Hong Kong (CNN)Protesters in Hong Kong will hold a celebratory, pro-US rally Thursday after President Donald Trump gave them what one prominent activist termed a "timely Thanksgiving present."
Trump signed an act in support of the protest movement despite a potential backlash from Beijing that could derail delicate US-China trade talks, after it was passed almost unanimously by both houses of Congress.
Anti-government protesters in the semi-autonomous Chinese city have long campaigned in favor of the bill -- which would permit Washington to impose sanctions or even suspend Hong Kong's special trading status over rights violations. Trump's decision to sign the act gives the movement a second major symbolic victory in a matter of days.
On Sunday, pro-democracy candidates scored a landslide victory in district council elections, framed as a de-facto referendum on the protest movement, which began in June in opposition to a controversial extradition bill but has grown to include demands for greater democratic freedoms and inquiries into alleged police brutality.
Activists and pro-democracy politicians in the city celebrated online after Trump signed the bill, with former lawmaker Nathan Law calling it a "timely Thanksgiving present."
Shortly after the bill was signed into law, China's Foreign Ministry accused the US of "bullying behavior," "disregarding the facts" and "publicly supporting violent criminals."
"We urge the United States not to insist on going down this path, or China would firmly strike back and the United States would have to bear all consequences," the statement read.
The Chinese government also summoned the US envoy to China, Ambassador Terry Branstad, to "lodge solemn representation and strong protest" over the measure.
There are concerns that Beijing and Washington's disagreement over Hong Kong could affect trade negotiations between China and the US, as the two sides previously appeared to be nearing the initial stages of a deal. Asian markets dropped slightly after Trump signed the bill, a sign that investors may be worried about how the law could affect talks.
While the unrest in Hong Kong began with peaceful mass marches, as the movement has dragged on, protests have gotten increasingly violent, and the last two weeks saw several universities occupied by demonstrators.
The most intense standoff -- between police and protesters around the centrally located campus of Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) -- appears to be coming to an end.
A government "safety team" entered the campus Thursday to begin cleaning up, likely to be a painstaking process because of the hundreds of unused petrol bombs scattered around the school's grounds.
What happens next?
Though the Hong Kong legislation was passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in Washington, it's unlikely to have any immediate, tangible effect.
The main bill that Trump signed into law, the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, requires the State Department to annually review whether the city is "sufficiently autonomous" to justify its special trading status with the US.
If it is found not to be, the law could result in Washington withdrawing that status, which would be a massive blow to Hong Kong's economy.
The bill also lays out a process for the President to impose sanctions and travel restrictions on those who are found to be knowingly responsible for arbitrary detention, torture and forced confession of any individual in Hong Kong, or other violations of internationally recognized human rights in the Asian financial hub.
There is no indication however that Trump intends to enact any of the powers in the act anytime soon, and in a statement, the White House said it would only enforce parts of the law because "certain provisions of the Act would interfere with the exercise of the President's constitutional authority to state the foreign policy of the United States."
There is also concern that any change to the US-Hong Kong trade relationship could disproportionately affect average Hong Kongers, rather than Beijing or the city's leaders.
The US is Hong Kong's second biggest partner in terms of total trade, according to figures from the Hong Kong government. Washington exported $50 billion worth of goods and services to the territory in 2018, US figures show.
Susan Thornton, who served as the State Department's top Asia diplomat early in the Trump administration, said in an interview last month that she worried the legislation could end up "punishing exactly the wrong people."
A companion piece of legislation passed by Trump bans the export of certain crowd control items to Hong Kong, like tear gas and rubber bullets -- gear that the city could also buy from mainland China.
Hong Kong police have fired around 10,000 rounds of tear gas and about 4,800 rubber bullets during the months of unrest, the city's security minister John Lee said Wednesday. He added that more than 5,800 people have been arrested since June in relation to the protests.
In a statement after Trump signed the bills into law, the Hong Kong government said they were "unreasonable" and would "send an erroneous signal to protesters, which is not conducive to alleviating the situation in Hong Kong."
Both Beijing and Hong Kong accused Washington of intervening in the city's and China's internal affairs.
Sen. Marco Rubio, who authored the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, has previously denied that charge.
"Our treatment of Hong Kong is an internal matter. It's a matter of our own public policy," Rubio said in an interview with CNBC. "We have a right to change our law."
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/28/asia/hong-kong-reaction-trump-legislation-intl-hnk/index.html
Showing posts with label !即時 Instant News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label !即時 Instant News. Show all posts
Thursday, November 28, 2019
[BBC], !即時 Instant News, Hong Kong protests: Trump signs Human Rights and Democracy Act into law
US President Donald Trump has signed into law a bill that supports pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.
The Human Rights and Democracy Act mandates an annual review, to check if Hong Kong has enough autonomy to justify its special status with the US.
Mr Trump said he signed the law "out of respect for President Xi [Jinping], China, and the people of Hong Kong".
China's foreign ministry said it would take "firm counter measures" - accusing the US of "sinister intentions".
Mr Trump is currently seeking a deal with China, in order to end a trade war between the two countries.
Hong Kong's government also reacted, saying the American bill would send the wrong signal and would not help to ease the situation.
But one of the leaders of the Hong Kong protest movement, Joshua Wong, said the US law was a "remarkable achievement" for "all Hongkongers".
Mr Trump had previously been non-committal about whether he would sign the bill, saying he was "with" Hong Kong but also that Mr Xi was "an incredible guy".
However, the bill had widespread congressional support, which meant that even if he vetoed it, lawmakers could potentially have voted to overturn his decision.
The president also signed a second bill, which bans the export of crowd-control munitions to the police in Hong Kong - including tear gas, rubber bullets and stun guns.
"[The bills] are being enacted in the hope that leaders and representatives of China and Hong Kong will be able to amicably settle their differences, leading to long-term peace and prosperity for all," Mr Trump said.
What does the law say?
The bill was introduced in June in the early stages of the protests in Hong Kong, and was overwhelmingly approved by the House of Representatives last month.
It says: "Hong Kong is part of China but has a largely separate legal and economic system.
"The [annual review] shall assess whether China has eroded Hong Kong's civil liberties and rule of law as protected by Hong Kong's Basic Law."
Among other things, Hong Kong's special trading status means it is not affected by US sanctions or tariffs placed on the mainland.
The bill also says the US should allow Hong Kong residents to obtain US visas, even if they have been arrested for being part of non-violent protests.
What is the situation in Hong Kong?
Hong Kong's protests started in June against a proposed law to allow extradition to mainland China but it has since transformed into a larger pro-democracy movement.
The protests have also seen increasingly violent clashes, with police being attacked, and officers firing live bullets.
Protesters have thrown petrol bombs and attacked businesses seen as being pro-Beijing.
The protesters, meanwhile, have accused police of brutality.
On Sunday, Hong Kong held local council elections that were seen as a barometer of public opinion towards the government and the protesters.
The elections saw a landslide victory for the pro-democracy movement, with 17 of the 18 councils now controlled by pro-democracy councillors.
What's happening in Hong Kong today?
Police moved into the Polytechnic University campus where a handful of protesters were thought to be holding out.
The campus was the site of a siege, which turned into one of the defining moments of the anti-government protests.
Police moved in with negotiators and psychologists to convince any remaining students to leave - as well as to clear dangerous items and gather evidence.
It's not clear whether the officers found any remaining students. Over the past week, most protesters have either surrendered or escaped.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-50581862
The Human Rights and Democracy Act mandates an annual review, to check if Hong Kong has enough autonomy to justify its special status with the US.
Mr Trump said he signed the law "out of respect for President Xi [Jinping], China, and the people of Hong Kong".
China's foreign ministry said it would take "firm counter measures" - accusing the US of "sinister intentions".
Mr Trump is currently seeking a deal with China, in order to end a trade war between the two countries.
Hong Kong's government also reacted, saying the American bill would send the wrong signal and would not help to ease the situation.
But one of the leaders of the Hong Kong protest movement, Joshua Wong, said the US law was a "remarkable achievement" for "all Hongkongers".
Mr Trump had previously been non-committal about whether he would sign the bill, saying he was "with" Hong Kong but also that Mr Xi was "an incredible guy".
However, the bill had widespread congressional support, which meant that even if he vetoed it, lawmakers could potentially have voted to overturn his decision.
The president also signed a second bill, which bans the export of crowd-control munitions to the police in Hong Kong - including tear gas, rubber bullets and stun guns.
"[The bills] are being enacted in the hope that leaders and representatives of China and Hong Kong will be able to amicably settle their differences, leading to long-term peace and prosperity for all," Mr Trump said.
What does the law say?
The bill was introduced in June in the early stages of the protests in Hong Kong, and was overwhelmingly approved by the House of Representatives last month.
It says: "Hong Kong is part of China but has a largely separate legal and economic system.
"The [annual review] shall assess whether China has eroded Hong Kong's civil liberties and rule of law as protected by Hong Kong's Basic Law."
Among other things, Hong Kong's special trading status means it is not affected by US sanctions or tariffs placed on the mainland.
The bill also says the US should allow Hong Kong residents to obtain US visas, even if they have been arrested for being part of non-violent protests.
What is the situation in Hong Kong?
Hong Kong's protests started in June against a proposed law to allow extradition to mainland China but it has since transformed into a larger pro-democracy movement.
The protests have also seen increasingly violent clashes, with police being attacked, and officers firing live bullets.
Protesters have thrown petrol bombs and attacked businesses seen as being pro-Beijing.
The protesters, meanwhile, have accused police of brutality.
On Sunday, Hong Kong held local council elections that were seen as a barometer of public opinion towards the government and the protesters.
The elections saw a landslide victory for the pro-democracy movement, with 17 of the 18 councils now controlled by pro-democracy councillors.
What's happening in Hong Kong today?
Police moved into the Polytechnic University campus where a handful of protesters were thought to be holding out.
The campus was the site of a siege, which turned into one of the defining moments of the anti-government protests.
Police moved in with negotiators and psychologists to convince any remaining students to leave - as well as to clear dangerous items and gather evidence.
It's not clear whether the officers found any remaining students. Over the past week, most protesters have either surrendered or escaped.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-50581862
[Aljazeera], !即時 Instant News, China furious after Trump signs Hong Kong legislation
Trump says he signed bills out of 'respect' for China, but country reacts with fury and warns of 'firm countermeasures'.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed into law congressional legislation backing protesters in Hong Kong drawing a swift and furious response from Beijing, which promised 'firm countermeasures'.
The legislation, approved unanimously by the Senate - the United States's upper house - and by all but one member of the House of Representatives - the lower house - last week, requires Hong Kong's special trade status with the US to be reviewed annually by the State Department, and also threatens sanctions for human rights violations.
Congress passed a second bill, which Trump also signed, banning the export to the Hong Kong police of crowd-control munitions, such as tear gas, pepper spray, rubber-coated bullets and stun guns.
"I signed these bills out of respect for President Xi, China, and the people of Hong Kong," Trump said in a statement. "They are being enacted in the hope that Leaders and Representatives of China and Hong Kong will be able to amicably settle their differences leading to long term peace and prosperity for all."
China's condemnation was swift.
A foreign ministry statement issued on Thursday, shortly after the US announcement repeated heated condemnations of the law and promised "firm countermeasures". Hong Kong's government, which received a drubbing in district elections on Sunday, expressed "extreme regret".
Protesters have been on the streets of the territory since June, angered first by a proposed extradition bill that would have allowed people to be sent to China for trial. That bill has now been dropped, but the protests have evolved into wider calls for China to stand by commitments made to allow Hong Kong a "high degree of autonomy" when it regained sovereignty over the city in 1997.
That pledge, known as "one country, two systems", was meant to last 50 years and is the basis of the self-governing Chinese territory's special status under US law. Protesters say freedoms have been steadily eroded.
China anger
Trump had been vague about whether he would sign or veto the legislation while trying to strike a deal with China on trade that he has made a top priority in advance of his 2020 re-election bid.
After Congress passed the bill, Trump's aides debated whether the president's endorsement could undermine efforts to reach an interim deal, and most of them ultimately recommended the signing to show support for the protesters, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The decision was also influenced by the overwhelming majorities in the Senate and House in favour of the legislation, which was widely seen as making the bills veto-proof, as well as the landslide victory in Hong Kong on Sunday of the pro-democracy camp, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
If Trump had opted to use his veto, it could have been overridden by two-thirds votes in the Senate and the House. The legislation would have automatically become law on December 3 if Trump had opted to do nothing.
Hong Kong's Carrie Lam offers no concessions despite poll rout
"He had no choice," said Al Jazeera's Patty Culhane, reporting from Washington DC. "Congress forced his hand."
Culhane added that Trump's statement suggested the president was reluctant to invoke the legislation that China had denounced as a gross interference in its affairs and a violation of international law.
After pushing back against the legislation for days, the foreign ministry on Thursday issued a strongly-worded statement accusing the US of acting arbitrarily and interfering in its internal matters.
"This is not just about Hong Kong," Al Jazeera's Andrew Thomas said from Hong Kong. "This is about the US meddling in China's internal affairs. They are absolutely furious about it."
In its statement, the Hong Kong government said the two acts "clearly" intervened in Hong Kong's internal affairs. "They are unnecessary and unwarranted," it said, adding the measures would send "an erroneous signal to protesters, which is not conducive to alleviating the situation in Hong Kong."
Move welcomed
In Washington, members of Congress applauded Trump's decision to sign the bill.
"The US now has new and meaningful tools to deter further influence and interference from Beijing into Hong Kong’s internal affairs," Republican Senator Marco Rubio said in a statement.
Many see the US legislation as symbolic, but the bills' provisions have the potential, if implemented, to completely change relations between the US and Hong Kong and leave the territory treated in the same as any other Chinese city.
Analysts say any move to end Hong Kong's special treatment could prove self-defeating to the US, which has benefitted from the business-friendly conditions in the territory. If Hong Kong becomes just another Chinese port, companies that rely on the territory's role as a middleman or for trans-shipping could take their business elsewhere.
That said, the bills contain strong waivers that would allow the president to block their provisions on grounds of national security or national interest.
According to the State Department, 85,000 US citizens were living in Hong Kong in 2018 and more than 1,300 US companies were operating there, including nearly every major US financial firm.
The territory is a major destination for US legal and accounting services. In 2018, the largest US bilateral trade-in-goods surplus was with Hong Kong at $31.1bn.
Trade between Hong Kong and the US was estimated to be worth $67.3 bn in 2018, with the US running a $33.8 bn surplus - its biggest with any country or territory, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/11/trump-approves-legislation-backing-hong-kong-protesters-191128002853679.html
President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed into law congressional legislation backing protesters in Hong Kong drawing a swift and furious response from Beijing, which promised 'firm countermeasures'.
The legislation, approved unanimously by the Senate - the United States's upper house - and by all but one member of the House of Representatives - the lower house - last week, requires Hong Kong's special trade status with the US to be reviewed annually by the State Department, and also threatens sanctions for human rights violations.
Congress passed a second bill, which Trump also signed, banning the export to the Hong Kong police of crowd-control munitions, such as tear gas, pepper spray, rubber-coated bullets and stun guns.
"I signed these bills out of respect for President Xi, China, and the people of Hong Kong," Trump said in a statement. "They are being enacted in the hope that Leaders and Representatives of China and Hong Kong will be able to amicably settle their differences leading to long term peace and prosperity for all."
China's condemnation was swift.
A foreign ministry statement issued on Thursday, shortly after the US announcement repeated heated condemnations of the law and promised "firm countermeasures". Hong Kong's government, which received a drubbing in district elections on Sunday, expressed "extreme regret".
Protesters have been on the streets of the territory since June, angered first by a proposed extradition bill that would have allowed people to be sent to China for trial. That bill has now been dropped, but the protests have evolved into wider calls for China to stand by commitments made to allow Hong Kong a "high degree of autonomy" when it regained sovereignty over the city in 1997.
That pledge, known as "one country, two systems", was meant to last 50 years and is the basis of the self-governing Chinese territory's special status under US law. Protesters say freedoms have been steadily eroded.
China anger
Trump had been vague about whether he would sign or veto the legislation while trying to strike a deal with China on trade that he has made a top priority in advance of his 2020 re-election bid.
After Congress passed the bill, Trump's aides debated whether the president's endorsement could undermine efforts to reach an interim deal, and most of them ultimately recommended the signing to show support for the protesters, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The decision was also influenced by the overwhelming majorities in the Senate and House in favour of the legislation, which was widely seen as making the bills veto-proof, as well as the landslide victory in Hong Kong on Sunday of the pro-democracy camp, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
If Trump had opted to use his veto, it could have been overridden by two-thirds votes in the Senate and the House. The legislation would have automatically become law on December 3 if Trump had opted to do nothing.
Hong Kong's Carrie Lam offers no concessions despite poll rout
"He had no choice," said Al Jazeera's Patty Culhane, reporting from Washington DC. "Congress forced his hand."
Culhane added that Trump's statement suggested the president was reluctant to invoke the legislation that China had denounced as a gross interference in its affairs and a violation of international law.
After pushing back against the legislation for days, the foreign ministry on Thursday issued a strongly-worded statement accusing the US of acting arbitrarily and interfering in its internal matters.
"This is not just about Hong Kong," Al Jazeera's Andrew Thomas said from Hong Kong. "This is about the US meddling in China's internal affairs. They are absolutely furious about it."
In its statement, the Hong Kong government said the two acts "clearly" intervened in Hong Kong's internal affairs. "They are unnecessary and unwarranted," it said, adding the measures would send "an erroneous signal to protesters, which is not conducive to alleviating the situation in Hong Kong."
