A protester in Hong Kong. Yahoo/AFP
Protesters and riot police clashed again in the worst violence since pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong began two weeks ago. Yahoo/AFP. The clash began when riot police tried to remove barricades erected by the protesters. The police responded with fists, batons and pepper spray. 45 were arrested after the melee. Some reporters who were covering the event accused the Chinese police of roughing them up as well. Though there is little support for the cities chief executive, Leung Chun-Ying, who has seen his approval rating drop tremendously, business owners and taxi drivers are getting sick of the protests as well. The protest movement, Occupy Central, is in response to government restrictions on who can and who can't run for office in Hong Kong.
My Comment:
The events in Hong Kong have been overshadowed by other events but there is a serious chance at these protests turning into a slaughter. China has a poor record in handling protests. China has always been paranoid about an uprising from their lower class and they have been known to crack down on protest movements harshly. Everyone know about the Tiananman square protests and how that ended. I'm not saying that China will deploy troops and kill everyone like they did back then but it is a possibility.
As for who I side with, I've never been a fan of any protest movement that disrupts the economy. Having said that their cause is just. Hong Kong deserves to be able to pick whoever they want as leaders. Will it happen? I hope so. China would be wise to back down here. If they do end up treating the protesters harshly or kill them it will be a huge story. They won't be able to censor things in Hong Kong like they would be in the rest of the country. There is too much of a western media presence for the story to be killed.
No comments:
Post a Comment