Violence erupts as protestors and police clash in Hong Kong

World Today

Violence erupts as protestors and police clash in Hong Kong

In Hong Kong chaos erupts again on the streets, as protesters and police clash. Anti-government protesters and riot police squared off in the Kwun Tong area.

Thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets, many wearing hard hats. Some threw bricks and petrol bombs at police, who responded with tear gas.

The latest violence comes after nearly two weeks of relative calm in the city. There have been 12 straight weeks of protests, triggered by a fugitive bill that has now been shelved.

Hong Kong’s Chief Executive- Carrie Lam- is asking for calm, and appealing to the public to talk to one another. She said this in a Facebook post titled ‘We Are All Tired.’

She also met on Saturday with prominent Hong Kong figures at the Government House to search for a solution and to set up a platform for dialogue.  Lam said fighting is not the way out.

Hong Kong has been governed by the principle of ‘One Country, Two Systems’ since its return to China in 1997.

Amid the current tensions, some experts and policy-makers gathered in Shenzhen to discuss the policy, which was formulated by the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping.

Some at the Shenzhen meeting said Beijing has the right to intervene to restore order in Hong Kong, if necessary.