Move welcomed
In Washington, members of Congress applauded Trump's decision to sign the bill.
"The US now has new and meaningful tools to deter further influence and interference from Beijing into Hong Kong’s internal affairs," Republican Senator Marco Rubio said in a statement.
Many see the US legislation as symbolic, but the bills' provisions have the potential, if implemented, to completely change relations between the US and Hong Kong and leave the territory treated in the same as any other Chinese city.
Analysts say any move to end Hong Kong's special treatment could prove self-defeating to the US, which has benefitted from the business-friendly conditions in the territory. If Hong Kong becomes just another Chinese port, companies that rely on the territory's role as a middleman or for trans-shipping could take their business elsewhere.
That said, the bills contain strong waivers that would allow the president to block their provisions on grounds of national security or national interest.
According to the State Department, 85,000 US citizens were living in Hong Kong in 2018 and more than 1,300 US companies were operating there, including nearly every major US financial firm.
The territory is a major destination for US legal and accounting services. In 2018, the largest US bilateral trade-in-goods surplus was with Hong Kong at $31.1bn.
Trade between Hong Kong and the US was estimated to be worth $67.3 bn in 2018, with the US running a $33.8 bn surplus - its biggest with any country or territory, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/11/trump-approves-legislation-backing-hong-kong-protesters-191128002853679.html
Monday, November 25, 2019
[Washington Post], !即時 Instant News, Hong Kong’s pro-democracy parties sweep pro-Beijing establishment aside in local elections
HONG KONG — Pro-democracy parties scored stunning gains in the Hong Kong district council elections Sunday, sweeping aside pro-Beijing parties in a significant endorsement of the protest movement and an indictment of the political establishment seen as responsible for months of unrest in the city.
Voters took to the polls in record numbers to cast ballots in the only fully democratic election in the Chinese territory, an early sign that they wanted to send a strong message to their government and to the Communist Party in Beijing.
Early results compiled by the South China Morning Post showed pro-democracy parties winning 278 of the first 344 seats to be declared, pro-Beijing parties taking 42, and independents 24. Many prominent figures in the protest movement won, and many leading pro-establishment figures were unseated. Pro-democrats look to be able to secure 12 of 18 district councils available in Hong Kong — before this vote, they did not have a majority in any.
Pro-democracy parties had comfortably surpassed the number of seats they won in 2015 and were on course for their strongest showing ever in district council elections. They also appear to have secured all 117 seats afforded to them on the 1,200-member election committee that votes for Hong Kong’s leader — a system designed to give an upper hand in the process to pro-Beijing groups and business interests.
The pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), the largest party in the district councils, had won just 26 races and lost 156. The pro-democracy Democratic Party, in contrast, had won 54 and lost only two.
The turnout — 2.94 million, or more than 71 percent of the 4.13 million eligible voters — was more than double the 1.4 million who voted in local elections in 2015. Voter registration was also a record high, driven in part by 390,000 first-time voters.
“Hong Kongers regard the election as a referendum and have clearly spoken that they are unhappy with how Hong Kong and Beijing have dealt with the ongoing protests in the last six months,” said Kelvin Lam, who won the South Horizons West seat, according to the South China Morning Post.
Lam was drafted to contest the seat for the pro-democracy camp after prominent activist Joshua Wong was barred from standing.
In 2015, pro-Beijing parties won just over 54 percent of the vote and 298 of the 452 seats to take control of all 18 district councils. They tend to be better funded and organized than pro-democracy groups, with solid links with the business elite and political establishment that allow them to argue that they are in the best position to get things done for their constituents.
Pro-democracy groups won 40 percent of the vote and 126 seats in 2015. Independents took the remainder.
But this time around, elections that have typically been fought on issues such as traffic, trash collection and the nuisance of pests such as wild boars became a referendum on the most fundamental issue in the territory: Whether one stands with the movement fighting for democratic freedoms or with the pro-
Beijing establishment that has had a grip on the former colony since Britain handed it back to China in 1997.
The protests were sparked in June by a proposal to allow criminal suspects to be extradited to China. The government eventually withdrew the proposal, but not before demonstrators added more demands: Full democracy, retracting the official description of the protests as riots, amnesty for arrested protesters and an inquiry into alleged police brutality.
“The voice of the public is loud and clear: Five demands, not one less,” said Roy Kwong Chun-Yu, who won in the Pek Long constituency. If Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam “doesn’t listen to our voice,” he said, “she must still not be awake.”
Even in pro-Beijing strongholds such as North Point, fresh-faced candidates running on an explicitly pro-democracy platform unseated longtime incumbents. Among them was 23-year-old Karrine Fu, who beat 45-year-old Hung Lin-Cham, the DAB incumbent who had won the past three elections.
The DAB threw its weight behind the unpopular extradition bill. Its vice chairman, Holden Chow, lost his seat to a 25-year-old pro-democracy activist in one of several upsets for the party.
Lo Kin-Hei, vice chairman of the Democratic Party, called the result a “clear win” for the pro-
democracy camp. “Really wonder what Carrie Lam & [Chinese President] Xi Jinping thought when they see the record-breaking turnout & result today,” he tweeted.
Voters waited in hours-long lines that snaked around city blocks, an unusual experience for Hong Kong residents. Almost every neighborhood has seen violent unrest at some point over the nearly six-month-long protest movement, with police firing tear gas and rubber bullets and protesters countering with molotov cocktails and projectiles.
“Everyone just asks what side you are on, pro-democracy or pro-establishment,” said Sabrina Koo, a pro-democracy candidate. “Only after that do they ask us what our plans are for the community and about local issues.”
Voters, relishing the opportunity to express their democratic rights, were unperturbed by the lines. Gloria Lai, 40, took her two children to a polling station close to a major protest flash point in Wan Chai: a road that in the past months has seen tear gas, water cannons and massive fires. They waited an hour to vote.
“I want my children to always remember that it is their right to vote, it is their right to voice out their opinion, and this is something to be treasured,” she said. “We don’t have the right to vote for our chief executive, but we have this.”
The contest for district council is the only fully democratic election in Hong Kong. The city’s leader is not directly elected. Only half of the Legislative Council, the lawmaking body, is chosen by the people.
Another voter in Wan Chai, which is represented by pro-Beijing politicians, said he flew back to Hong Kong from Britain, where he has lived for the past decade, to cast his ballot. The 39-year-old man, who asked to be identified only by his last name, Chan, said he has never seen such lines in an election, including in Britain.
“This is the best way to express our views. It is the right way,” he said. “We don’t want violence on the streets, but if we don’t have a way to express our political views in any other way, that will happen.”
Francis Lee, who researches public opinion and the media at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the high turnout, while “expected because of the heated political and social atmosphere” of recent months, was still impressive for Hong Kong.
“A combination of police tactics and the [subway and rail network’s] tendency to close numerous stations during protest events has made it extremely difficult to hold any large-scale peaceful protests,” he said. “Many moderate supporters of the movement were frustrated by the lack of opportunities to express themselves,” he said, and saw the election as a way to reenter the fold.
The well-funded establishment camp was hoping for support from a “silent majority” that has grown uncomfortable with protest violence in Hong Kong.
Some voters expressed a desire for a return of peace to the city streets and said they were voting for experienced candidates.
“Nothing is more important than bettering the lives of ordinary people,” said a 74-year-old pro-Beijing supporter who gave his last name as Chow. “The responsibility of our youth is to study hard, not to make society a mess.”
Others said the protest movement had changed their views. Two voters in Sai Wan Ho, where a young protester was shot at close range this month, said they were deeply influenced by what they had seen.
“I couldn’t sleep well last night, I’ve been anticipating this election for so long,” said a 52-year-old man who gave his last name as Wong. “I really hope these elections can change the situation and change the political development of Hong Kong.”
The election was overwhelmingly peaceful and orderly, marking a rare weekend without violence or police action. Riot officers in green fatigues, some wearing masks, were seen at some polling stations, but the atmosphere was generally calm.
Otherwise, it felt like a typical weekend in the city before the protests began in June: Families out shopping and eating and people running errands. The weeks leading up to the vote saw the biggest escalation in violence since the protests began, with hundreds of demonstrators arrested after police seized a university campus that had become a fortified base for the movement.
Two protesters still holed up in Hong Kong Polytechnic University held a news conference urging people to vote.
Hundreds of candidates chose to run in response to the events of the past months. They included Cathy Yau, a police officer who left the force over concerns about abuse of authority and ran on a pro-democracy platform; Jimmy Sham, a leader of the Civil Human Rights Front, the group behind the largest peaceful rallies in the movement; and Tommy Cheung, who decided to contest elections in Yuen Long after mobs attacked protesters at a subway station there.
Sham appeared at his constituency in Sha Tin, walking with the help of cane, a reminder of the political violence against candidates ahead of the vote. Sham was attacked in October by a group of men wielding hammers.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/record-turnout-in-hong-kong-election-seen-as-a-referendum-on-the-pro-democracy-protest-movement/2019/11/24/31804b00-0df5-11ea-8054-289aef6e38a3_story.html?fbclid=IwAR1KXMCENrVUH-mlDZtjE9tsSWToaL_1MpdjvHRmX55AIWoYFzuG23qMkkg
Voters took to the polls in record numbers to cast ballots in the only fully democratic election in the Chinese territory, an early sign that they wanted to send a strong message to their government and to the Communist Party in Beijing.
Early results compiled by the South China Morning Post showed pro-democracy parties winning 278 of the first 344 seats to be declared, pro-Beijing parties taking 42, and independents 24. Many prominent figures in the protest movement won, and many leading pro-establishment figures were unseated. Pro-democrats look to be able to secure 12 of 18 district councils available in Hong Kong — before this vote, they did not have a majority in any.
Pro-democracy parties had comfortably surpassed the number of seats they won in 2015 and were on course for their strongest showing ever in district council elections. They also appear to have secured all 117 seats afforded to them on the 1,200-member election committee that votes for Hong Kong’s leader — a system designed to give an upper hand in the process to pro-Beijing groups and business interests.
The pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), the largest party in the district councils, had won just 26 races and lost 156. The pro-democracy Democratic Party, in contrast, had won 54 and lost only two.
The turnout — 2.94 million, or more than 71 percent of the 4.13 million eligible voters — was more than double the 1.4 million who voted in local elections in 2015. Voter registration was also a record high, driven in part by 390,000 first-time voters.
“Hong Kongers regard the election as a referendum and have clearly spoken that they are unhappy with how Hong Kong and Beijing have dealt with the ongoing protests in the last six months,” said Kelvin Lam, who won the South Horizons West seat, according to the South China Morning Post.
Lam was drafted to contest the seat for the pro-democracy camp after prominent activist Joshua Wong was barred from standing.
In 2015, pro-Beijing parties won just over 54 percent of the vote and 298 of the 452 seats to take control of all 18 district councils. They tend to be better funded and organized than pro-democracy groups, with solid links with the business elite and political establishment that allow them to argue that they are in the best position to get things done for their constituents.
Pro-democracy groups won 40 percent of the vote and 126 seats in 2015. Independents took the remainder.
But this time around, elections that have typically been fought on issues such as traffic, trash collection and the nuisance of pests such as wild boars became a referendum on the most fundamental issue in the territory: Whether one stands with the movement fighting for democratic freedoms or with the pro-
Beijing establishment that has had a grip on the former colony since Britain handed it back to China in 1997.
The protests were sparked in June by a proposal to allow criminal suspects to be extradited to China. The government eventually withdrew the proposal, but not before demonstrators added more demands: Full democracy, retracting the official description of the protests as riots, amnesty for arrested protesters and an inquiry into alleged police brutality.
“The voice of the public is loud and clear: Five demands, not one less,” said Roy Kwong Chun-Yu, who won in the Pek Long constituency. If Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam “doesn’t listen to our voice,” he said, “she must still not be awake.”
Even in pro-Beijing strongholds such as North Point, fresh-faced candidates running on an explicitly pro-democracy platform unseated longtime incumbents. Among them was 23-year-old Karrine Fu, who beat 45-year-old Hung Lin-Cham, the DAB incumbent who had won the past three elections.
The DAB threw its weight behind the unpopular extradition bill. Its vice chairman, Holden Chow, lost his seat to a 25-year-old pro-democracy activist in one of several upsets for the party.
Lo Kin-Hei, vice chairman of the Democratic Party, called the result a “clear win” for the pro-
democracy camp. “Really wonder what Carrie Lam & [Chinese President] Xi Jinping thought when they see the record-breaking turnout & result today,” he tweeted.
Voters waited in hours-long lines that snaked around city blocks, an unusual experience for Hong Kong residents. Almost every neighborhood has seen violent unrest at some point over the nearly six-month-long protest movement, with police firing tear gas and rubber bullets and protesters countering with molotov cocktails and projectiles.
“Everyone just asks what side you are on, pro-democracy or pro-establishment,” said Sabrina Koo, a pro-democracy candidate. “Only after that do they ask us what our plans are for the community and about local issues.”
Voters, relishing the opportunity to express their democratic rights, were unperturbed by the lines. Gloria Lai, 40, took her two children to a polling station close to a major protest flash point in Wan Chai: a road that in the past months has seen tear gas, water cannons and massive fires. They waited an hour to vote.
“I want my children to always remember that it is their right to vote, it is their right to voice out their opinion, and this is something to be treasured,” she said. “We don’t have the right to vote for our chief executive, but we have this.”
The contest for district council is the only fully democratic election in Hong Kong. The city’s leader is not directly elected. Only half of the Legislative Council, the lawmaking body, is chosen by the people.
Another voter in Wan Chai, which is represented by pro-Beijing politicians, said he flew back to Hong Kong from Britain, where he has lived for the past decade, to cast his ballot. The 39-year-old man, who asked to be identified only by his last name, Chan, said he has never seen such lines in an election, including in Britain.
“This is the best way to express our views. It is the right way,” he said. “We don’t want violence on the streets, but if we don’t have a way to express our political views in any other way, that will happen.”
Francis Lee, who researches public opinion and the media at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the high turnout, while “expected because of the heated political and social atmosphere” of recent months, was still impressive for Hong Kong.
“A combination of police tactics and the [subway and rail network’s] tendency to close numerous stations during protest events has made it extremely difficult to hold any large-scale peaceful protests,” he said. “Many moderate supporters of the movement were frustrated by the lack of opportunities to express themselves,” he said, and saw the election as a way to reenter the fold.
The well-funded establishment camp was hoping for support from a “silent majority” that has grown uncomfortable with protest violence in Hong Kong.
Some voters expressed a desire for a return of peace to the city streets and said they were voting for experienced candidates.
“Nothing is more important than bettering the lives of ordinary people,” said a 74-year-old pro-Beijing supporter who gave his last name as Chow. “The responsibility of our youth is to study hard, not to make society a mess.”
Others said the protest movement had changed their views. Two voters in Sai Wan Ho, where a young protester was shot at close range this month, said they were deeply influenced by what they had seen.
“I couldn’t sleep well last night, I’ve been anticipating this election for so long,” said a 52-year-old man who gave his last name as Wong. “I really hope these elections can change the situation and change the political development of Hong Kong.”
The election was overwhelmingly peaceful and orderly, marking a rare weekend without violence or police action. Riot officers in green fatigues, some wearing masks, were seen at some polling stations, but the atmosphere was generally calm.
Otherwise, it felt like a typical weekend in the city before the protests began in June: Families out shopping and eating and people running errands. The weeks leading up to the vote saw the biggest escalation in violence since the protests began, with hundreds of demonstrators arrested after police seized a university campus that had become a fortified base for the movement.
Two protesters still holed up in Hong Kong Polytechnic University held a news conference urging people to vote.
Hundreds of candidates chose to run in response to the events of the past months. They included Cathy Yau, a police officer who left the force over concerns about abuse of authority and ran on a pro-democracy platform; Jimmy Sham, a leader of the Civil Human Rights Front, the group behind the largest peaceful rallies in the movement; and Tommy Cheung, who decided to contest elections in Yuen Long after mobs attacked protesters at a subway station there.
Sham appeared at his constituency in Sha Tin, walking with the help of cane, a reminder of the political violence against candidates ahead of the vote. Sham was attacked in October by a group of men wielding hammers.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/record-turnout-in-hong-kong-election-seen-as-a-referendum-on-the-pro-democracy-protest-movement/2019/11/24/31804b00-0df5-11ea-8054-289aef6e38a3_story.html?fbclid=IwAR1KXMCENrVUH-mlDZtjE9tsSWToaL_1MpdjvHRmX55AIWoYFzuG23qMkkg
[BBC], !即時 Instant News, Hong Kong elections: Pro-democracy groups makes big gains
Hong Kong's opposition pro-democracy movement has made unprecedented gains in the Chinese territory's district council elections, early results show.
According to the figures, pro-democracy candidates have won 278 seats so far, and pro-Beijing candidates 42.
Despite fears the vote could be disrupted or cancelled over the unrest, it went ahead peacefully.
The election was seen as a test of support for the government after months of unrest, protests and clashes.
The government and Beijing had been hoping the election would bring a show of support from the so-called "silent majority", but that did not materialise. Instead some significant pro-Beijing candidates lost council seats.
One controversial pro-Beijing lawmaker, who lost his seat, Junius Ho, said "heaven and earth have been turned upside down".
Protests explained in 100 and 500 words
How is Hong Kong run and how much control does China have?
The twists and turns in Hong Kong so far
Hong Kong's district councillors have little political power and mainly deal with local issues such as bus routes and rubbish collection, so the district elections don't normally generate such interest.
