Monday, August 12, 2019

Hong Kong airport shut down by protests

Hong Kong airport authority set to resume flights Tuesday after cancellations on 4th day of protests | CBC News:
August 12, 2019 - "The Hong Kong airport will restart flights starting at 6 a.m. Tuesday after it shut down operations when thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators occupied its main terminal. Hong Kong cancelled all flights not yet checked in by Monday afternoon, the agency said, as anti-government protesters peacefully demonstrated at the airport for a fourth day."
Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/hong-kong-flights-cancelled-protest-1.5243590

Hong Kong's civil unrest: What's driving today's protests? | CBC News:
August 12, 2019 - "Why are there tensions?
"Hong Kong, a major Asian commercial hub, returned to China in 1997 after 156 years of British rule. That transfer of power on July 1, 1997 — known as 'the handover' — came with certain conditions designed to guarantee Hong Hong 'a high degree of 'autonomy.'

"Under the 'one country, two systems' principle, Hong Kong is considered a Special Administrative Region of China and maintains independent legislative and legal systems that afford residents freedoms not available in mainland China. But Hong Kongers have long accused Beijing of encroaching on this autonomy....

"An extradition bill proposed by the the Hong Kong government this year triggered the latest wave of demonstrations.... The controversial extradition bill was proposed on April 3 as a response to the Hong Kong government's inability to extradite a Hong Kong man to Taiwan after he allegedly killed his girlfriend on a trip there. But proposed amendments to the bill would also allow Hong Kong to send people to both Taiwan and the mainland to face charges.

"Critics contend that defendants extradited to mainland China may not have access to a fair trial in the judicial system there and that Beijing could also use the law to crack down on Hong Kong dissidents.

"Intense protests then followed on June 9 as hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators were joined by civil servants and others, including business professionals. The bill was declared 'dead' as of last month by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam but she didn't withdraw it, and protests have continued....

"Beijing has labelled the latest protests an ... act of 'terrorism' after local authorities shut down the city's international airport on Monday due to continuous demonstrations. China's military —​ the People's Liberation Army — has a garrison of 6,000 soldiers in Hong Kong. Lam has the authority to request their help to 'maintain social order.'

"If this happens, many fear a repeat of the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident, where the army cracked down violently on democratic protesters in Beijing. China has never disclosed how many people died in the clashes but human rights organizations have estimated the death toll to be [from] several hundred to several thousand."

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