(Reuters) Thousands of protesters calling for democracy and some chanting “free Hong Kong” converged on the Chinese-ruled city’s airport on Friday as Singapore advised its travelers to avoid protest areas in the territory.
Hong Kong airport authorities said operations at one of Asia’s biggest civil aviation hubs would not be affected, but advised passengers to arrive early given the risk of disruption.
The former British colony, which returned to China in 1997, is embroiled in its worst political crisis for decades after two months of increasingly violent protests that have posed one of the gravest populist challenges to Communist Party rulers in Beijing.
The demonstrations, mushrooming almost daily, saw the defacement of China’s main representative office last weekend, which Beijing said was an attack on China’s sovereignty.
More protests are expected on Saturday with demonstrators outraged at an attack on Sunday at a train station by armed men who police sources say included some with backgrounds in Hong Kong’s triad criminal gangs. Some 45 people were wounded.
Hong Kong returned to China under a “one country, two systems” formula, guaranteeing its freedoms — including rights to protest not enjoyed on the mainland — for at least 50 years.
What started as an angry response to a now-suspended extradition bill, which would have allowed defendants to be sent to the mainland for trial, now includes demands for greater democracy and the resignation of Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie Lam.
At the airport protesters, many dressed in black and seated on the ground, gradually filled the entire arrivals hall. They held up signs calling on the government to withdraw the extradition bill completely, while chants of “Free Hong Kong” reverberated around the cavernous glass and steel hall.
A demonstrator wears a placard during a protest against the recent violence in Yuen Long, at Hong Kong airport, China July 26, 2019. REUTERS/Edgar Su
Organizers said some 15,000 people took part in the protest over 11 hours, while police put the figure at 4,000 at its peak.