But these polls were the first time people could express at the ballot box their opinion on embattled Chief Executive Carrie Lam's handling of the crisis, which was sparked by a now withdrawn extradition law.
A record 4.1 million people had registered to vote - more than half the population.
And more than 2.9m people cast votes for the 452 seats available, a turnout of more than 71%, against 47% in 2015.
The weekend was the first in months without any clashes or violence between protesters and police.
"Facing the extremely challenging situation, I'm pleased to say... we have a relatively calm and peaceful environment for [the] election today," Chief Executive Carrie Lam said after voting.
What's the latest?
In one of the biggest losses for the pro-Beijing camp, lawmaker Junius Ho - one of Hong Kong's most controversial politicians - suffered a shock defeat.
He was stabbed earlier this month by a man pretending to be a supporter. The lawmaker has openly voiced his support for Hong Kong's police force on multiple occasions. He was in July filmed shaking hands with a group of men - suspected of being triad gangsters - who later assaulted pro-democracy protesters.
Jimmy Sham, a political activist who has recently risen to prominence as the leader of the Civil Human Rights Front - a campaign group responsible for organising some of the mass protest marches - won a seat after running for the first time.
Mr Sham has also been attacked twice, once apparently with hammers. Photographs at the time showed him lying on the street covered in blood.
Standing on crutches, Mr Sham told Reuters news agency on Sunday that the election was "special because it is a formal confrontation between pro-establishment and pro-democracy parties".
Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong was barred from running in the elections, a move he referred to as "political screening", but the pro-democracy candidate who replaced him is said to have won.
In a tweet, Mr Wong said the "historic" results showed that public opinion had not turned against the pro-democracy movement.
Reflecting on her reported defeat, pro-Beijing lawmaker Alice Mak suggested Ms Lam's administration was partly to blame.
"In the election campaign, pro-government candidates have been unfairly treated. This is a very important reason," she said.
Starry Lee Wai-king, chairwoman of the city's largest pro-Beijing party, was among the few establishment candidates to secure her seat.
"I think [Lee] is the only one who can survive the de facto referendum," said Leung Kwok-hung, her pro-democracy opponent in the poll.
'A wipeout beyond imagination'
Stephen McDonell, BBC China correspondent, in Hong Kong
Outside the Yau Ma Tei North polling station, local residents lined up to gain entry so they could watch the vote count. The doors opened and they poured into the public viewing area.
Six months into an ongoing political crisis, people have lost faith in government institutions. They wanted to make sure that this process was fair and transparent.
As they waited for the total in their own district council to be tallied, they could see the numbers coming in from elsewhere on their mobile phones.
By their facial expressions it was clear they couldn't believe what was unfolding, and people cheered in astonishment as one surprising result came in after another.
Nobody imagined such a comprehensive wipeout, and Carrie Lam's administration will no doubt come under renewed pressure to listen to the demands of protestors following such an overwhelming defeat for her and her allies.
More than 1,000 candidates ran for 452 district council seats which, for the first time, were all contested. A further 27 district seats are allocated to representatives of rural districts.
Pro-Beijing parties held the majority of these seats ahead of the election.
Under Hong Kong's electoral system, 117 of the district councillors will also sit on the 1,200-member committee that votes for the chief executive.
So a pro-democracy district win could translate eventually to a bigger share, and say, in who becomes the city's next leader.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-50531408?fbclid=IwAR2tOViqlyTL-4Gs9KH1jfd68IH7w-G3Rl3GAABnYtQ8xSGyLKN_0Kp2QZM
According to the figures, pro-democracy candidates have won 278 seats so far, and pro-Beijing candidates 42.
Despite fears the vote could be disrupted or cancelled over the unrest, it went ahead peacefully.
The election was seen as a test of support for the government after months of unrest, protests and clashes.
The government and Beijing had been hoping the election would bring a show of support from the so-called "silent majority", but that did not materialise. Instead some significant pro-Beijing candidates lost council seats.
One controversial pro-Beijing lawmaker, who lost his seat, Junius Ho, said "heaven and earth have been turned upside down".
Protests explained in 100 and 500 words
How is Hong Kong run and how much control does China have?
The twists and turns in Hong Kong so far
Hong Kong's district councillors have little political power and mainly deal with local issues such as bus routes and rubbish collection, so the district elections don't normally generate such interest.
But these polls were the first time people could express at the ballot box their opinion on embattled Chief Executive Carrie Lam's handling of the crisis, which was sparked by a now withdrawn extradition law.
A record 4.1 million people had registered to vote - more than half the population.
And more than 2.9m people cast votes for the 452 seats available, a turnout of more than 71%, against 47% in 2015.
The weekend was the first in months without any clashes or violence between protesters and police.
"Facing the extremely challenging situation, I'm pleased to say... we have a relatively calm and peaceful environment for [the] election today," Chief Executive Carrie Lam said after voting.
What's the latest?
In one of the biggest losses for the pro-Beijing camp, lawmaker Junius Ho - one of Hong Kong's most controversial politicians - suffered a shock defeat.
He was stabbed earlier this month by a man pretending to be a supporter. The lawmaker has openly voiced his support for Hong Kong's police force on multiple occasions. He was in July filmed shaking hands with a group of men - suspected of being triad gangsters - who later assaulted pro-democracy protesters.
Jimmy Sham, a political activist who has recently risen to prominence as the leader of the Civil Human Rights Front - a campaign group responsible for organising some of the mass protest marches - won a seat after running for the first time.
Mr Sham has also been attacked twice, once apparently with hammers. Photographs at the time showed him lying on the street covered in blood.
Standing on crutches, Mr Sham told Reuters news agency on Sunday that the election was "special because it is a formal confrontation between pro-establishment and pro-democracy parties".
Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong was barred from running in the elections, a move he referred to as "political screening", but the pro-democracy candidate who replaced him is said to have won.
In a tweet, Mr Wong said the "historic" results showed that public opinion had not turned against the pro-democracy movement.
Reflecting on her reported defeat, pro-Beijing lawmaker Alice Mak suggested Ms Lam's administration was partly to blame.
"In the election campaign, pro-government candidates have been unfairly treated. This is a very important reason," she said.
Starry Lee Wai-king, chairwoman of the city's largest pro-Beijing party, was among the few establishment candidates to secure her seat.
"I think [Lee] is the only one who can survive the de facto referendum," said Leung Kwok-hung, her pro-democracy opponent in the poll.
'A wipeout beyond imagination'
Stephen McDonell, BBC China correspondent, in Hong Kong
Outside the Yau Ma Tei North polling station, local residents lined up to gain entry so they could watch the vote count. The doors opened and they poured into the public viewing area.
Six months into an ongoing political crisis, people have lost faith in government institutions. They wanted to make sure that this process was fair and transparent.
As they waited for the total in their own district council to be tallied, they could see the numbers coming in from elsewhere on their mobile phones.
By their facial expressions it was clear they couldn't believe what was unfolding, and people cheered in astonishment as one surprising result came in after another.
Nobody imagined such a comprehensive wipeout, and Carrie Lam's administration will no doubt come under renewed pressure to listen to the demands of protestors following such an overwhelming defeat for her and her allies.
More than 1,000 candidates ran for 452 district council seats which, for the first time, were all contested. A further 27 district seats are allocated to representatives of rural districts.
Pro-Beijing parties held the majority of these seats ahead of the election.
Under Hong Kong's electoral system, 117 of the district councillors will also sit on the 1,200-member committee that votes for the chief executive.
So a pro-democracy district win could translate eventually to a bigger share, and say, in who becomes the city's next leader.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-50531408?fbclid=IwAR2tOViqlyTL-4Gs9KH1jfd68IH7w-G3Rl3GAABnYtQ8xSGyLKN_0Kp2QZM
[Aljazeera], !即時 Instant News, , Hong Kong democrats score historic victory amid ongoing protests
Local elections were seen as major test for the pro-Beijing government after nearly half a year of demonstrations.
Hong Kong, China - Hong Kong's pro-democratic parties swept the board in highly anticipated local elections seen as a barometer of public opinion after nearly six months of increasingly violent protests that have polarised the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
Total turnout exceeded 2.94 million voters, a rate of 71 percent, surpassing a record from the previous legislative council election in 2016 of about 1.47 million.
As of 12pm (04:00 GMT), pro-democracy candidates had won a clear majority with 390 seats of the 452 district council seats, according to local broadcaster RTHK.
In the wake of the landslide win, Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam said she would "listen humbly" to voters.
Before daybreak on Sunday, long queues began to snake around the city's neighbourhoods as a mix of young and old voters waited for the polls - the first since political unrest erupted in June - to open.
In the working-class neighbourhood of Yau Ma Tei, a regular scene of clashes between police and demonstrators, no one waiting in line wore black, surgical masks or chanted slogans - all hallmarks of the pro-democracy protest movement.
The queue was quiet and orderly as voters ate breakfast in line and scrolled through their phones. Small squads of riot police were seen mingling around.
"I would like to say 'no' to the government, to what they have done these past few months," said Patrick Yeung, a 33-year-old IT worker who came early to vote, anticipating long lines.
"It makes me very angry ... [Chief Executive] Carrie Lam just doesn't listen to Hong Kong. We've come out so many times and they don't listen and make this situation worse."
'De facto referendum'
The district council historically deals with local livelihood issues, such as traffic and hygiene. But the protests have dramatically elevated their significance, at least symbolically.
For nearly half a year, anger and frustration have gripped Hong Kong as the city's Beijing-backed government refuses to concede to protesters' demands - save for the retraction of the hated extradition bill that sparked the unrest.
Government intransigence has galvanised the public, and voters are capitalising on the democratic opportunity to reiterate their demands, which include universal suffrage to choose Hong Kong's leaders, an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality and amnesty for all those arrested in connection with the protests.
A record 4.1 million people, including 400,000 new voters, signed up to cast ballots in the poll that will see all 452 seats across Hong Kong's 18 districts contested.
"This election is totally a de facto referendum for the protests," said Samson Yuen, an assistant professor at Lingnan University.
"Clearly, this one is more about political stance over the protests," Yuen said.
For the past few weeks, doubts loomed over whether the elections would even take place. Several candidates on both sides were attacked and multiple pro-democracy candidates were arrested, while prominent democracy activist Joshua Wong was barred from running.
Just a neighbourhood over from Yau Ma Tei, an estimated couple of dozen protesters remain trapped at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, which police have surrounded following one of the movement's fiercest clashes on campus. The city was paralysed for days as violence reached new escalations on both sides.
Patrick Nip, the secretary for constitutional and mainland affairs, said the violence "reduced the chance of holding the elections", while the Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper, the People's Daily, said: "Only by supporting the police force decisively putting down the riots can [Hong Kong] return to peace and hold fair elections, to help Hong Kong start again."
Hong Kong's Electoral Affairs Commission had called on the public to "stop all threats and violence to support the holding of elections in a peaceful and orderly manner".
For her part, Lam, when asked whether elections would be postponed, said the government "hopes that the elections can continue as planned".
Some pro-establishment voters, too, hoped to use their vote as a call to restore order.
"He supports constructive ideas to build up Hong Kong. We support people who do not disrupt Hong Kong," said Gary Wu, 40, who works in logistics, as he handed out fliers for a pro-establishment candidate named Horace Cheung in the Kennedy Town area.
"The priority should be people living here, a stable environment and economy."
'We are not going to give up our rights'
Given all the uncertainty surrounding the elections, Ryan Chen flew home on Saturday from Singapore, where he who works for a multinational company, just to vote in the election. Aged 35, this was his first time voting in the district council elections.
"It's important ... It's a way to really express your own opinions, one of the few ways you can do it in an orderly fashion," he said. "We should cherish the ability to express it ... It shows [the government] our opinions and gathers us together as Hongkongers," Chen added.
"But whether the government cares, honestly they don't."
The days running up to polls have been some of the most peaceful in months. To ensure the elections were not cancelled, protesters called on the public to exercise restraint. And in a bid to rally public support, protesters rebuilt the so-called Lennon Walls - some of which had been torn down by pro-establishment activists - and plastered public spaces with promotional materials, canvassing on street corners and disseminating reminders online.
Among the many new faces running for district council is Jason Chan, 22, a recent graduate now running in Fortress Hill for the pro-democracy camp.
Chan said this election was a "gesture to show the government that we are not going to give up our rights".
He added: "It becomes a kind of safer way to participate in politics compared to protesting on the streets, running inside established institutions."
One of the clarion calls for the district council election is to have more of a say in the selection of the city's leader. At present, the chief executive is chosen by a 1,200-person electoral committee, many of whom are Beijing loyalists. While a sizeable chunk goes to the district councillors, in the end, the elections are more symbolic than effective.
"There's no way to tip the balance, but that's not the point," said Steve Tsang, director of SOAS China Institute, University of London. "What Hong Kong people are really asking for is to 'listen to our voices, hear us, and act on what we say'."
Yuen, of Lingnan University, echoed that point. "Even if the pro-democracy camp are able to capture a lot of seats, it won't have very substantial meaning in terms of everyday politics ... It doesn't have a substantial effect on the pro-democracy movement, more of moral support for the current protests."
But even that is reason enough to draw youngsters to the polls.
"These few months have really shown a new picture for what Hong Kong people can do," said Iverson Ha, 23, a university student studying politics.
"We felt so powerless before June. Now many people come out, many people suffer. I don't think the government will respond to anything so it depends on civil society.
"Can we also fight in those different fields? If we can, I think Hong Kong has a future."
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/11/months-protests-hong-kong-heads-key-polls-191124051609941.html?fbclid=IwAR0gAzeFdPcIF8BtbIGdrEO4tsC5SsP6q9eEHOTzPxEUW4NfgVorhuIeat0
Hong Kong, China - Hong Kong's pro-democratic parties swept the board in highly anticipated local elections seen as a barometer of public opinion after nearly six months of increasingly violent protests that have polarised the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
Total turnout exceeded 2.94 million voters, a rate of 71 percent, surpassing a record from the previous legislative council election in 2016 of about 1.47 million.
As of 12pm (04:00 GMT), pro-democracy candidates had won a clear majority with 390 seats of the 452 district council seats, according to local broadcaster RTHK.
In the wake of the landslide win, Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam said she would "listen humbly" to voters.
Before daybreak on Sunday, long queues began to snake around the city's neighbourhoods as a mix of young and old voters waited for the polls - the first since political unrest erupted in June - to open.
In the working-class neighbourhood of Yau Ma Tei, a regular scene of clashes between police and demonstrators, no one waiting in line wore black, surgical masks or chanted slogans - all hallmarks of the pro-democracy protest movement.
The queue was quiet and orderly as voters ate breakfast in line and scrolled through their phones. Small squads of riot police were seen mingling around.
"I would like to say 'no' to the government, to what they have done these past few months," said Patrick Yeung, a 33-year-old IT worker who came early to vote, anticipating long lines.
"It makes me very angry ... [Chief Executive] Carrie Lam just doesn't listen to Hong Kong. We've come out so many times and they don't listen and make this situation worse."
'De facto referendum'
The district council historically deals with local livelihood issues, such as traffic and hygiene. But the protests have dramatically elevated their significance, at least symbolically.
For nearly half a year, anger and frustration have gripped Hong Kong as the city's Beijing-backed government refuses to concede to protesters' demands - save for the retraction of the hated extradition bill that sparked the unrest.
Government intransigence has galvanised the public, and voters are capitalising on the democratic opportunity to reiterate their demands, which include universal suffrage to choose Hong Kong's leaders, an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality and amnesty for all those arrested in connection with the protests.
A record 4.1 million people, including 400,000 new voters, signed up to cast ballots in the poll that will see all 452 seats across Hong Kong's 18 districts contested.
"This election is totally a de facto referendum for the protests," said Samson Yuen, an assistant professor at Lingnan University.
"Clearly, this one is more about political stance over the protests," Yuen said.
For the past few weeks, doubts loomed over whether the elections would even take place. Several candidates on both sides were attacked and multiple pro-democracy candidates were arrested, while prominent democracy activist Joshua Wong was barred from running.
Just a neighbourhood over from Yau Ma Tei, an estimated couple of dozen protesters remain trapped at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, which police have surrounded following one of the movement's fiercest clashes on campus. The city was paralysed for days as violence reached new escalations on both sides.
Patrick Nip, the secretary for constitutional and mainland affairs, said the violence "reduced the chance of holding the elections", while the Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper, the People's Daily, said: "Only by supporting the police force decisively putting down the riots can [Hong Kong] return to peace and hold fair elections, to help Hong Kong start again."
Hong Kong's Electoral Affairs Commission had called on the public to "stop all threats and violence to support the holding of elections in a peaceful and orderly manner".
For her part, Lam, when asked whether elections would be postponed, said the government "hopes that the elections can continue as planned".
Some pro-establishment voters, too, hoped to use their vote as a call to restore order.
"He supports constructive ideas to build up Hong Kong. We support people who do not disrupt Hong Kong," said Gary Wu, 40, who works in logistics, as he handed out fliers for a pro-establishment candidate named Horace Cheung in the Kennedy Town area.
"The priority should be people living here, a stable environment and economy."
'We are not going to give up our rights'
Given all the uncertainty surrounding the elections, Ryan Chen flew home on Saturday from Singapore, where he who works for a multinational company, just to vote in the election. Aged 35, this was his first time voting in the district council elections.
"It's important ... It's a way to really express your own opinions, one of the few ways you can do it in an orderly fashion," he said. "We should cherish the ability to express it ... It shows [the government] our opinions and gathers us together as Hongkongers," Chen added.
