Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Standoffs between police, protesters in HK malls

Officers fire tear gas on roads in some districts including Tsuen Wan and Shatin

Hong Kong police and protesters plus local residents were involved in standoffs in shopping malls in various districts across the city on Sunday.

From 2pm, hundreds of protesters wearing masks and black shirts gathered in shopping malls in Tseung Kwan O, Tai Po, Shatin, Kwun Tong, Kowloon Tong, Tsuen Wan, Tuen Mun and Taikoo. Sunday’s protests, named “Flowers blooming everywhere,” were held in 18 districts and aimed at opposing the anti-mask law launched on October 5.

People gathered in shopping malls, sang Glory To Hong Kong and chanted “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times!”

They drew graffiti on wooden boards shuttering previously-vandalized pro-Beijing shops which included cake shops, restaurants and coffee shops operated by Maxim’s Caterers Ltd and Best Mart 360 snack shops .

Annie Wu Suk-ching, the daughter of the Maxim’s group’s founder, had earlier spoken in support of the extradition law. On Saturday, Wu said in an interview with the Beijing Daily that people who attacked Maxim’s shops intended to hurt the Hong Kong business sector.

She said it was sad that many Hong Kong people and enterprises had stayed silent as they were afraid of being targeted. She said she was not involved in the group’s operations and did not own a stake in the group.

However, David Webb, a share market analyst in Hong Kong, said in an article on October 11 that Wu was a shareholder of Maxim’s.

Best Mart 360 outlets have been vandalized over the last two months as many believe its owner and management had connections with Fujianese gangsters, who attacked anti-extradition protesters and reporters on August 5.

The company said in a statement on October 2 that the accusations were groundless and the company and its management had never supported any violent behavior.

On Sunday, police patrolled most MTR stations and intercepted some passers-by. In several cases, they rushed into shopping malls and arrested people wearing masks.

At about 3 pm, dozens of police with shields and shotguns entered The Grandiose and Popcorn shopping malls while some masked people were painting graffiti on a closed Maxim’s shop. A 16-minute video taken by Asia Times shows police arresting a masked person in a shopping mall and then being shouted at by the crowd.

Police later entered the Popcorn shopping mall again and arrested three more people.

Popcorn mall is operated by the MTR Corp, while the Grandiose is a property jointly developed by the train company and New World Development Co.

Three protesters were arrested in Tai Po Mega Mall, while seven were detained for disrupting a Best Mart 360 shop in Metroplaza in Kwai Chung. Both shopping malls were developed and operated by Sun Hung Kai Properties. A masked man with an expandable baton, apparently an undercover police officer, appeared in the shop.

On October 8, a team of riot police entered the MOSTown shopping mall in Ma On Shan in the New Territories after being barred by five security guards. The five staff were then arrested for allegedly obstructing police from doing their duty. They were granted bail on the same day.

James To Kun-sun, a Democratic Party lawmaker, said the police should seek a warrant from the court before entering a shopping mall for operations. To said if the police do not have a warrant, they have to show that a particular suspect they want to arrest is in the shopping mall, instead of entering it and randomly searching for people.

Some previously-vandalized shops continued to operate, although their facilities had not been repaired.

On the streets, there were standoffs between black-shirted people and police in the afternoon. According to RTHK, a Chinese national flag was burned in Wong Tai Sin.

At about 4pm, police fired tear gas on roads in Tsuen Wan and Shatin. Some people blocked roads in Mong Kok, while others threw debris onto the railway lines in Shatin and Tuen Mun.

Meanwhile, protesters were granted approval from police to rally in Charter Garden in Central at 7pm on Monday to call for the US Congress to pass the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Acts.

Organizers urged the US government to sanction Hong Kong officials, politicians and police, whom they accused of repression.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×