotels that is one of the world’s mostly densely populated places, and quickly turned ugly. As skies darkened and rain fell, two dozen men stormed a protest encampment in the middle of a major thoroughfare usually packed with traffic and shoppers. | The skirmishing opened in the Mong Kok neighborhood, a hive of shops, apartment blocks and hotels that is one of the world’s mostly densely populated places, and quickly turned ugly. As skies darkened and rain fell, two dozen men stormed a protest encampment in the middle of a major thoroughfare usually packed with traffic and shoppers. |
| They shoved and punched protesters, sometimes kicking them after they fell to the ground. Others grabbed the scaffolding of canopies and pulled them down until the tents collapsed. Residents said the police were outnumbered and slow to react, and hours passed before reinforcements arrived to protect the protesters from a jeering, hostile crowd. | They shoved and punched protesters, sometimes kicking them after they fell to the ground. Others grabbed the scaffolding of canopies and pulled them down until the tents collapsed. Residents said the police were outnumbered and slow to react, and hours passed before reinforcements arrived to protect the protesters from a jeering, hostile crowd. |
| Some threw cans and plastic bottles at the protesters; others spit at them. One protester was led away bleeding from his head as angry residents pressed forward, hurling insults and threats. Another was rushed out on a stretcher, an oxygen mask on his face. Several protesters said the attackers groped and sexually harassed female protesters, and Amnesty International alleged that police officers watched and did nothing. | Some threw cans and plastic bottles at the protesters; others spit at them. One protester was led away bleeding from his head as angry residents pressed forward, hurling insults and threats. Another was rushed out on a stretcher, an oxygen mask on his face. Several protesters said the attackers groped and sexually harassed female protesters, and Amnesty International alleged that police officers watched and did nothing. |
| As fistfights broke out, onlookers snapped photos and the crowds cheered. | As fistfights broke out, onlookers snapped photos and the crowds cheered. |
| One attacker, Jones Lam, a 63-year-old retiree, said his motive was simple. “They blocked the road,” he said of the protesters. “They blocked the people going to work.” | One attacker, Jones Lam, a 63-year-old retiree, said his motive was simple. “They blocked the road,” he said of the protesters. “They blocked the people going to work.” |
| Brawls broke out at another protest encampment, in the busy shopping district of Causeway Bay, as tourists hustled by clutching shopping bags. | Brawls broke out at another protest encampment, in the busy shopping district of Causeway Bay, as tourists hustled by clutching shopping bags. |
| “We began to see radicalists, some I suspected paid to stir up trouble here,” said Eva Sze, a volunteer at the site. | “We began to see radicalists, some I suspected paid to stir up trouble here,” said Eva Sze, a volunteer at the site. |
| After nearly a week in which the tens of thousands of protesters who had taken over parts of the city were, for the most part, not only nonviolent but assiduously polite and clean, the attacks came as a shock. | After nearly a week in which the tens of thousands of protesters who had taken over parts of the city were, for the most part, not only nonviolent but assiduously polite and clean, the attacks came as a shock. |
| “I feel really hurt,” said Nick Tse, 22, an art student. “We worked so hard for this, and they destroyed it.” | “I feel really hurt,” said Nick Tse, 22, an art student. “We worked so hard for this, and they destroyed it.” |
| But if the violence was intended to intimidate the protesters, it did not entirely succeed. Several protest leaders urged the demonstrators to leave Mong Kok, but they refused, instead joining arms and forming human chains, and as news of the attacks spread, waves of supporters joined them. By late evening, thousands of protesters were standing together in the streets. | But if the violence was intended to intimidate the protesters, it did not entirely succeed. Several protest leaders urged the demonstrators to leave Mong Kok, but they refused, instead joining arms and forming human chains, and as news of the attacks spread, waves of supporters joined them. By late evening, thousands of protesters were standing together in the streets. |
| The mayhem derailed proposed talks between the Hong Kong government and student protesters, who are demanding democratic elections for the city’s leader, the chief executive. The Hong Kong Federation of Students and one of the main protest groups, Occupy Central With Love and Peace, said Friday night that they would not participate in the talks and blamed the government for the violence. | The mayhem derailed proposed talks between the Hong Kong government and student protesters, who are demanding democratic elections for the city’s leader, the chief executive. The Hong Kong Federation of Students and one of the main protest groups, Occupy Central With Love and Peace, said Friday night that they would not participate in the talks and blamed the government for the violence. |
| “Yesterday, the government stated it was willing to hold a dialogue with students,” the federation said in a statement. “Today, it has broken its promise to the people, broken faith and without justification cracked down on the Occupy movement, treating the people as enemies.” | “Yesterday, the government stated it was willing to hold a dialogue with students,” the federation said in a statement. “Today, it has broken its promise to the people, broken faith and without justification cracked down on the Occupy movement, treating the people as enemies.” |
| Protesters and opposition politicians questioned the minimal police presence in both areas that were attacked. | Protesters and opposition politicians questioned the minimal police presence in both areas that were attacked. |
| “If the government tolerates and allows physical attacks and assaults on personal safety by the so-called patriotic groups, that would be the beginning of riots and chaos,” said Cyd Ho Sau-lan, a representative of the pro-democracy Labor Party in the city’s legislature. | “If the government tolerates and allows physical attacks and assaults on personal safety by the so-called patriotic groups, that would be the beginning of riots and chaos,” said Cyd Ho Sau-lan, a representative of the pro-democracy Labor Party in the city’s legislature. |