"But whether the government cares, honestly they don't."
The days running up to polls have been some of the most peaceful in months. To ensure the elections were not cancelled, protesters called on the public to exercise restraint. And in a bid to rally public support, protesters rebuilt the so-called Lennon Walls - some of which had been torn down by pro-establishment activists - and plastered public spaces with promotional materials, canvassing on street corners and disseminating reminders online.
Among the many new faces running for district council is Jason Chan, 22, a recent graduate now running in Fortress Hill for the pro-democracy camp.
Chan said this election was a "gesture to show the government that we are not going to give up our rights".
He added: "It becomes a kind of safer way to participate in politics compared to protesting on the streets, running inside established institutions."
One of the clarion calls for the district council election is to have more of a say in the selection of the city's leader. At present, the chief executive is chosen by a 1,200-person electoral committee, many of whom are Beijing loyalists. While a sizeable chunk goes to the district councillors, in the end, the elections are more symbolic than effective.
"There's no way to tip the balance, but that's not the point," said Steve Tsang, director of SOAS China Institute, University of London. "What Hong Kong people are really asking for is to 'listen to our voices, hear us, and act on what we say'."
Yuen, of Lingnan University, echoed that point. "Even if the pro-democracy camp are able to capture a lot of seats, it won't have very substantial meaning in terms of everyday politics ... It doesn't have a substantial effect on the pro-democracy movement, more of moral support for the current protests."
But even that is reason enough to draw youngsters to the polls.
"These few months have really shown a new picture for what Hong Kong people can do," said Iverson Ha, 23, a university student studying politics.
"We felt so powerless before June. Now many people come out, many people suffer. I don't think the government will respond to anything so it depends on civil society.
"Can we also fight in those different fields? If we can, I think Hong Kong has a future."
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/11/months-protests-hong-kong-heads-key-polls-191124051609941.html?fbclid=IwAR0gAzeFdPcIF8BtbIGdrEO4tsC5SsP6q9eEHOTzPxEUW4NfgVorhuIeat0
[Financial Times], !即時 Instant News, Pro-democracy candidates storm to landslide victory in Hong Kong
Pro-democracy candidates have routed their pro-Beijing opponents to win more than half of the seats in Hong Kong’s local council elections and provide a big boost to anti-government protests that have rocked the Asian financial hub.
With votes still being counted, pro-democracy candidates had secured 278 of the 452 district council seats. Pro-establishment forces, which support Beijing, had taken 42 seats while independents, who are not endorsed by either camp, had won 24 seats.
The democratic camp gained control of at least 12 of the 18 district councils. Four years ago, pro-democracy candidates won only 100 seats.
District council elections are historically muted affairs. Councillors wield little political power and the campaign is typically focused on humdrum local issues such as noise pollution.
But on Sunday, more than 2.9m people voted in the district council elections, a record turnout of 71.2 per cent across all territory-wide elections.
For the first time all seats were contested and more than 4m people were registered to vote, an all-time high. The groundswell of interest in the elections came as the city’s protest movement showed no sign of abating, with a stand-off between protesters and police at Polytechnic University entering its second week.
“We can’t be on the front lines but I hope to try to help our young people by casting a vote,” said Raymond Ng, a surveyor in his early 40s who brought his 65-year-old mother to vote for the first time.
“I hope the young people will be less impulsive — if we win at least they will feel better.”
One of the protesters’ demands is for genuine, universal suffrage that they insisted was guaranteed by Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law.
Hong Kong’s district council elections are the most democratic and representative elections in the territory. The business community has an outsized vote in determining the composition of the city’s more powerful Legislative Council, Hong Kong’s de facto parliament, while the chief executive is decided by 1,200 mostly pro-Beijing loyalists.
The local election results will determine 117 of the 1,200 electors who choose the city’s chief executive.
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Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, has the lowest approval ratings of any chief executive in Hong Kong’s history, but no one from her administration has resigned over the worsening political unrest. Dissatisfaction with the government has risen to more than 80 per cent in the latest opinion polls.
“This is the first time I actually read through all the campaign messages of the candidates,” said Helen, 72, who declined to give her last name. “I think Hong Kong now needs representatives who can express the opinions of the general public and to make reasonable demands to the government.”
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With votes still being counted, pro-democracy candidates had secured 278 of the 452 district council seats. Pro-establishment forces, which support Beijing, had taken 42 seats while independents, who are not endorsed by either camp, had won 24 seats.
The democratic camp gained control of at least 12 of the 18 district councils. Four years ago, pro-democracy candidates won only 100 seats.
District council elections are historically muted affairs. Councillors wield little political power and the campaign is typically focused on humdrum local issues such as noise pollution.
But on Sunday, more than 2.9m people voted in the district council elections, a record turnout of 71.2 per cent across all territory-wide elections.
For the first time all seats were contested and more than 4m people were registered to vote, an all-time high. The groundswell of interest in the elections came as the city’s protest movement showed no sign of abating, with a stand-off between protesters and police at Polytechnic University entering its second week.
“We can’t be on the front lines but I hope to try to help our young people by casting a vote,” said Raymond Ng, a surveyor in his early 40s who brought his 65-year-old mother to vote for the first time.
“I hope the young people will be less impulsive — if we win at least they will feel better.”
One of the protesters’ demands is for genuine, universal suffrage that they insisted was guaranteed by Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law.
Hong Kong’s district council elections are the most democratic and representative elections in the territory. The business community has an outsized vote in determining the composition of the city’s more powerful Legislative Council, Hong Kong’s de facto parliament, while the chief executive is decided by 1,200 mostly pro-Beijing loyalists.
The local election results will determine 117 of the 1,200 electors who choose the city’s chief executive.
Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://www.ft.com/tour.
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Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, has the lowest approval ratings of any chief executive in Hong Kong’s history, but no one from her administration has resigned over the worsening political unrest. Dissatisfaction with the government has risen to more than 80 per cent in the latest opinion polls.
“This is the first time I actually read through all the campaign messages of the candidates,” said Helen, 72, who declined to give her last name. “I think Hong Kong now needs representatives who can express the opinions of the general public and to make reasonable demands to the government.”
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Sunday, November 24, 2019
[The Guardian], !即時 Instant News, Hong Kong voters deliver landslide victory for pro-democracy campaigners
Pro-democracy politicians projected to control 18 out of 18 councils after proxy vote on Carrie Lam’s leadership
Hong Kong’s voters have turned out in record numbers to deliver a landslide for pro-democracy campaigners in local elections, handing them control of every one of the region’s 18 councils for the first time.
The results are a powerful rebuke to the government in a vote that was widely seen as a proxy referendum on the city’s protest movement.
Both in absolute numbers and in turnout rates it was easily the biggest exercise in democratic participation that Hong Kong has seen, with many voters waiting more than an hour to cast their ballots.
Hong Kong: protests prompt huge turnout for local elections
Read more
When polls closed at 10.30pm on Sunday, nearly 3 million people had voted, representing more than 71% of the electorate and nearly half of Hong Kong’s population. Many had never voted before.
Pro-democracy politicians took control of all of the city’s 18 district councils, an unexpected clean sweep that analysts say was a unanimous vote of no confidence in the government.
It is also a sea change in Hong Kong politics, where pro-Beijing and government politicians have enjoyed a wealth of resources and support from the elite sectors.
“I would not use the word happy, but we have made progress towards a situation where we can fight back against the government,” said Clarisse Yeung, an artist-turned-politician who led campaigning in the Wan Chai district, and announced the shift of power with tears in her eyes.
“It’s important because we all know that we have been sacrificing too much in the past few months,” she said. “Hong Kong people are no longer naive. We have to prepare ourselves, we have to have faith in ourselves to bring change.”
A string of prominent pro-Beijing candidates were also evicted from what had been safe seats, among them Junius Ho, who has been widely reviled for shaking hands with a gang of thugs who attacked protesters and commuters in July.
There will be few immediate political consequences in Hong Kong because the councils have limited powers, only a small budget and a mandate restricted to hyper-local issues such as parks, bus stops and waste collection.
But the pro-democratic landslide was a defiant rebuke to the government’s frequent argument that its hardline policies had the support of a “silent majority”, who had been cowed by protester violence. In a peaceful vote, the city’s people came out against them.
It will also give Communist party chiefs in Beijing – who have backed the government as it dug into confrontation with demonstrators – cause to reconsider their approach. Hong Kong’s protests are perhaps the biggest challenge to China’s autocratic president, Xi Jinping, since he took power in 2012.
And these local election victories may sow the seeds of greater long-term influence for democrats, because the councils play a role in choosing the city’s chief executive and some legislators.
Many of those who turned out on Sunday had never cast a ballot before. “It’s my first time voting. I registered myself because of the [protest] movement,” said Vivian Lee, an insurance worker in her 30s. “I’m happy so many people have come out to vote, because we want our voices heard.”
Despite long queues outside polling stations a spirit of exhilaration gripped much of the city, perhaps because people had a chance to give private, peaceful verdicts on a showdown that has upended normal life.
It was the first weekend without teargas on the streets since mid-August, though after voting ended, riot police did end an almost entirely peaceful day by using pepper spray to resolve a dispute between supporters of rival candidates.
District elections had not previously attracted much interest in Hong Kong, or beyond. The councils have a reputation for self-serving indolence and for years they were packed by disciplined and well-funded pro-Beijing candidates.
But months of pro-democracy protests, from a 2 million-strong peaceful march in June, to increasingly violent street demonstrations that culminated in a siege of a city-centre university, turned a sleepy local poll into something more significant.
It was widely seen as a proxy referendum on the leader, Carrie Lam, who responded to the movement by backing an escalation of police action and refusing to negotiate or compromise with the protesters.
For many in Hong Kong, that made the poll both an opportunity and an obligation, particularly important because district councils are the only Hong Kong authority selected by full universal suffrage. The city’s leader is chosen by an electoral college and only some seats in the city’s legislature are selected in open ballots.
“If you are willing to march or protest in the streets, which requires blood and sweat and tears, it’s much easier to walk downstairs and vote,” said one man who has taken part in the street protests, and asked not to be named because of fear of official retaliation. “Even if the system is broken, we can try to use it against the government.”
A last-minute surge in registrations added nearly 400,000 voters to the electoral rolls – most of them young – and a wave of novice pro-democracy candidates meant that for the first time in Hong Kong’s history every seat was contested.
Many pro-Beijing candidates were running on promises to “stop the violence” of the protests in which at least two people have died and hundreds have been injured, some critically.
Authorities have tried to paint the demonstrators as unreasonable extremists, and brush off calls for an independent inquiry into escalating police brutality.
But even in establishment strongholds, support for pro-democracy candidates grew. Adrian Lau ran in a seat that had never been contested by a pro-democracy candidate before, near a village where in July thugs thought to have links to the establishment attacked protesters and commuters.
“Many people have completely lost trust in the police after the incident,” he said. “Some told us they’d vote for us and thank us for giving them an alternative but daren’t say that out loud.”
Stephen, a retired businessman in his 60s voting in the affluent Mid-Levels neighbourhood, said: “This will send the message to the government that they should be more humble. It’s your job to serve people, and not beat people up if they don’t listen to you.”
Timeline
Hong Kong protests
Hide
February 2019
A new Hong Kong extradition law is proposed, which would allow people to be transferred to mainland China for a variety of crimes. Residents fear it could lead to politically motivated extraditions into China's much harsher judicial system.
31 March 2019
Large public demonstrations start as thousands march in the streets to protest against the extradition bill.
11 May 2019
Hong Kong lawmakers scuffle in parliament during a row over the law.
30 May 2019
Hong Kong's leader, Carrie Lam, introduces concessions to the extradition bill, including limiting the scope of extraditable offences, but critics say they are not enough.
12 June 2019
The scale of protests continues to increase as more than half a million people take to the streets. Police use rubber bullets and teargas against the biggest protests Hong Kong has seen for decades.
15 June 2019
Lam says the proposed extradition law has been postponed indefinitely.
1 July 2019
The protests continue as demonstrators storm the Legislative Council, destroying pictures, daubing graffiti on the walls and flying the old flag of Hong Kong emblazoned with the British union flag. The protests coincide with the 22nd anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong from the UK back to China.
21 July 2019
Armed men in white T-shirts thought to be supporting the Chinese government attack passengers and passers-by in Yuen Long metro station, while nearby police take no action.
30 July 2019
44 protesters are charged with rioting, which further antagonises the anti-extradition bill movement.
September 2019
By now the protest movement has coalesced around five key demands: complete withdrawal of the proposed extradition bill, withdrawal of the use of the word "riot" in relation to the protests, unconditional release of arrested protesters and charges against them dropped, an independent inquiry into police behaviour and the implementation of genuine universal suffrage.
15 September 2019
The mass protests enter their fifteenth week, with police resorting to teargas and water cannon against the demonstrators, and a wave of "doxxing" using digital techniques to unmask police and protesters as a new front in the battle.
1 October 2019
Police shoot a protester with live ammunition for the first time, as demonstrations continue on the day marking the 70th anniversary of the declaration of the People's Republic of China.
7 October 2019
The first charges are brought against protesters for covering their faces, after authorities bring in new laws banning face masks in order to make it easier to identify or detain protesters.
11 October 2019
Hong Kong officials spark outrage in the city as it revealed that nearly a third of protesters arrested since June have been children. Seven hundred and 50 out of the 2,379 people arrested were under 18, and 104 were under 16.
16 October 2019
Lam is forced to deliver a key annual policy speech via video link after after being heckled in parliament, as the legislative council resumed sessions after it was suspended on 12 June. Later in the day one of the protest leaders, Jimmy Sham, was attacked by assailants wielding hammers and knives.
23 October 2019
Chan Tong-kai, the murder suspect whose case prompted the original extradition bill is released from prison, saying that he is willing to surrender himself to Taiwan. The extradition bill is also formally withdrawn, a key demand of protesters.
8 November 2019
Chow Tsz-lok, 22, becomes the first fatality of the protests. Chow, a computer science student at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), was found injured in a car park in Tseung Kwan O in Kowloon, where he was believed to have fallen one storey. Protesters had been trying to disrupt a police officer’s wedding, which was being held in the area. A week later a 70-year-old cleaner who is thought to have been hit by a brick during a clash between protesters and pro-Beijing residents becomes the second person to die.
18 November 2019
Hundreds of protestors are trapped as police lay siege to a university, firing tear gas.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/24/hong-kong-residents-turn-up-for-local-elections-in-record-numbers?fbclid=IwAR3lOih1aI2_Ga3FQ0cWY_tx5s95OUeEvzIyaUtd0sT49tGHO7bNTCuAFDU
Hong Kong’s voters have turned out in record numbers to deliver a landslide for pro-democracy campaigners in local elections, handing them control of every one of the region’s 18 councils for the first time.
The results are a powerful rebuke to the government in a vote that was widely seen as a proxy referendum on the city’s protest movement.
Both in absolute numbers and in turnout rates it was easily the biggest exercise in democratic participation that Hong Kong has seen, with many voters waiting more than an hour to cast their ballots.
Hong Kong: protests prompt huge turnout for local elections
Read more
When polls closed at 10.30pm on Sunday, nearly 3 million people had voted, representing more than 71% of the electorate and nearly half of Hong Kong’s population. Many had never voted before.
Pro-democracy politicians took control of all of the city’s 18 district councils, an unexpected clean sweep that analysts say was a unanimous vote of no confidence in the government.
It is also a sea change in Hong Kong politics, where pro-Beijing and government politicians have enjoyed a wealth of resources and support from the elite sectors.
“I would not use the word happy, but we have made progress towards a situation where we can fight back against the government,” said Clarisse Yeung, an artist-turned-politician who led campaigning in the Wan Chai district, and announced the shift of power with tears in her eyes.
“It’s important because we all know that we have been sacrificing too much in the past few months,” she said. “Hong Kong people are no longer naive. We have to prepare ourselves, we have to have faith in ourselves to bring change.”
A string of prominent pro-Beijing candidates were also evicted from what had been safe seats, among them Junius Ho, who has been widely reviled for shaking hands with a gang of thugs who attacked protesters and commuters in July.
There will be few immediate political consequences in Hong Kong because the councils have limited powers, only a small budget and a mandate restricted to hyper-local issues such as parks, bus stops and waste collection.
But the pro-democratic landslide was a defiant rebuke to the government’s frequent argument that its hardline policies had the support of a “silent majority”, who had been cowed by protester violence. In a peaceful vote, the city’s people came out against them.
It will also give Communist party chiefs in Beijing – who have backed the government as it dug into confrontation with demonstrators – cause to reconsider their approach. Hong Kong’s protests are perhaps the biggest challenge to China’s autocratic president, Xi Jinping, since he took power in 2012.
And these local election victories may sow the seeds of greater long-term influence for democrats, because the councils play a role in choosing the city’s chief executive and some legislators.
Many of those who turned out on Sunday had never cast a ballot before. “It’s my first time voting. I registered myself because of the [protest] movement,” said Vivian Lee, an insurance worker in her 30s. “I’m happy so many people have come out to vote, because we want our voices heard.”
Despite long queues outside polling stations a spirit of exhilaration gripped much of the city, perhaps because people had a chance to give private, peaceful verdicts on a showdown that has upended normal life.
It was the first weekend without teargas on the streets since mid-August, though after voting ended, riot police did end an almost entirely peaceful day by using pepper spray to resolve a dispute between supporters of rival candidates.
District elections had not previously attracted much interest in Hong Kong, or beyond. The councils have a reputation for self-serving indolence and for years they were packed by disciplined and well-funded pro-Beijing candidates.
