As you can tell from this article and the one from the Grayzone Project that I
posted, there are two very different views of what is happening in Hong Kong.
The Real News network had an interview with an assistant professor at a
university there, whose view was somewhere in between, perhaps a bit more
toward this one than the opposing one. The views that I heard on Flashpoints
and Loud and Clear, support the opposing view. One opinion piece on Consortium
News is closer to this one.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Roger Loran Bailey
(Redacted sender "rogerbailey81" for DMARC)
Sent: Sunday, August 18, 2019 11:19 AM
To: blind-democracy <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [blind-democracy] Hong Kong protests demand Beijing grant political
rights
https://themilitant.com/2019/08/17/hong-kong-protests-demand-beijing-grant-political-rights/
Hong Kong protests demand Beijing grant political rights
??By Roy Landersen
Vol. 83/No. 31
August 26, 2019
Demonstrators at Hong Kong airport shut down all flights Aug. 12-13.
Hundreds of thousands of working people have been protesting over 10 weeks.
Demands include direct elections.
Reuters/Issei Kato
Demonstrators at Hong Kong airport shut down all flights Aug. 12-13.
Hundreds of thousands of working people have been protesting over 10 weeks.
Demands include direct elections.
Protests involving hundreds of thousands of working people demanding greater
political rights have continued for a 10th week in Hong Kong.
Many at the actions are demanding the government of the semi-autonomous
territory and its Beijing overseers grant direct elections for Hong Kong???s
top officials.
The tens of thousands who demonstrated over the weekend of Aug 3-4 faced
attacks from cops using tear gas and rubber bullets. Masked thugs helped cops
arrest demonstrators.
A citywide strike and mass protests for political rights Aug. 5 blocked much of
the road and rail network. The strike caused hundreds of flights to be
cancelled at Hong Kong???s international airport, one of the world???s busiest.
A subsequent sit-in at the airport swelled to thousands Aug.
12-13, forcing the cancellation of all flights those days.
Those joining the strike included bus drivers, construction workers, teachers,
lawyers and pilots. People rallied in numerous working-class or shopping
districts. Many civil servants defied orders not to protest and shops were shut.
The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, which called the strike, said
350,000 workers took part. The pro-Beijing Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions
opposed the action.
Wilson Ng, a teacher from Hong Kong, told the Militant Aug. 12 that demands of
those taking to the streets include the ???formal withdrawal???
of the shelved extradition bill, an amnesty for all protesters arrested on
???riot??? charges and ???an independent investigation into police violence???
and on how the crisis arose. While calls for Chief Executive Carrie Lam???s
resignation persist, Ng said, ???people realize that even if she steps down the
person who succeeds her won???t be much different.???
Lastly, he said, is the demand for ???direct elections of the chief
executive.???
Currently Hong Kong???s chief executive is ???elected??? by a Beijing-appointed
committee of 1,200 people, including many backers of the Chinese government
along with company bosses from the island. Hong Kong, a former British colony,
has been under a ???one country, two systems??? arrangement since it reverted
to China in 1997. London waited over 150 years until the end of its colonial
rule to begin implementing some direct elections.
Hong Kong actions impact in China
The Chinese government fears the impact that the fight for democratic rights in
Hong Kong will have on working people across mainland China.
Beijing???s aviation authority ordered Cathay Pacific Airways to remove all
workers involved in protests from their flights from Hong Kong to China Aug. 9.
The airline???s bosses said they would comply.
As economic growth has slowed in China, labor actions have increased.
The China Labour Bulletin reports that so far this year there have been
25 protest actions among auto workers, mostly over layoffs and unpaid wages.
Some 220,000 jobs have been lost as vehicle sales dropped 14% in the first half
of the year. Most were layoffs but others resigned, unable to survive on a bare
wage without overtime payments and bonuses.
In response to the Aug. 5 general strike, Lam claimed that the city was ???on
the verge of a very dangerous situation.??? A spokesperson from Beijing???s
Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office threatened that protesters should not
???play with fire??? and ???mistake our restraint for weakness.???
Working people in Hong Kong know this is not an idle threat. On June 4, nearly
200,000 attended a memorial to mark the 30th anniversary of the brutal crushing
by Beijing???s military of mass protests in Tiananmen Square. Hong Kong is the
only part of Chinese territory where that history is not censored.
Protests have been rising since February against Lam???s proposed extradition
law, which would give Beijing legal cover to go after political opponents in
the semi-autonomous region. Millions marched June
9 and 16, forcing Lam, with Beijing???s agreement, to suspend the bill.
Some company bosses and business groups have made calls for the extradition law
to be completely withdrawn and for an inquiry into the cops??? treatment of
demonstrators.
Some small groups of protesters have targeted the legislative assembly
building, police stations and symbols of Beijing???s overbearing presence,
provoking a violent response from riot police. Ng told the Militant that the
media focuses on these smaller confrontations as ???the government is trying to
cover up??? the size of the massive peaceful protests.
Chinese government officials seek to drive a wedge between the large numbers of
working people at many of the protests and those leading violent confrontations
with authorities. Yang Guang, Beijing???s spokesperson in Hong Kong, claimed
there was a division between ???kind-hearted citizens who have been misguided
and coerced to join??? and ???a small number of violent radicals.???
Growing economic inequalities in the territory are also driving unrest among
working people. Hong Kong has the world???s longest working hours and highest
rents, according to the New York Times. Rents have skyrocketed in recent years
and over 210,000 Hong Kong residents live in subdivided apartments known as
???cages,??? where tenants are squeezed into spaces as small as 15 square feet.
In This Issue
Front Page Articles ???Stop the raids! Amnesty for immigrants in the US!
???Protesters in Kashmir say, ???India get out of our country???
???SWP presents working-class candidates, road forward ???Blackjewel miners win
solidarity in fight for jobs and stolen wages ??????Workers need to organize
unions to fight to change our conditions???
???End censorship of the ???Militant,??? Walmart workers tell Florida prisons
Feature Articles ???Fight to end US embargo of Cuba discussed at Nepal forum
Also In This Issue ???Hong Kong protests demand Beijing grant political rights
???US Steel ???doesn???t care about health of Mon Valley people???
???Layoffs, workers??? debts refute gov???t claims of ???good times???
???Ebola outbreak worsened by wars wracking Congo ???New Puerto Rico governor
defends US colonial rule ??????Militant??? reporters head to Puerto Rico
Books of the Month ???Women???s emancipation requires ending domestic servitude
25, 50 and 75 years ago
?? Copyright 2019 The Militant?? -?? 306 W. 37th Street, 13th floor -?? New
York, NY 10018?? -?? themilitant@xxxxxxx
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George Carlin
??? Tell people there's an invisible man in the sky who created the universe,
and the vast majority will believe you. Tell them the paint is wet, and they
have to touch it to be sure. ???
??? George Carlin
