Hundreds of people filled the inside of Cityplaza mall in Taikoo Shing, Hong Kong, on Sunday for a pro-democracy sing-along, the first major act of protest against the increasingly autocratic local government since the Chinese coronavirus limited public gatherings.
The event ended when riot police stormed the mall and attacked the participants, potentially exacerbating any spread of coronavirus that may have occurred if anyone in the crowd was contagious. Police stopped the protest before they could sing any songs, but some did sing the protest anthem “Glory to Hong Kong” while being forced out.
Monday marked the fourth time in eight days that Hong Kong did not document a single new Chinese coronavirus case. Some medical experts in the city are urging the government to remove restrictions on movement in the city given its notably small number of cases. At press time, Hong Kong has documented 1,037 cases of Chinese coronavirus and four deaths.
The Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) reported that the protest, titled “Singing with You,” was scheduled to begin at the mall at 6 p.m. local time and attracted hundreds of people, appearing in videos to keep some distance from each other while in the open space of the center of the mall.
Many protested by chanting the now-familiar slogans of the 2019 Hong Kong protest movement, including “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times” and more specific demands like “Disband the Police Force.” Some of the protesters also waved Taiwanese flags, supporting the island nation’s independence and calling for a similar status for Hong Kong.
A demonstrator holding a protest flag said: "Even if it is my first HKDSE exam tomorrow, I am here to protest!" pic.twitter.com/PDB3ZVX9Jy
— Hong Kong Free Press HKFP (@HongKongFP) April 26, 2020
Hong Kong's protesters planned a sing-along in the Cityplaza mall tonight, reviving a tactic they haven't used en masse for a while owing to the pandemic, but police promptly shut it down in the name of disease control. pic.twitter.com/LzPfM4xBkL
— Alejandro Alvarez 😷 (@aletweetsnews) April 26, 2020
Scores of Hong Kong pro-democracy protests sang their anthem ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ in a shopping mall in eastern district last night. Riot police dispersed them soon after. Government still has limits on public gatherings. Confirmed #covid19 cases = 1038 pic.twitter.com/veXidRsVb9
— Rachel Blundy (@rachelblundy) April 27, 2020
Others still called for the release of the over a dozen Hong Kong protest figures, most of them seniors, arrested last week for their role in encouraging democratic reform in China. Among the arrested were 81-year-old Democratic Party founder Martin Lee and 71-year-old owner of anti-communist newspaper Apple Daily Jimmy Lai, who was already out on bail for charges related to his support for the protest movement. Also arrested was Leung Kwok-hung, an ousted lawmaker stabbed in an attack the week before.
The raids last week were allegedly necessitated by the detainees engaging in “illegal assembly” in August.
Police stormed the mall on Sunday around 6:40 p.m., the HKFP reported, wearing riot gear and carrying pepper spray to attack the reportedly calm crowd. The publication noted government officials did not provide any particular reason for riot police, as opposed to a less aggressive police reaction proportional to the tenor of the crowd.
read more here: https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2020/04/27/hundreds-flood-hong-kong-shopping-mall-for-first-post-coronavirus-protest/
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