But months of pro-democracy protests, from a 2 million-strong peaceful march in June, to increasingly violent street demonstrations that culminated in a siege of a city-centre university, turned a sleepy local poll into something more significant.
It was widely seen as a proxy referendum on the leader, Carrie Lam, who responded to the movement by backing an escalation of police action and refusing to negotiate or compromise with the protesters.
For many in Hong Kong, that made the poll both an opportunity and an obligation, particularly important because district councils are the only Hong Kong authority selected by full universal suffrage. The city’s leader is chosen by an electoral college and only some seats in the city’s legislature are selected in open ballots.
“If you are willing to march or protest in the streets, which requires blood and sweat and tears, it’s much easier to walk downstairs and vote,” said one man who has taken part in the street protests, and asked not to be named because of fear of official retaliation. “Even if the system is broken, we can try to use it against the government.”
A last-minute surge in registrations added nearly 400,000 voters to the electoral rolls – most of them young – and a wave of novice pro-democracy candidates meant that for the first time in Hong Kong’s history every seat was contested.
Many pro-Beijing candidates were running on promises to “stop the violence” of the protests in which at least two people have died and hundreds have been injured, some critically.
Authorities have tried to paint the demonstrators as unreasonable extremists, and brush off calls for an independent inquiry into escalating police brutality.
But even in establishment strongholds, support for pro-democracy candidates grew. Adrian Lau ran in a seat that had never been contested by a pro-democracy candidate before, near a village where in July thugs thought to have links to the establishment attacked protesters and commuters.
“Many people have completely lost trust in the police after the incident,” he said. “Some told us they’d vote for us and thank us for giving them an alternative but daren’t say that out loud.”
Stephen, a retired businessman in his 60s voting in the affluent Mid-Levels neighbourhood, said: “This will send the message to the government that they should be more humble. It’s your job to serve people, and not beat people up if they don’t listen to you.”
Timeline
Hong Kong protests
Hide
February 2019
A new Hong Kong extradition law is proposed, which would allow people to be transferred to mainland China for a variety of crimes. Residents fear it could lead to politically motivated extraditions into China's much harsher judicial system.
31 March 2019
Large public demonstrations start as thousands march in the streets to protest against the extradition bill.
11 May 2019
Hong Kong lawmakers scuffle in parliament during a row over the law.
30 May 2019
Hong Kong's leader, Carrie Lam, introduces concessions to the extradition bill, including limiting the scope of extraditable offences, but critics say they are not enough.
12 June 2019
The scale of protests continues to increase as more than half a million people take to the streets. Police use rubber bullets and teargas against the biggest protests Hong Kong has seen for decades.
15 June 2019
Lam says the proposed extradition law has been postponed indefinitely.
1 July 2019
The protests continue as demonstrators storm the Legislative Council, destroying pictures, daubing graffiti on the walls and flying the old flag of Hong Kong emblazoned with the British union flag. The protests coincide with the 22nd anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong from the UK back to China.
21 July 2019
Armed men in white T-shirts thought to be supporting the Chinese government attack passengers and passers-by in Yuen Long metro station, while nearby police take no action.
30 July 2019
44 protesters are charged with rioting, which further antagonises the anti-extradition bill movement.
September 2019
By now the protest movement has coalesced around five key demands: complete withdrawal of the proposed extradition bill, withdrawal of the use of the word "riot" in relation to the protests, unconditional release of arrested protesters and charges against them dropped, an independent inquiry into police behaviour and the implementation of genuine universal suffrage.
15 September 2019
The mass protests enter their fifteenth week, with police resorting to teargas and water cannon against the demonstrators, and a wave of "doxxing" using digital techniques to unmask police and protesters as a new front in the battle.
1 October 2019
Police shoot a protester with live ammunition for the first time, as demonstrations continue on the day marking the 70th anniversary of the declaration of the People's Republic of China.
7 October 2019
The first charges are brought against protesters for covering their faces, after authorities bring in new laws banning face masks in order to make it easier to identify or detain protesters.
11 October 2019
Hong Kong officials spark outrage in the city as it revealed that nearly a third of protesters arrested since June have been children. Seven hundred and 50 out of the 2,379 people arrested were under 18, and 104 were under 16.
16 October 2019
Lam is forced to deliver a key annual policy speech via video link after after being heckled in parliament, as the legislative council resumed sessions after it was suspended on 12 June. Later in the day one of the protest leaders, Jimmy Sham, was attacked by assailants wielding hammers and knives.
23 October 2019
Chan Tong-kai, the murder suspect whose case prompted the original extradition bill is released from prison, saying that he is willing to surrender himself to Taiwan. The extradition bill is also formally withdrawn, a key demand of protesters.
8 November 2019
Chow Tsz-lok, 22, becomes the first fatality of the protests. Chow, a computer science student at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), was found injured in a car park in Tseung Kwan O in Kowloon, where he was believed to have fallen one storey. Protesters had been trying to disrupt a police officer’s wedding, which was being held in the area. A week later a 70-year-old cleaner who is thought to have been hit by a brick during a clash between protesters and pro-Beijing residents becomes the second person to die.
18 November 2019
Hundreds of protestors are trapped as police lay siege to a university, firing tear gas.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/24/hong-kong-residents-turn-up-for-local-elections-in-record-numbers?fbclid=IwAR3lOih1aI2_Ga3FQ0cWY_tx5s95OUeEvzIyaUtd0sT49tGHO7bNTCuAFDU
[Telegraph], !即時 Instant News, Protests drive record numbers to Hong Kong polls in 'referendum on Carrie Lam'
Hong Kong voters turned out in record numbers on Sunday for district elections, with early results showing pro-democracy candidates triumphing over those who have sided with Beijing in the six-month-long protests.
The election is widely viewed as a test of public support for pro-Beijing chief executive Carrie Lam’s handling of pro-democracy protests that have plunged the Asian financial hub into crisis.
Results started to trickle out after midnight and showed at least a dozen pro-democracy candidates winning, including former student leaders.
Among them was a candidate who replaced prominent activist Joshua Wong, the only person barred from running in the election.
Rally organiser Jimmy Sham, one of the public faces of the protest movement who was bloodied in an attack by assailants with hammers last month, also triumphed.
Pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho, who was stabbed by a knife-wielding man while campaigning this month, was among those who lost.
The poll for delegates on the lowest tier of government – which has never had so much attention - will also be a barometer of public patience with the protest movement.
The unrest has seen many violent street clashes with riot police and at times crippled the city’s business and transport networks.
A record 4.1 million people registered to vote in the election, which normally sees a turnout rate of about 40 per cent.
By 8am, long queues had already formed outside the city’s 600 polling stations, while government data showed more than 2.94 million people had voted, putting the turnout rate at 70 per cent.
About 1.47 million voted in the last district elections four years ago, which was itself a record.
In the bitterly divided city, many voters said that they would make their choice not on local issues, but based on their views of the ongoing political turmoil – the worst unrest that Hong Kong has experienced since it switched from British to Chinese rule in 1997.
“We want to change the government. We want to use the district elections to express our voice,” said Shirley Ng, 50, a social welfare worker, in Sham Shui Po, a predominantly working class neighbourhood in Kowloon.
“There has been a political awakening that has made people more aware of what the government is doing,” she said.
A few blocks away, voters waited patiently to enter a polling station on Pei Ho Street, an area badly affected by tear gas in recent battles between the police and more radical protesters who set up burning roadblocks.
Mr Wong, an accountant in his late 30s, said this election was especially important to him, revealing that his business had suffered during the unrest, but he added: “If they kill us and take our freedom, what’s the point of giving us good business?”
A record 1,104 candidates were vying for 452 seats.
Although district councils normally deal with mundane issues like recycling and building management, they also have an important say in the selection of the city’s chief executive, who is not directly elected by the public.
If the pro-democracy camp gains control, they could secure six seats in the Legislative Council, or parliament, and 117 seats on the 1,200-member panel that appoints Hong Kong’s leader.
Cathy Yau, 36, a pan-Democratic candidate standing in Causeway Bay, left her job in the embattled police force to run for office.
The first salvos of tear gas fired at protesters in June had been the tipping point, she said.
The protests, now a rallying cry for democracy, started over a now-withdrawn extradition bill that would have allowed people to be sent to mainland China for trial.
“The government didn’t quickly address the voices that are against the extradition bill,” said Ms Yau.
“I didn’t understand why the government would not give a response.”
Bruce Lui, a senior journalism lecturer at Hong Kong Baptist University, said that both pro-Beijing and pro-democratic parties had afforded new meaning to the local polls this year, to include their stances on recent violence.
“This is way beyond the highlights of the candidates' manifesto on purely 'district affairs',” he said.
The district elections have traditionally been the bastion of pro-Beijing parties, and government supporters also saw Sunday’s poll as a chance to share their opinions.
“I always come out to vote, but this year I am nervous about the political situation of the last few months. Lots of rioters are destroying Hong Kong,” said Kathy, 46, a housewife from Causeway Bay, which has seen some of the largest demonstrations in the city’s history.
In Sha Tin, Hong Kong’s most populous district, Mrs Pang, a housewife in her 70s, said she wanted to vote to restore “harmony” in society. “Social unrest has created unease in my life... it’s had a big impact on me,” she said.
If the pan-Democratic bloc wins, it could exert more pressure on Carrie Lam, the unpopular chief executive to find new ways to resolve the impasse with the protest movement.
Lord David Alton, who joined an international election observers team to monitor the poll, said the crisis needed a “political solution.”
He added: “I would like to see the appointment of a respected mediator from within the region…I would say the most pressing demand at the moment is dealing with the issue of police brutality.”
Denying the public the right to vote for the city’s leader had left a “sense of powerlessness” that had fueled the protests, he argued.
“If great cities like Paris or London or New York can have directly elected mayors then why can’t Hong Kong? The answer to that is that Beijing has opposed it.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/11/24/protests-drive-record-numbers-hong-kong-polls-referendum-carrie/?fbclid=IwAR2ZiJLz3kXzJD3b4KNtynK7gJFQDVVkAZBnmnO_W7Mh8-aozezqVdttUWg
The election is widely viewed as a test of public support for pro-Beijing chief executive Carrie Lam’s handling of pro-democracy protests that have plunged the Asian financial hub into crisis.
Results started to trickle out after midnight and showed at least a dozen pro-democracy candidates winning, including former student leaders.
Among them was a candidate who replaced prominent activist Joshua Wong, the only person barred from running in the election.
Rally organiser Jimmy Sham, one of the public faces of the protest movement who was bloodied in an attack by assailants with hammers last month, also triumphed.
Pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho, who was stabbed by a knife-wielding man while campaigning this month, was among those who lost.
The poll for delegates on the lowest tier of government – which has never had so much attention - will also be a barometer of public patience with the protest movement.
The unrest has seen many violent street clashes with riot police and at times crippled the city’s business and transport networks.
A record 4.1 million people registered to vote in the election, which normally sees a turnout rate of about 40 per cent.
By 8am, long queues had already formed outside the city’s 600 polling stations, while government data showed more than 2.94 million people had voted, putting the turnout rate at 70 per cent.
About 1.47 million voted in the last district elections four years ago, which was itself a record.
In the bitterly divided city, many voters said that they would make their choice not on local issues, but based on their views of the ongoing political turmoil – the worst unrest that Hong Kong has experienced since it switched from British to Chinese rule in 1997.
“We want to change the government. We want to use the district elections to express our voice,” said Shirley Ng, 50, a social welfare worker, in Sham Shui Po, a predominantly working class neighbourhood in Kowloon.
“There has been a political awakening that has made people more aware of what the government is doing,” she said.
A few blocks away, voters waited patiently to enter a polling station on Pei Ho Street, an area badly affected by tear gas in recent battles between the police and more radical protesters who set up burning roadblocks.
Mr Wong, an accountant in his late 30s, said this election was especially important to him, revealing that his business had suffered during the unrest, but he added: “If they kill us and take our freedom, what’s the point of giving us good business?”
A record 1,104 candidates were vying for 452 seats.
Although district councils normally deal with mundane issues like recycling and building management, they also have an important say in the selection of the city’s chief executive, who is not directly elected by the public.
If the pro-democracy camp gains control, they could secure six seats in the Legislative Council, or parliament, and 117 seats on the 1,200-member panel that appoints Hong Kong’s leader.
Cathy Yau, 36, a pan-Democratic candidate standing in Causeway Bay, left her job in the embattled police force to run for office.
The first salvos of tear gas fired at protesters in June had been the tipping point, she said.
The protests, now a rallying cry for democracy, started over a now-withdrawn extradition bill that would have allowed people to be sent to mainland China for trial.
“The government didn’t quickly address the voices that are against the extradition bill,” said Ms Yau.
“I didn’t understand why the government would not give a response.”
Bruce Lui, a senior journalism lecturer at Hong Kong Baptist University, said that both pro-Beijing and pro-democratic parties had afforded new meaning to the local polls this year, to include their stances on recent violence.
“This is way beyond the highlights of the candidates' manifesto on purely 'district affairs',” he said.
The district elections have traditionally been the bastion of pro-Beijing parties, and government supporters also saw Sunday’s poll as a chance to share their opinions.
“I always come out to vote, but this year I am nervous about the political situation of the last few months. Lots of rioters are destroying Hong Kong,” said Kathy, 46, a housewife from Causeway Bay, which has seen some of the largest demonstrations in the city’s history.
In Sha Tin, Hong Kong’s most populous district, Mrs Pang, a housewife in her 70s, said she wanted to vote to restore “harmony” in society. “Social unrest has created unease in my life... it’s had a big impact on me,” she said.
If the pan-Democratic bloc wins, it could exert more pressure on Carrie Lam, the unpopular chief executive to find new ways to resolve the impasse with the protest movement.
Lord David Alton, who joined an international election observers team to monitor the poll, said the crisis needed a “political solution.”
He added: “I would like to see the appointment of a respected mediator from within the region…I would say the most pressing demand at the moment is dealing with the issue of police brutality.”
Denying the public the right to vote for the city’s leader had left a “sense of powerlessness” that had fueled the protests, he argued.
“If great cities like Paris or London or New York can have directly elected mayors then why can’t Hong Kong? The answer to that is that Beijing has opposed it.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/11/24/protests-drive-record-numbers-hong-kong-polls-referendum-carrie/?fbclid=IwAR2ZiJLz3kXzJD3b4KNtynK7gJFQDVVkAZBnmnO_W7Mh8-aozezqVdttUWg
[New York Times], !即時 Instant News, Hong Kong Election Results Give Democracy Backers Big Win
A surge in voting, especially by young people, allowed democracy advocates to win many more seats on local councils.
HONG KONG — Pro-democracy candidates buoyed by months of street protests in Hong Kong won a stunning victory in local elections on Sunday, as record numbers voted in a vivid expression of the city’s aspirations and its anger with the Chinese government.
It was a pointed rebuke of Beijing and its allies in Hong Kong, and the turnout — seven in 10 eligible voters — suggested that the public continues to back the democracy movement, even as the protests grow increasingly violent. Young Hong Kongers, a major force behind the demonstrations of the past six months, played a leading role in the voting surge.
With three million voters casting ballots, pro-democracy candidates captured 389 of 452 elected seats, up from only 124 and far more than they have ever won. With one race undecided, the government’s allies held just 57 seats, a remarkable collapse from 300.
To many democracy advocates, Sunday was a turning point.
“There has been a very deep awakening of the Hong Kong people,” said Alan Leong, chairman of the Civic Party, one of the largest pro-democracy parties.
The elections were for district councils, one of the lowest elected offices in Hong Kong, and they are typically a subdued affair focused on community issues. The job mostly entails pushing for neighborhood needs like bus stops and traffic lights.
But this election took on outsize significance, and was viewed as a referendum on the unrest that has created the city’s worst political crisis in decades. In a semiautonomous part of China where greater democracy is one of the protesters’ biggest demands, it gave residents a rare chance to vote.
The gains at the ballot box are likely to embolden a democracy movement that has struggled with how to balance peaceful and violent protests to achieve its goals.
They are also likely to deepen the challenges for China’s central government, which wants to curb the unrest in Hong Kong. And they might exacerbate Beijing’s fears about giving the city’s residents even greater say in choosing their government.
The district councils are among the most democratic bodies in Hong Kong. Almost all the seats are directly elected, unlike the legislature, where the proportion is just over half. The territory’s chief executive is also not chosen directly by voters, but is instead selected by a committee stacked in favor of Beijing.
The election results will give democracy forces considerably more influence on that committee, which is scheduled to choose a new chief executive in 2022.
The district councils name about a tenth of the group's 1,200 members, and now all of these will flip from pro-Beijing to pro-democracy seats. Democracy advocates already control about a quarter of the seats, while other previously pro-Beijing sectors of the committee are now starting to lean toward democracy, most notably accountants and real estate lawyers.
Mr. Leong, the Civic Party chairman, called on the Chinese Communist Party to change its policies in Hong Kong.
“Unless the C.C.P. is doing something concrete to address the concerns of the Hong Kong people,” he said, “I think this movement cannot end.”
Regina Ip, a cabinet member and the leader of a pro-Beijing political party, said she was surprised to see so many young voters, many of whom tried to confront her with the protesters’ demands.
“Normally,” she said, “the young people do not come out to vote. But this time, the opposition managed to turn them out.”
Ahead of the election, the city’s leadership was concerned that the vote would be marred by the chaos of recent months. Some of the most violent clashes yet between protesters and the police took place last week, turning two university campuses into battlegrounds.