| The government denied abetting the violence, but said the turmoil was a good reason for the entire protest movement to end its sit-ins across the city. | The government denied abetting the violence, but said the turmoil was a good reason for the entire protest movement to end its sit-ins across the city. |
| Leung Chun-ying, the chief executive, issued an appeal for a return to peaceful order and urged residents to disperse from the tense streets, especially schoolchildren. | Leung Chun-ying, the chief executive, issued an appeal for a return to peaceful order and urged residents to disperse from the tense streets, especially schoolchildren. |
| “I appeal to them to leave immediately,” he said in a written statement. “I have absolutely no wish for any residents, especially young people, to be injured in clashes.” | “I appeal to them to leave immediately,” he said in a written statement. “I have absolutely no wish for any residents, especially young people, to be injured in clashes.” |
| The Mong Kok area, where the violence first broke out, is notorious for organized gangs or triads that extort payments from the many small businesses there, or in some cases own the businesses. Some protesters had suggested that the attackers were connected to the triads, and the number of suspected triad members among those arrested by the police seemed to partly confirm this fear. | The Mong Kok area, where the violence first broke out, is notorious for organized gangs or triads that extort payments from the many small businesses there, or in some cases own the businesses. Some protesters had suggested that the attackers were connected to the triads, and the number of suspected triad members among those arrested by the police seemed to partly confirm this fear. |
| Asked if he was a member of such a group, one man who was tearing down the tents, Steve Lin, 48, said: “I’m not a triad. I’m a Hong Konger.” | Asked if he was a member of such a group, one man who was tearing down the tents, Steve Lin, 48, said: “I’m not a triad. I’m a Hong Konger.” |
| This would not be the first time in this part of the world that the Chinese underworld gangs had taken on heavily political targets. The February stabbing of Kevin Lau, who had recently been deposed as editor of a hard-hitting Hong Kong newspaper, bore the hallmarks of a triad operation, and several of those arrested in the case were said to have triad connections. | This would not be the first time in this part of the world that the Chinese underworld gangs had taken on heavily political targets. The February stabbing of Kevin Lau, who had recently been deposed as editor of a hard-hitting Hong Kong newspaper, bore the hallmarks of a triad operation, and several of those arrested in the case were said to have triad connections. |
| The attackers drew their own crowds of supporters — nearby residents and shopkeepers annoyed by a week of disrupted transportation and rowdy crowds. | The attackers drew their own crowds of supporters — nearby residents and shopkeepers annoyed by a week of disrupted transportation and rowdy crowds. |
| But the groups of men who stormed the two sites came abruptly and in force, and on two sides of Victoria Harbor at about the same time, leaving many in the pro-democracy camp convinced that the assaults were not just spontaneous initiatives by local residents. | But the groups of men who stormed the two sites came abruptly and in force, and on two sides of Victoria Harbor at about the same time, leaving many in the pro-democracy camp convinced that the assaults were not just spontaneous initiatives by local residents. |
| The biggest road occupations, near the government headquarters and the legislature, remained in place Friday, and many hundreds of activists maintained their siege of Mr. Leung’s office. The demonstrators have demanded that he resign and that his successors be democratically elected, without prior vetting of the candidates by Beijing. | The biggest road occupations, near the government headquarters and the legislature, remained in place Friday, and many hundreds of activists maintained their siege of Mr. Leung’s office. The demonstrators have demanded that he resign and that his successors be democratically elected, without prior vetting of the candidates by Beijing. |
| The Chinese Communist Party has rejected those demands. Leaders in Beijing fear that giving democratic power to Hong Kong, a former British colony, would make maintaining control there even harder and could encourage groups elsewhere to demand similar rights. | The Chinese Communist Party has rejected those demands. Leaders in Beijing fear that giving democratic power to Hong Kong, a former British colony, would make maintaining control there even harder and could encourage groups elsewhere to demand similar rights. |
| But the protesters have quarreled over tactics, and on Friday morning they debated fiercely whether to let trucks and ambulances past their blockade, with some elements convinced the ambulances were a ruse. | But the protesters have quarreled over tactics, and on Friday morning they debated fiercely whether to let trucks and ambulances past their blockade, with some elements convinced the ambulances were a ruse. |
| The protesters mostly agree on two demands: open democratic elections for the chief executive, and Mr. Leung’s removal. But in the past two days, the main protest groups and crowds on the streets have disagreed over how to press those demands and whether to adopt more confrontational methods. | The protesters mostly agree on two demands: open democratic elections for the chief executive, and Mr. Leung’s removal. But in the past two days, the main protest groups and crowds on the streets have disagreed over how to press those demands and whether to adopt more confrontational methods. |
| “I hope everybody can persist in the spirit of peaceful resistance,” said Benny Tai, an associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong and a founder of Occupy Central With Love and Peace. | “I hope everybody can persist in the spirit of peaceful resistance,” said Benny Tai, an associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong and a founder of Occupy Central With Love and Peace. |
| That may be unlikely if a commentary published Saturday on the front page of the Chinese Communist Party’s newspaper, People’s Daily, is as prescient as the one on Thursday that warned of chaos. The new commentary said the mayhem “could lead to deaths and injuries and other grave consequences.” | That may be unlikely if a commentary published Saturday on the front page of the Chinese Communist Party’s newspaper, People’s Daily, is as prescient as the one on Thursday that warned of chaos. The new commentary said the mayhem “could lead to deaths and injuries and other grave consequences.” |