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HONG KONG: Hundreds of protesters gathered in shopping malls in Hong Kong on Wednesday (May 13), ignoring the coronavirus-related social distancing rules to mock CEO Carrie Lam on his birthday.
Police, wearing both riot gear and civilian clothing, entered some of the shopping malls and made at least one arrest after officers drove a crowd back with pepper spray. Most of the stores had to close.
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It was the last sign that social unrest was reemerging in Hong Kong, as the city had shown relatively successful in the fight against the coronavirus, having registered 1,051 cases and four deaths.
While the government has allowed bars, gyms, and movie theaters to reopen and for public officials to return to work, it maintains that group meetings should be limited to eight people.
Lam, who turns 63, is the city’s least popular leader since his handover from Britain in 1997, after trying to push through a bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China last year, sparking protests to large-scale, often violent.
“I wish Carrie Lam can live a long life so that she can take responsibility for the decisions she made,” said 20-year-old protester Ken. “We will continue to resist. If we don’t try to fight, they will just try to repress us more severely.”
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At the New Town Plaza shopping center in the Sha Tin working-class district, protesters hung banners saying “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times” and chanted “No protesters, only tyranny” and “Dissolve the Hong Kong Police “.
Last week, Lam said on Facebook that a bag mailed as a gift from his family for Mother’s Day had security staff alert after repeated bomb threats in recent months.
In Sha Tin, protesters hung posters with their faces on the glass windows, one of which said “Thanks to you, many did not have a happy Mother’s Day.”
Social distancing rules imposed to help contain the spread of the coronavirus have largely slowed protests since January.
An anti-government protester holds a flag with Chinese calligraphy that says “Liberate Hong Kong, the revolution of our times”, during a protest at Mong Kok in Hong Kong, China on May 10, 2020. (Photo: REUTERS / Tyrone Siu )
But, after clashes with police over the weekend in which 230 were arrested, protests are expected to pick up again in the summer, especially amid fears that the coronavirus is distracting the international community, potentially offering a window of opportunity for strong security crackdown.
Although the extradition bill has been scrapped, protesters continue to demand an independent investigation into the police handling of the protests last year, as well as universal suffrage, a promise enshrined in the city’s mini-constitution.
READ: Hong Kong risks further riots with China’s anthem: opposition
Protesters are further angered by renewed calls from Beijing and pro-government officials in Hong Kong to enact national security legislation, known as Article 23, which is also a requirement of the Basic Law.
A previous attempt to pass such legislation in 2003 was met with massive protests amid fears that it would erode the city’s freedoms, agreed with Britain as part of the “one country, two systems” handover agreement in 1997.
Beijing authorities deny interference in Hong Kong and blame “foreign forces” for the prolonged unrest.
China’s affairs office in Hong Kong warned last week that the city would never be quiet unless “black-clad violent protesters” were eliminated, describing them as a “political virus” seeking Beijing’s independence.