But the city remained relatively calm on Sunday as voters turned out in droves. Long lines formed at polling centers in the morning, snaking around skyscrapers and past small shops. Riot police officers were deployed near polling stations on Sunday.
David Lee, a retired printer approaching his 90th birthday, was among the earliest voters on Hong Kong Island and said he had come because he wanted democracy.
“This is important,” he said.
Some analysts had predicted that pro-democracy candidates would have difficulty making big gains. Pro-Beijing candidates are much better financed, and the district races have traditionally been won on purely local issues, not big questions like democracy, said Joseph Cheng, a retired professor at City University of Hong Kong.
But voter turnout soared to 71 percent, far surpassing expectations. Typically in district council elections, it is little more than 40 percent. Four years ago, after the 2014 Umbrella Movement increased public interest in politics, turnout climbed to 47 percent. This year, the number of registered voters hit a record.
On Sunday, several prominent pro-Beijing politicians lost their races, among them Michael Tien, a longtime establishment lawmaker. After his defeat, he said the increase in young voters signaled that they were becoming more politically engaged, adding that the government should listen to them.
In the district of Tuen Mun, about a hundred people celebrated with cheers and champagne the defeat of Junius Ho, a controversial lawmaker many protesters accused of supporting mob attacks against them.
The victory on Sunday eclipsed the pro-democracy camp’s last big win in these elections, when they won 198 seats, still short of a majority, following huge protests in 2003. Those demonstrations led the government to scrap a national security bill requested by Beijing that critics said would have endangered civil liberties in Hong Kong.
The government’s allies dominated the elections that followed, though. Beijing began investing heavily in grass-roots mobilization efforts, including busing large numbers of older Hong Kong citizens from retirement homes in mainland China to polling places in Hong Kong.
Instead of just focusing on local issues, many pro-democracy candidates ran on the broad themes of the protest movement, especially anger at police brutality, and the intensity of the demonstrations sometimes spilled into the race. Candidates on both sides were attacked while campaigning.
Mandy Lee, 53, a homemaker who voted at the Kowloon Bay neighborhood, showed up to vote for the pro-Beijing establishment and criticized the protests.
“It’s not that I have no sympathy toward young people, but I strongly believe that their efforts are futile,” she said. “We are a tiny island; it’s only a matter of time before China takes us over and integrates us.”
The outcome of the election could further complicate the position of Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s embattled chief executive. Critics say that she has failed to engage with the community over the protests and that she has not listened to people’s concerns.
In June, Mrs. Lam set off enormous protests by pushing ahead with a bill that would have allowed the extradition of Hong Kong residents to the opaque judicial system in mainland China. The issue played to deeper worries about Beijing’s encroachment on Hong Kong, which has maintained its own political and judicial system since the former British colony was reclaimed by China in 1997.
Mrs. Lam withdrew her proposal after months of protests, but many said she acted too late. The protesters are now demanding additional concessions, including the introduction of universal suffrage and an independent inquiry into police conduct.
The election results on Sunday will allow them to argue that the public supports them. About 57 percent of voters cast ballots for pro-democracy candidates, while nearly 40 percent voted for Beijing’s allies. The remaining 3 percent voted for independents, who won five seats.
Many pro-Beijing political parties receive large donations from the Hong Kong subsidiaries of state-owned enterprises in mainland China, which they use to organize picnics and other campaign events. But the results on Sunday showed the limits of these efforts.
Matthew Cheung, the chief secretary and second-highest official of the Hong Kong government, said on Sunday during the voting that the city’s leadership would pay close attention to the results of the vote no matter how it turned out.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/24/world/asia/hong-kong-election-results.html?fbclid=IwAR0Z3mgtvXzL5lFJVP3uoSuRZ2KUkbSm_iARzAvB6ddEzas1rtshhJJzDUY
HONG KONG — Pro-democracy candidates buoyed by months of street protests in Hong Kong won a stunning victory in local elections on Sunday, as record numbers voted in a vivid expression of the city’s aspirations and its anger with the Chinese government.
It was a pointed rebuke of Beijing and its allies in Hong Kong, and the turnout — seven in 10 eligible voters — suggested that the public continues to back the democracy movement, even as the protests grow increasingly violent. Young Hong Kongers, a major force behind the demonstrations of the past six months, played a leading role in the voting surge.
With three million voters casting ballots, pro-democracy candidates captured 389 of 452 elected seats, up from only 124 and far more than they have ever won. With one race undecided, the government’s allies held just 57 seats, a remarkable collapse from 300.
To many democracy advocates, Sunday was a turning point.
“There has been a very deep awakening of the Hong Kong people,” said Alan Leong, chairman of the Civic Party, one of the largest pro-democracy parties.
The elections were for district councils, one of the lowest elected offices in Hong Kong, and they are typically a subdued affair focused on community issues. The job mostly entails pushing for neighborhood needs like bus stops and traffic lights.
But this election took on outsize significance, and was viewed as a referendum on the unrest that has created the city’s worst political crisis in decades. In a semiautonomous part of China where greater democracy is one of the protesters’ biggest demands, it gave residents a rare chance to vote.
The gains at the ballot box are likely to embolden a democracy movement that has struggled with how to balance peaceful and violent protests to achieve its goals.
They are also likely to deepen the challenges for China’s central government, which wants to curb the unrest in Hong Kong. And they might exacerbate Beijing’s fears about giving the city’s residents even greater say in choosing their government.
The district councils are among the most democratic bodies in Hong Kong. Almost all the seats are directly elected, unlike the legislature, where the proportion is just over half. The territory’s chief executive is also not chosen directly by voters, but is instead selected by a committee stacked in favor of Beijing.
The election results will give democracy forces considerably more influence on that committee, which is scheduled to choose a new chief executive in 2022.
The district councils name about a tenth of the group's 1,200 members, and now all of these will flip from pro-Beijing to pro-democracy seats. Democracy advocates already control about a quarter of the seats, while other previously pro-Beijing sectors of the committee are now starting to lean toward democracy, most notably accountants and real estate lawyers.
Mr. Leong, the Civic Party chairman, called on the Chinese Communist Party to change its policies in Hong Kong.
“Unless the C.C.P. is doing something concrete to address the concerns of the Hong Kong people,” he said, “I think this movement cannot end.”
Regina Ip, a cabinet member and the leader of a pro-Beijing political party, said she was surprised to see so many young voters, many of whom tried to confront her with the protesters’ demands.
“Normally,” she said, “the young people do not come out to vote. But this time, the opposition managed to turn them out.”
Ahead of the election, the city’s leadership was concerned that the vote would be marred by the chaos of recent months. Some of the most violent clashes yet between protesters and the police took place last week, turning two university campuses into battlegrounds.
But the city remained relatively calm on Sunday as voters turned out in droves. Long lines formed at polling centers in the morning, snaking around skyscrapers and past small shops. Riot police officers were deployed near polling stations on Sunday.
David Lee, a retired printer approaching his 90th birthday, was among the earliest voters on Hong Kong Island and said he had come because he wanted democracy.
“This is important,” he said.
Some analysts had predicted that pro-democracy candidates would have difficulty making big gains. Pro-Beijing candidates are much better financed, and the district races have traditionally been won on purely local issues, not big questions like democracy, said Joseph Cheng, a retired professor at City University of Hong Kong.
But voter turnout soared to 71 percent, far surpassing expectations. Typically in district council elections, it is little more than 40 percent. Four years ago, after the 2014 Umbrella Movement increased public interest in politics, turnout climbed to 47 percent. This year, the number of registered voters hit a record.
On Sunday, several prominent pro-Beijing politicians lost their races, among them Michael Tien, a longtime establishment lawmaker. After his defeat, he said the increase in young voters signaled that they were becoming more politically engaged, adding that the government should listen to them.
In the district of Tuen Mun, about a hundred people celebrated with cheers and champagne the defeat of Junius Ho, a controversial lawmaker many protesters accused of supporting mob attacks against them.
The victory on Sunday eclipsed the pro-democracy camp’s last big win in these elections, when they won 198 seats, still short of a majority, following huge protests in 2003. Those demonstrations led the government to scrap a national security bill requested by Beijing that critics said would have endangered civil liberties in Hong Kong.
The government’s allies dominated the elections that followed, though. Beijing began investing heavily in grass-roots mobilization efforts, including busing large numbers of older Hong Kong citizens from retirement homes in mainland China to polling places in Hong Kong.
Instead of just focusing on local issues, many pro-democracy candidates ran on the broad themes of the protest movement, especially anger at police brutality, and the intensity of the demonstrations sometimes spilled into the race. Candidates on both sides were attacked while campaigning.
Mandy Lee, 53, a homemaker who voted at the Kowloon Bay neighborhood, showed up to vote for the pro-Beijing establishment and criticized the protests.
“It’s not that I have no sympathy toward young people, but I strongly believe that their efforts are futile,” she said. “We are a tiny island; it’s only a matter of time before China takes us over and integrates us.”
The outcome of the election could further complicate the position of Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s embattled chief executive. Critics say that she has failed to engage with the community over the protests and that she has not listened to people’s concerns.
In June, Mrs. Lam set off enormous protests by pushing ahead with a bill that would have allowed the extradition of Hong Kong residents to the opaque judicial system in mainland China. The issue played to deeper worries about Beijing’s encroachment on Hong Kong, which has maintained its own political and judicial system since the former British colony was reclaimed by China in 1997.
Mrs. Lam withdrew her proposal after months of protests, but many said she acted too late. The protesters are now demanding additional concessions, including the introduction of universal suffrage and an independent inquiry into police conduct.
The election results on Sunday will allow them to argue that the public supports them. About 57 percent of voters cast ballots for pro-democracy candidates, while nearly 40 percent voted for Beijing’s allies. The remaining 3 percent voted for independents, who won five seats.
Many pro-Beijing political parties receive large donations from the Hong Kong subsidiaries of state-owned enterprises in mainland China, which they use to organize picnics and other campaign events. But the results on Sunday showed the limits of these efforts.
Matthew Cheung, the chief secretary and second-highest official of the Hong Kong government, said on Sunday during the voting that the city’s leadership would pay close attention to the results of the vote no matter how it turned out.
“The election is an important political thermometer,” he said. “We will definitely take it seriously.”
Reporting was contributed by K.K. Rebecca Lai in New York and Jin Wu and Katherine Li in Hong Kong.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/24/world/asia/hong-kong-election-results.html?fbclid=IwAR0Z3mgtvXzL5lFJVP3uoSuRZ2KUkbSm_iARzAvB6ddEzas1rtshhJJzDUY
Friday, November 22, 2019
[明報 Mingpao], !即時 Instant News, 【區議會選舉】鄧炳強：為保區選投票安全 警將在票站附近高姿態巡邏
新任警務處長鄧炳強今日（22日）在旺角警察體育遊樂會見傳媒。他表示，24日的區議會選舉投票日，警方會在票站附近高姿態巡邏，票站內亦會安排足夠人手，確保投票不受干擾。
鄧炳強稱，警方會因應風險評估安排人手，為確保投票人安全及不受干擾，票站內會有足夠人手，也會在票站附近高姿態巡邏。對於可能出現的不同情況，警方亦已有預案，呼籲不要作出暴力及不當行為。
他又呼籲理工大學留守者盡快離開，希望事件能和平解決，並稱警方行動沒有任何死線。他表示，警方已承諾18歲以下留守者如肯離開，不會即時被拘捕，希望留守者離開。
對於有報道稱一名離開理大的留守者被禁止離境，鄧炳強否認，稱該人已超過18歲，離開理大時稱身體有事，由救傷車送往醫院，但他落車後沒有進入醫院，而是立即潛逃，因此作出拘捕。
https://news.mingpao.com/ins/%e6%b8%af%e8%81%9e/article/20191122/s00001/1574398381642/%e3%80%90%e5%8d%80%e8%ad%b0%e6%9c%83%e9%81%b8%e8%88%89%e3%80%91%e9%84%a7%e7%82%b3%e5%bc%b7-%e7%82%ba%e4%bf%9d%e5%8d%80%e9%81%b8%e6%8a%95%e7%a5%a8%e5%ae%89%e5%85%a8-%e8%ad%a6%e5%b0%87%e5%9c%a8%e7%a5%a8%e7%ab%99%e9%99%84%e8%bf%91%e9%ab%98%e5%a7%bf%e6%85%8b%e5%b7%a1%e9%82%8f
鄧炳強稱，警方會因應風險評估安排人手，為確保投票人安全及不受干擾，票站內會有足夠人手，也會在票站附近高姿態巡邏。對於可能出現的不同情況，警方亦已有預案，呼籲不要作出暴力及不當行為。
他又呼籲理工大學留守者盡快離開，希望事件能和平解決，並稱警方行動沒有任何死線。他表示，警方已承諾18歲以下留守者如肯離開，不會即時被拘捕，希望留守者離開。
對於有報道稱一名離開理大的留守者被禁止離境，鄧炳強否認，稱該人已超過18歲，離開理大時稱身體有事，由救傷車送往醫院，但他落車後沒有進入醫院，而是立即潛逃，因此作出拘捕。
https://news.mingpao.com/ins/%e6%b8%af%e8%81%9e/article/20191122/s00001/1574398381642/%e3%80%90%e5%8d%80%e8%ad%b0%e6%9c%83%e9%81%b8%e8%88%89%e3%80%91%e9%84%a7%e7%82%b3%e5%bc%b7-%e7%82%ba%e4%bf%9d%e5%8d%80%e9%81%b8%e6%8a%95%e7%a5%a8%e5%ae%89%e5%85%a8-%e8%ad%a6%e5%b0%87%e5%9c%a8%e7%a5%a8%e7%ab%99%e9%99%84%e8%bf%91%e9%ab%98%e5%a7%bf%e6%85%8b%e5%b7%a1%e9%82%8f
[明報 Mingpao], !即時 Instant News, 男子荃灣海濱公園以膠袋套頭亡 (09:50)
早上6時許，一名43歲姚姓男子在荃灣海濱公園以膠袋套頭，膠袋連接一罐氣體，公園職員見狀報警，救護人員到場證實事主死亡。警方在場檢獲遺書，初步調查相信事件無可疑，死因有待驗屍後確定。
https://news.mingpao.com/ins/%e6%b8%af%e8%81%9e/article/20191122/s00001/1574386640032/%e7%94%b7%e5%ad%90%e8%8d%83%e7%81%a3%e6%b5%b7%e6%bf%b1%e5%85%ac%e5%9c%92%e4%bb%a5%e8%86%a0%e8%a2%8b%e5%a5%97%e9%a0%ad%e4%ba%a1
https://news.mingpao.com/ins/%e6%b8%af%e8%81%9e/article/20191122/s00001/1574386640032/%e7%94%b7%e5%ad%90%e8%8d%83%e7%81%a3%e6%b5%b7%e6%bf%b1%e5%85%ac%e5%9c%92%e4%bb%a5%e8%86%a0%e8%a2%8b%e5%a5%97%e9%a0%ad%e4%ba%a1
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
[端新聞], !即時 Instant News, 理大衝突第三天：港大校長張翔現身理大，仍有少量示威者留在校園
晚上7點，有網民在尖沙咀太空館發起聲援活動，多名市民上台分享及祈禱。
香港理工大學示威者與防暴警察連續三日對峙。11月19日凌晨至夜晚，共有數百位示威者以不同方式離開校園，警方稱其中有約800人是自願離開，當中近300人未滿18歲。當晚，多人曾嘗試從被困校園的不同出口逃離，但有的失敗折返校園，有的被捕，另外也有人走向警方投降。據仍留在現場的端傳媒記者觀察，截至11月20日凌晨，校園內仍餘少量示威者。
而在11月20日凌晨接近1點，香港大學校長張翔，在港大法律學院院長張達明的陪同下，抵達理工大學，教育界議員葉建源、醫學界議員陳沛然亦在場。他們表示要與餘下的示威者商討，再向記者交代詳情。
以下為11月19日的簡要復盤。
凌晨，過百名示威者從行人天橋游繩到馬路上，有人駕駛電單車駛至接應載走示威者，部分人徒步離開。游繩逃離的路線在數分鐘內被在天橋附近戒備的防暴警察發現，防暴警察隨即向天橋上的示威者發射多枚催淚彈，橋上的示威者以欄杆作掩護，亦有人射箭還擊。
此外有逾百名學生在前立法會議員曾鈺成、香港大學講師張達明及其他人的帶領下離開理大校園。曾鈺成表示，校內仍有人選擇留守，如果他們改變主意，亦可由他等人陪同離開。（詳情可參閱端傳媒另一篇報導）
清晨，有示威者在理工大學內嘗試跳渠離開不遂，他們透露較早前亦有10多名示威者曾跳入創新樓的地下渠望能逃離校園，但未知是否成功。消防蛙人後來穿上裝備多次落渠搜索，搜索近2個多小時都未有發現失縱人士。至早上，救護員設立分流站替傷者分流，校園內有多人懷疑吸入不明氣體不適，部分示威者須以錫紙包裹身體保暖，救護員協助離開理大的示威者登記資料後被抬上擔架床送院。
警方在康莊道行人天橋底設立登記處，予在理工大學內留守又未夠18歲的示威者在登記及拍照後離開。張達明早上表示已有逾300人離開校園，亦有留守示威者在家長、校長或老師的陪同下，在拍照及登記個人資料後自行或與來接送的家長一同離去，部份人因身體不適而被帶到尖東消防局休息，亦有部份人被警員鎖上手扣後帶上警車。
行政長官林鄭月娥上午見記者時表示，警方估計已有約600人離開理大，當中有約200人是18歲以下人士，會繼續游說餘下的百多人離開。林鄭月娥指已與警方達成共識，期望以更人性化的手法和平解決理工大學目前的情況。
警方下午在記者會上指出，截至下午3時，在理工大學校園及附近一共有1100人被拘捕或登記，當中600人是自願離開。醫院管理局（醫管局）表示，多間公立醫院急症室現正接收大量來自香港理工大學的傷者，呼籲病人使用其他醫療服務。醫管局指在今早接收約80名來自理工大學的傷者後，現場仍有約200名傷者，在分流後送至12間公立醫院處理。
民主派立法會議員許智峯及張達明等，今日下午近5時再帶同十多名示威者離開理工大學，示威者其後被帶上警車，他指尚有數十人留守在理大校園內，當中包括少數18歲以下的人士。
晚上7點，約有三百人聚集尖沙咀梳士巴利道公園，舉行祈禱會，聲援理大示威者。晚上8至10點，有示威者嘗試從校園其他出口逃離或向警方投降。
該日香港市面氣氛稍見平靜，中環中午時分仍然有上班族在街上聚集叫喊口號，大批防暴警察嚴陣以待，雙方於下午2時開始陸續散去。不過旺角下午仍然有人發起快閃堵路，以雜物堵塞各要道，亦有人自發清理路面。期間，在彌敦道近山東街附近有民眾衝突，有人持壘球棒，亦有數人持斧頭指罵市民。
早前有網絡消息稱，11月18日的被捕者並沒有被警方帶往警署，而是帶往尖沙咀消防總部大廈，對此端傳媒已向警方和消防處問詢。消防處回應稱，因應警方要求，消防處自11月18日借出消防處總部大廈地下一個多用途室予警方之用。警方則確認在康達徑近尖東消防局設立了一個分流站，進行登記等用途。
再有多位示威者嘗試離開不果或投降
晚上8時多，再多10多名示威者嘗試從理大正門逃離，跑向尖東漆咸道南方向。但隨即被防暴警察發現並進行追捕，期間一度傳出多下槍聲。示威者最終折回校園內。近10時45分，再有近10名男女嘗試從理大附近的路軌方向突破警方重圍離開，但隨即被數十名防暴警察發現並制服在地。
晚上9時及10時半左右，一共有近20名示威者從理大正門走向防暴警察投降，其中有多人身披保暖物品，也有示威者是由救護人員用擔架抬出。
晚上10時12分，現任警務署署長鄧炳強到達理工大學外視察，期間和不同警員多次交談，短暫逗留十多分鐘後離去。
天主教教區輔理主教夏志誠，在今晚近10時也到達理大校園探望留守的學生。夏主教接受訪問時表示：「希望幫年輕人看得長遠些，令年輕人可以保住生命」，助事件和平解決。他又指有些問題不是要一日內解決。有記者追問「和平解決」的方法是否就是勸學生投降，夏主教指現在除了投降，他想不到有其他方法可以讓學生和平離開。
今日稍早，有兩名自稱來自廣州的年青人在理大校園內接受《立場新聞》訪問，自稱是來參觀理大旁的歷史博物館的大陸生，在折返後被困。他們自稱沒有參與暴動，請求律師協助。他們的身份暫時未得到確認。
約三百人尖沙咀靜坐聲援理大餘下示威者
晚上約有三百人聚集尖沙咀梳士巴利道公園，舉行祈禱會，聲援理大示威者。聚會現場，有多名市民上台分享想法，多數是批評政府及為香港打氣。亦有理大的教職員到場分享，表示這幾天都很不開心、很希望可以幫助到校園內的學生，但不知可以如何怎麼做。該名教職員最後表示她最終找到辦法送一些被子給校園內的同學。聚會中亦有祈禱環節，有不同教徒上台帶領集會人士為仍被困的示威者禱告。
超過二十名急救員撤離理大
晚上8時許，醫學界議員陳沛然聯同約20名在理工大學校園內留守的義務急救員與記者會面。義務急救員表示因留守在理工大學的人數減少，加上救援物資不足，他們認為已完成職責，並決定於今日離開。記者追問他們是否擔心被捕，他們沒有回應。早前一度有醫護人員被警方拘捕，據悉已獲得保釋。
19名男女被控暴動等罪名，不准保釋
今日再有19名男女在西九龍裁判法院提訊，被控暴動、違反《禁蒙面法》等多項罪名。所有被告人士被控在星期一（18日）在漆咸道南與暢運道交界一帶參與暴動，其中13人是學生，年齡介乎16至29歲。一名報稱任職地盤工人的男子被控「企圖有意圖而縱火」、「管有攻擊性武器或適合作非法用途的工具」兩項罪名，控罪指其涉嫌在旺角黑布街與鼓油街交界向警車擲汽油彈。
所有人一律不獲保釋，案件押後至明年2月再審。
被困學生家長召開記者會
今日下午2時多，有留守理大者的家長在尖沙咀新文華中心外舉起標語靜坐。彭牧師代表家長發言，稱自己都有4名子女是大學畢業或正在就讀大學，但他未有子女留在理工大學內。
彭牧師表示，作為家長最關注的就是子女的安全，指法律問題交由法律解決，強調政府及警察不能在未經法庭裁定就認定示威者是「暴徒」，指普遍示威者因為擔心和害怕被控暴動，因此寧願死守理大。彭牧師指出，以他所知校園內的食物足夠，份量更可供食用一個月，但有部份子女不願與家長對話，亦有些家長擔心言論會影響校園內情況而不敢發言。
彭牧師促請政府不要再用「暴徒」來稱呼留守示威者，認為主動權在於政府，希望政府能先釋出善意，未接受法庭審訊前，不要先向示威者扣「暴動」的帽子，他形容此舉是政府及警察對示威者的恐嚇，唯有法庭才能對他們判罪，不希望未經審訊就用「暴徒」、「暴動」這樣挑釁性的字眼來影響、威脅留守的示威者，希望年輕人能在入黑前安全離開校園。
有家長斥為什麼自己的兒子是學生，學生身處學校都構成暴動罪，彭牧師補充家長們昨日向警察表達不滿時，在場一名女警指他們不要挑釁警方，再在家長沒有任何衝擊的情況下指控他們涉嫌暴動。彭牧師批評政府及警察，自6月起就濫用暴動罪名來「毀壞」年輕人。
許智峯陪同約20名示威者離開理大
接近下午5時，民主派立法會議員許智峯連同守護孩子成員及張達明陪同十多名留守的示威者步出理工大學沿暢運道離開，當中有3人尚未成年。
他們走到科學館徑時，大批防暴警察上前對其搜身、檢查隨身物品等，警察在過程中強調不會使用武力。一眾示威者一字排開、手搭前面人士的肩膀，登上警方安排的車輛。許智峯見狀質疑警方打算作出拘捕行動，他指曾向警方強調，他們一行人只是「離開理工大學」而不是自首。而他亦多次詢問不同警員會不會對他作拘捕，都一致得到不會拘捕的答覆。
在早前警方宣布封鎖理大前已身處理大的許智峯，稱自己已有充足準備面對拘捕，質疑警方之前指所有從校園內出來的人都要拘捕，但自己卻未被拘捕，做法莫名奇妙，認為警方在未作進一步調查的時候就以政治理由作拘捕的篩選，形容警方濫捕。許智峯其後折返理大協助其他留守者。
許智峯在離開理大前曾見記者表示，一些嚴重受傷的示威者在更早前已經離開，而將會在他陪同下離開的數十名示威者都是能走動、僅輕微受傷的人。許智峯指尚有10至20人仍留守在理大校園內，當中包括少數18歲以下的人士，但未能掌握到數字。
許智峯指出，選擇離開的人都不是自願，而是在多次衝突及對峙中筋疲力竭，所以在迫於無奈下離開，好多人都已經逗留在校內8至9日，較晚來的人都在校內睡了2、3晚，又批評警方困住留守者及斷水斷糧的做法不人道。
警方油麻地清場疑釀人踩人事件
昨夜大批示威者聚集在油尖旺一帶，聲援被圍困於理大的示威者，其後爆發多次警民衝突。晚上11時半左右，警方在油麻地展開拘捕行動，一度前後包抄數百名示威市民。從網上片段可見，市民爭相避走入碧街後，現場傳出8下疑似槍聲及閃光，隨後警察拘捕數人。另有片段顯示，與此同時，警方防線在推進的同時，原本緊隨其後的3輛白色小巴在警員讓路後，其中2輛突然加速衝向示威人群。
一名自稱身處現場的義務急救員在連登發帖，指碧街昨晚發生人踩人事件，並稱抵達現場後已見到有60至70名市民「人疊人」疊到最少4層，場面危險。據《傳真社》報導，警方在12時多將附近一帶圍封，窩打老道及彌敦道泊滿救護車在場候命，前後最少有13名傷者送醫，有70至80人被制服在道路兩邊，大量消防及救護員在場照顧傷者。
行動部高級警司汪威遜今日在記者會上承認，在油麻地的行動中曾使用「閃光彈」，因「有近千人衝擊警方，要以閃光彈引起示威者注意免被搶犯」。有關白色小巴衝向人群的網上片段，他解釋「駕駛速度快不代表不安全」，又稱「警方無做過一件事罔顧人命」，續指駕駛車輛的警員經過良好訓練。警察公共關係科高級警司江永祥補充，昨晚拘捕過程中並無接獲人踩人報告，又指有逾30人報稱受傷送院治理。
民主黨前主席何俊仁遇襲
晚上約7時，民主黨前主席何俊仁在港鐵天后站附近遇襲。晚上9時35分，何俊仁在醫院門外接受記者訪問，指他是在回家途中於天后站B出口附近的一條橫巷，被兩名黑衣蒙面男子以長型的棍狀硬物襲擊。何俊仁的頭部、背部及手部受傷，其中後背被毆打多棍造成近6、7道血痕，雙手亦有傷口。事發後，何自行到律敦治醫院求醫。何表示已與警方落了初步口供，但未知施襲者為何人。
反修例風波至今，已有多名政治人物遇襲，包括立法會議員林卓廷、鄺俊宇，民陣召集人岑子杰，及6名區選的獨立或泛民派候選人。建制派立法會議員何君堯亦曾於本月遇襲。
曾鈺成救人惹網絡猜測
昨夜（11月18日）立法會前主席曾鈺成等抵達現場，他甫到場見到「守護孩子」成員，就在一眾媒體前問：「朱媛是不是在這裏？」事件後來在網上引起哄動，傳出「朱媛是朱鎔基孫女，曾鈺成才去救人」的傳言。曾鈺成今日澄清，在昨日下午收到一名普通市民求助，指校內有輕度弱智人士所以決定到場協助，強調絕非救助任何達官貴人的親屬。而一名與曾鈺成一同離開，身穿粉紅色上衣的女子被網民指其為朱媛，曾鈺成亦澄清粉紅色上衣女子不是朱媛，而她亦不是首名向曾鈺成救助的人。
而據《香港01》報導，守護孩子行動發起人陳凱興證實其義工團隊確有人名為朱媛，但未知其他詳情。
中環午飯時間快閃集會
今日午飯時間，續有百多名身穿西裝的白領在中環畢打街聚集，響應網上「和理lunch」的號召。群眾佔據馬路不夠數分鐘，就有約30名防暴警察到場驅趕，並至少7度舉起藍旗警告在場人士正參與非法集結，要求立即散去否則使用武力。
在場市民仍不斷高喊「解散警隊 刻不容緩」、「黑警死全家」等的口號。有指揮官指定部份市民並用擴音器警告「你再叫口號我就可以用非法集結拘捕你」，又指「如果你是珍惜前途就快點離開」，有警員在市民叫口號的時候向其高呼「曱甴」，至2時多聚集的人群開始散去，防暴警察在2時10分倒亦收隊。
教育局宣布明日復課
教育局宣布，因應路面及交通情況逐步回穩，全港小學、中學及部分特殊學校於明日恢復上課，而幼稚園、肢體傷殘兒童學校及智障兒童學校則停課至11月24日。教育局建議學校按校本機制採取應變措施，彈性處理個別學生因交通問題而遲到或缺席的事宜。如個別學校受事件影響而需要較長時間才能復課，可訂定校本應變措施，並盡早通知家長，又指如果個別學校有特殊需要，教育局可提供適切支援。教育局在宣布的末項再次提醒學生放學後應盡快返回家中，不要在街上流連，更切勿參加違法活動。
https://theinitium.com/article/20191119-whatsnew-hkpolyu-protest-day3/
香港理工大學示威者與防暴警察連續三日對峙。11月19日凌晨至夜晚，共有數百位示威者以不同方式離開校園，警方稱其中有約800人是自願離開，當中近300人未滿18歲。當晚，多人曾嘗試從被困校園的不同出口逃離，但有的失敗折返校園，有的被捕，另外也有人走向警方投降。據仍留在現場的端傳媒記者觀察，截至11月20日凌晨，校園內仍餘少量示威者。
而在11月20日凌晨接近1點，香港大學校長張翔，在港大法律學院院長張達明的陪同下，抵達理工大學，教育界議員葉建源、醫學界議員陳沛然亦在場。他們表示要與餘下的示威者商討，再向記者交代詳情。
以下為11月19日的簡要復盤。
凌晨，過百名示威者從行人天橋游繩到馬路上，有人駕駛電單車駛至接應載走示威者，部分人徒步離開。游繩逃離的路線在數分鐘內被在天橋附近戒備的防暴警察發現，防暴警察隨即向天橋上的示威者發射多枚催淚彈，橋上的示威者以欄杆作掩護，亦有人射箭還擊。
此外有逾百名學生在前立法會議員曾鈺成、香港大學講師張達明及其他人的帶領下離開理大校園。曾鈺成表示，校內仍有人選擇留守，如果他們改變主意，亦可由他等人陪同離開。（詳情可參閱端傳媒另一篇報導）
清晨，有示威者在理工大學內嘗試跳渠離開不遂，他們透露較早前亦有10多名示威者曾跳入創新樓的地下渠望能逃離校園，但未知是否成功。消防蛙人後來穿上裝備多次落渠搜索，搜索近2個多小時都未有發現失縱人士。至早上，救護員設立分流站替傷者分流，校園內有多人懷疑吸入不明氣體不適，部分示威者須以錫紙包裹身體保暖，救護員協助離開理大的示威者登記資料後被抬上擔架床送院。
警方在康莊道行人天橋底設立登記處，予在理工大學內留守又未夠18歲的示威者在登記及拍照後離開。張達明早上表示已有逾300人離開校園，亦有留守示威者在家長、校長或老師的陪同下，在拍照及登記個人資料後自行或與來接送的家長一同離去，部份人因身體不適而被帶到尖東消防局休息，亦有部份人被警員鎖上手扣後帶上警車。
行政長官林鄭月娥上午見記者時表示，警方估計已有約600人離開理大，當中有約200人是18歲以下人士，會繼續游說餘下的百多人離開。林鄭月娥指已與警方達成共識，期望以更人性化的手法和平解決理工大學目前的情況。
警方下午在記者會上指出，截至下午3時，在理工大學校園及附近一共有1100人被拘捕或登記，當中600人是自願離開。醫院管理局（醫管局）表示，多間公立醫院急症室現正接收大量來自香港理工大學的傷者，呼籲病人使用其他醫療服務。醫管局指在今早接收約80名來自理工大學的傷者後，現場仍有約200名傷者，在分流後送至12間公立醫院處理。
民主派立法會議員許智峯及張達明等，今日下午近5時再帶同十多名示威者離開理工大學，示威者其後被帶上警車，他指尚有數十人留守在理大校園內，當中包括少數18歲以下的人士。
晚上7點，約有三百人聚集尖沙咀梳士巴利道公園，舉行祈禱會，聲援理大示威者。晚上8至10點，有示威者嘗試從校園其他出口逃離或向警方投降。
該日香港市面氣氛稍見平靜，中環中午時分仍然有上班族在街上聚集叫喊口號，大批防暴警察嚴陣以待，雙方於下午2時開始陸續散去。不過旺角下午仍然有人發起快閃堵路，以雜物堵塞各要道，亦有人自發清理路面。期間，在彌敦道近山東街附近有民眾衝突，有人持壘球棒，亦有數人持斧頭指罵市民。
早前有網絡消息稱，11月18日的被捕者並沒有被警方帶往警署，而是帶往尖沙咀消防總部大廈，對此端傳媒已向警方和消防處問詢。消防處回應稱，因應警方要求，消防處自11月18日借出消防處總部大廈地下一個多用途室予警方之用。警方則確認在康達徑近尖東消防局設立了一個分流站，進行登記等用途。
再有多位示威者嘗試離開不果或投降
晚上8時多，再多10多名示威者嘗試從理大正門逃離，跑向尖東漆咸道南方向。但隨即被防暴警察發現並進行追捕，期間一度傳出多下槍聲。示威者最終折回校園內。近10時45分，再有近10名男女嘗試從理大附近的路軌方向突破警方重圍離開，但隨即被數十名防暴警察發現並制服在地。
晚上9時及10時半左右，一共有近20名示威者從理大正門走向防暴警察投降，其中有多人身披保暖物品，也有示威者是由救護人員用擔架抬出。
晚上10時12分，現任警務署署長鄧炳強到達理工大學外視察，期間和不同警員多次交談，短暫逗留十多分鐘後離去。
天主教教區輔理主教夏志誠，在今晚近10時也到達理大校園探望留守的學生。夏主教接受訪問時表示：「希望幫年輕人看得長遠些，令年輕人可以保住生命」，助事件和平解決。他又指有些問題不是要一日內解決。有記者追問「和平解決」的方法是否就是勸學生投降，夏主教指現在除了投降，他想不到有其他方法可以讓學生和平離開。
今日稍早，有兩名自稱來自廣州的年青人在理大校園內接受《立場新聞》訪問，自稱是來參觀理大旁的歷史博物館的大陸生，在折返後被困。他們自稱沒有參與暴動，請求律師協助。他們的身份暫時未得到確認。
約三百人尖沙咀靜坐聲援理大餘下示威者
晚上約有三百人聚集尖沙咀梳士巴利道公園，舉行祈禱會，聲援理大示威者。聚會現場，有多名市民上台分享想法，多數是批評政府及為香港打氣。亦有理大的教職員到場分享，表示這幾天都很不開心、很希望可以幫助到校園內的學生，但不知可以如何怎麼做。該名教職員最後表示她最終找到辦法送一些被子給校園內的同學。聚會中亦有祈禱環節，有不同教徒上台帶領集會人士為仍被困的示威者禱告。
超過二十名急救員撤離理大
晚上8時許，醫學界議員陳沛然聯同約20名在理工大學校園內留守的義務急救員與記者會面。義務急救員表示因留守在理工大學的人數減少，加上救援物資不足，他們認為已完成職責，並決定於今日離開。記者追問他們是否擔心被捕，他們沒有回應。早前一度有醫護人員被警方拘捕，據悉已獲得保釋。
19名男女被控暴動等罪名，不准保釋
今日再有19名男女在西九龍裁判法院提訊，被控暴動、違反《禁蒙面法》等多項罪名。所有被告人士被控在星期一（18日）在漆咸道南與暢運道交界一帶參與暴動，其中13人是學生，年齡介乎16至29歲。一名報稱任職地盤工人的男子被控「企圖有意圖而縱火」、「管有攻擊性武器或適合作非法用途的工具」兩項罪名，控罪指其涉嫌在旺角黑布街與鼓油街交界向警車擲汽油彈。
所有人一律不獲保釋，案件押後至明年2月再審。
被困學生家長召開記者會
今日下午2時多，有留守理大者的家長在尖沙咀新文華中心外舉起標語靜坐。彭牧師代表家長發言，稱自己都有4名子女是大學畢業或正在就讀大學，但他未有子女留在理工大學內。
彭牧師表示，作為家長最關注的就是子女的安全，指法律問題交由法律解決，強調政府及警察不能在未經法庭裁定就認定示威者是「暴徒」，指普遍示威者因為擔心和害怕被控暴動，因此寧願死守理大。彭牧師指出，以他所知校園內的食物足夠，份量更可供食用一個月，但有部份子女不願與家長對話，亦有些家長擔心言論會影響校園內情況而不敢發言。
彭牧師促請政府不要再用「暴徒」來稱呼留守示威者，認為主動權在於政府，希望政府能先釋出善意，未接受法庭審訊前，不要先向示威者扣「暴動」的帽子，他形容此舉是政府及警察對示威者的恐嚇，唯有法庭才能對他們判罪，不希望未經審訊就用「暴徒」、「暴動」這樣挑釁性的字眼來影響、威脅留守的示威者，希望年輕人能在入黑前安全離開校園。
有家長斥為什麼自己的兒子是學生，學生身處學校都構成暴動罪，彭牧師補充家長們昨日向警察表達不滿時，在場一名女警指他們不要挑釁警方，再在家長沒有任何衝擊的情況下指控他們涉嫌暴動。彭牧師批評政府及警察，自6月起就濫用暴動罪名來「毀壞」年輕人。
許智峯陪同約20名示威者離開理大
接近下午5時，民主派立法會議員許智峯連同守護孩子成員及張達明陪同十多名留守的示威者步出理工大學沿暢運道離開，當中有3人尚未成年。
他們走到科學館徑時，大批防暴警察上前對其搜身、檢查隨身物品等，警察在過程中強調不會使用武力。一眾示威者一字排開、手搭前面人士的肩膀，登上警方安排的車輛。許智峯見狀質疑警方打算作出拘捕行動，他指曾向警方強調，他們一行人只是「離開理工大學」而不是自首。而他亦多次詢問不同警員會不會對他作拘捕，都一致得到不會拘捕的答覆。
在早前警方宣布封鎖理大前已身處理大的許智峯，稱自己已有充足準備面對拘捕，質疑警方之前指所有從校園內出來的人都要拘捕，但自己卻未被拘捕，做法莫名奇妙，認為警方在未作進一步調查的時候就以政治理由作拘捕的篩選，形容警方濫捕。許智峯其後折返理大協助其他留守者。
許智峯在離開理大前曾見記者表示，一些嚴重受傷的示威者在更早前已經離開，而將會在他陪同下離開的數十名示威者都是能走動、僅輕微受傷的人。許智峯指尚有10至20人仍留守在理大校園內，當中包括少數18歲以下的人士，但未能掌握到數字。
許智峯指出，選擇離開的人都不是自願，而是在多次衝突及對峙中筋疲力竭，所以在迫於無奈下離開，好多人都已經逗留在校內8至9日，較晚來的人都在校內睡了2、3晚，又批評警方困住留守者及斷水斷糧的做法不人道。
警方油麻地清場疑釀人踩人事件
昨夜大批示威者聚集在油尖旺一帶，聲援被圍困於理大的示威者，其後爆發多次警民衝突。晚上11時半左右，警方在油麻地展開拘捕行動，一度前後包抄數百名示威市民。從網上片段可見，市民爭相避走入碧街後，現場傳出8下疑似槍聲及閃光，隨後警察拘捕數人。另有片段顯示，與此同時，警方防線在推進的同時，原本緊隨其後的3輛白色小巴在警員讓路後，其中2輛突然加速衝向示威人群。
一名自稱身處現場的義務急救員在連登發帖，指碧街昨晚發生人踩人事件，並稱抵達現場後已見到有60至70名市民「人疊人」疊到最少4層，場面危險。據《傳真社》報導，警方在12時多將附近一帶圍封，窩打老道及彌敦道泊滿救護車在場候命，前後最少有13名傷者送醫，有70至80人被制服在道路兩邊，大量消防及救護員在場照顧傷者。
行動部高級警司汪威遜今日在記者會上承認，在油麻地的行動中曾使用「閃光彈」，因「有近千人衝擊警方，要以閃光彈引起示威者注意免被搶犯」。有關白色小巴衝向人群的網上片段，他解釋「駕駛速度快不代表不安全」，又稱「警方無做過一件事罔顧人命」，續指駕駛車輛的警員經過良好訓練。警察公共關係科高級警司江永祥補充，昨晚拘捕過程中並無接獲人踩人報告，又指有逾30人報稱受傷送院治理。
民主黨前主席何俊仁遇襲
晚上約7時，民主黨前主席何俊仁在港鐵天后站附近遇襲。晚上9時35分，何俊仁在醫院門外接受記者訪問，指他是在回家途中於天后站B出口附近的一條橫巷，被兩名黑衣蒙面男子以長型的棍狀硬物襲擊。何俊仁的頭部、背部及手部受傷，其中後背被毆打多棍造成近6、7道血痕，雙手亦有傷口。事發後，何自行到律敦治醫院求醫。何表示已與警方落了初步口供，但未知施襲者為何人。
反修例風波至今，已有多名政治人物遇襲，包括立法會議員林卓廷、鄺俊宇，民陣召集人岑子杰，及6名區選的獨立或泛民派候選人。建制派立法會議員何君堯亦曾於本月遇襲。
曾鈺成救人惹網絡猜測
昨夜（11月18日）立法會前主席曾鈺成等抵達現場，他甫到場見到「守護孩子」成員，就在一眾媒體前問：「朱媛是不是在這裏？」事件後來在網上引起哄動，傳出「朱媛是朱鎔基孫女，曾鈺成才去救人」的傳言。曾鈺成今日澄清，在昨日下午收到一名普通市民求助，指校內有輕度弱智人士所以決定到場協助，強調絕非救助任何達官貴人的親屬。而一名與曾鈺成一同離開，身穿粉紅色上衣的女子被網民指其為朱媛，曾鈺成亦澄清粉紅色上衣女子不是朱媛，而她亦不是首名向曾鈺成救助的人。
而據《香港01》報導，守護孩子行動發起人陳凱興證實其義工團隊確有人名為朱媛，但未知其他詳情。
中環午飯時間快閃集會
今日午飯時間，續有百多名身穿西裝的白領在中環畢打街聚集，響應網上「和理lunch」的號召。群眾佔據馬路不夠數分鐘，就有約30名防暴警察到場驅趕，並至少7度舉起藍旗警告在場人士正參與非法集結，要求立即散去否則使用武力。
在場市民仍不斷高喊「解散警隊 刻不容緩」、「黑警死全家」等的口號。有指揮官指定部份市民並用擴音器警告「你再叫口號我就可以用非法集結拘捕你」，又指「如果你是珍惜前途就快點離開」，有警員在市民叫口號的時候向其高呼「曱甴」，至2時多聚集的人群開始散去，防暴警察在2時10分倒亦收隊。
教育局宣布明日復課
教育局宣布，因應路面及交通情況逐步回穩，全港小學、中學及部分特殊學校於明日恢復上課，而幼稚園、肢體傷殘兒童學校及智障兒童學校則停課至11月24日。教育局建議學校按校本機制採取應變措施，彈性處理個別學生因交通問題而遲到或缺席的事宜。如個別學校受事件影響而需要較長時間才能復課，可訂定校本應變措施，並盡早通知家長，又指如果個別學校有特殊需要，教育局可提供適切支援。教育局在宣布的末項再次提醒學生放學後應盡快返回家中，不要在街上流連，更切勿參加違法活動。
https://theinitium.com/article/20191119-whatsnew-hkpolyu-protest-day3/
Sunday, November 17, 2019
[端新聞], !即時 Instant News, 誰發明了新疆再教育營？《紐約時報》獲400頁文件揭其政治動員過程
若文件可信，則新疆的民族政策鉅變源於2014年。領導人要求吸取西方反恐教訓，一場對抗「病毒」和「感染」的「人民戰爭」席捲一切。有官員抵觸政策，遭到懲罰。
編者按：關於新疆民族問題的前世今生，端傳媒曾經在「七五」事件十週年紀念時刊出深度文章《「七五」事件十週年：為何「發展」與「開明」沒能解決新疆問題？》，為讀者梳理近十年來新疆發生的鉅變背後的社會經濟肇因。
香港時間11月16日，《紐約時報》在頭版刊出獨家長篇報導，指獲得超過400頁內部文件，揭露新疆「再教育營」大規模拘禁的政治決策和運作方式。
這些涉及新疆情況的文件中，包括了中共中央總書記習近平在不同場合發表的講話（共96頁），新疆維吾爾自治區黨委書記陳全國、自治區政法委書記朱海侖等官員在多個內部會議上的講話和指示（共102頁）、新疆內部有關監視、管控維吾爾人的各類報告（共161頁）以及黨和政府內對官員的調查材料（共44頁）。
《紐約時報》指為了保護提供文件一方，這些文件都被重新錄入和編排，並消除了可能提示來源的信息。
報導撰稿之一的記者 Austin Ramzy 在其推特上表示，他報導中國多年，這樣大規模的內部文件外露從未見過。
浮出水面的「再教育」系統
自2017年來，新疆地區不斷傳出有大規模拘禁和對以少數民族為主的群體進行「再教育」的情況，但事實信息較少。
2018年初，外國媒體開始刊出一系列調查報導，包括衞星地圖對比照片，提供了許多證明這類營區廣泛存在的證據，但中國官方直至年中仍然否認。在8月的一場國際會議上，被視為在對疆工作中地位重要的學者胡聯合即否認存在「再教育營」。
但到了這年入秋，政府開始改變口徑，承認「再教育」系統的存在。不過，他們強調那只是「去極端化」和「職業技能教育培訓」。
在中國官方媒體新華社的一篇新聞稿中，自治區主席雪克來提·扎克爾表示，這套系統是為了「受恐怖主義和極端主義影響，涉嫌犯罪但情節較輕依法不需要判處刑罰或者可以免除刑罰的人員，在依法寬大處理的同時，通過職業技能教育培訓機構向其提供免費職業技能教育培訓，以此增強他們在掌握國家通用語言文字、法律知識以及職業技能等方面的能力，從根本上築牢抵禦恐怖主義和極端主義滲透的防線。」
從2019年初開始，更多的資料流出。如「人權觀察」組織就指控稱，當局在新疆以「一體化」平台監管當地所有人從通信到汽車加油的一舉一動。有媒體指，隨着大規模拘禁，許多傳統社區亦遭到強制拆毀。媒體亦報導了系統性對新疆少數民族知識分子、藝術家和各界人士的逮捕、拘禁。
2019年1月，有22個國家在聯合國人權理事會聯名譴責中國的新疆政策，中國官媒則報導有超過50國致函支持中國。同期，北京開始邀請外交官乃至BBC記者探訪「再教育營」。
就這套系統的收押規模，至今為止沒有官方數據，但許多人估算認為，這套系統在高峰期可以收押數十萬到上百萬人。
2019年8月16日，國務院新聞辦公室曾經發布《新疆的職業技能教育培訓工作》白皮書，稱「大多數學員已達到培訓要求順利結業。」
自上而下的全面動員
據《紐約時報》記者 Austin Ramzy 在推特上公布的信息，這些超過400頁的文件，來源於一位匿名的「中國政治建制中人」（a member of the Chinese political establishment）。《紐約時報》整理了其中涉及政治決策和動員的部分。從整理中可以看到，再教育系統是一個從上到下的層層動員的體系，且開始時就估測了政治後果並計劃無視可能引起的批評。
這一切源於2014年。中共中央總書記在國家最高領導人任上第一次訪問新疆，開始扭轉2009年「七五」事件後胡温時代的對疆政策。《紐約時報》指習近平發表了一系列秘密講話，講話內容中要求對宗教極端勢力「針鋒相對，毫不留情」。
2014年發生了多起暴力恐怖襲擊事件，包括3月份在昆明火車站造成35人死亡的襲擊事件、4月30日造成3人死亡的烏魯木齊南站爆炸事件，以及7月在南疆莎車縣造成37人死亡的襲擊事件，等等。
報導中提到，習近平不認為單純經濟發展能夠解決新疆問題，「新疆這些年發展速度很快、人民生活水平不斷提高，但民族分子分裂活動和暴力恐怖活動仍然呈上升……這說明，經濟發展並不能自然而然帶來長治久安。」
國際反恐戰爭和伊斯蘭問題看似也對政策轉變帶來了推動作用，報導指習近平在講話中要求新疆官員學習美國反恐戰爭的經驗，並且預防美國撤出阿富汗之後中亞的極端分子滲透。
隨後的2016年，原西藏自治區書記陳全國調任新疆。在《紐約時報》披露的文件中，這位新任書記在2017年8月的一次內部視頻講話中把「職業技能教育培訓轉化中心」稱為「新疆貫徹落實總書記新疆工作總目標創造的好方法、好經驗」。與之並列的還有引入新技術的「一體化」監控模式等其他新舉措。
《紐約時報》指陳全國積極地在任上迅速擴大了「再教育」系統，「為表明這場運動的正確性，陳全國把習近平的講話分發給官員們，敦促他們『應收盡收』」。
報導中將這種運動式的治理模式類比為毛時代促進糧食增長或其他類似政治運動的模式。
強制「再教育」被看作「治病」
在此次披露出的內容中，從最高層到基層的官員、幹部，都用「治病」來理解「去極端化」的政策。
《紐約時報》在報導中引述其獲得的一份中共中央總書記習近平的內部講話，稱他在講話中「有時把伊斯蘭極端主義比作病毒傳播的傳染病，也有時把它比作讓人上癮的危險毒品，他宣稱，解決這個問題需要經過一個『干預治療陣痛期』」。
在《紐約時報》放出全文的其中兩份文件中，一份名為「吐魯番市集中教育培訓學校學員子女問答策略」的檔案詳細介紹瞭如何向被「再教育」者家屬解釋再教育系統的性質和目的。這套語言將「宗教極端主義」視為一種會隨時輕易傳播的病毒，為了預防「感染」，就算是輕微的接觸，也不乏送去封閉「學習」的必要。
文件強調了要向這些人普及「黨和國家包辦一切」的思想，所有學費、農活，一切全都「不必擔心」，因為「黨和政府替你解決」。
「問答策略」的目的，是幫助幹部應對被「學習」人士的家屬質問。其中指出，要向家屬解釋，他們的親人沒犯罪，不會判刑，但「思想上受到了感染」。
「只有在我們學校進行系統封閉式的『住院治療』後，徹底地消除了宗教極端和暴力恐怖思想，才能讓思想盡快恢復健康……在沒有得到根治的情況下，就立即回家，會把病毒傳染給你家人，導致一家人都生病」，文件中主張這樣向家人解釋為何被送去「學習」的人士不能和家人會面（可以偶爾視頻）並需要被關押較長時間。
文件還顯示，進入再教育營的人，需要學習「通用語言」即漢語，並且官方將對他們和家人進行「雙向考核」，在營內成員需要滿足各類指標的同時，家人也要被評估是否滿足政府要求，內外同時達標的情況下，營內親屬才可以申請離開。
這份文件還從側面反映出一些基礎事實，比如「再教育」並沒有年齡門檻。其中提到「無論年齡多大，只要受到宗教極端思想的感染，都應該參加學習」。但該文件並沒有提到怎樣具體的行為會導致被送去「再教育」。
在文件後半部分的第十三條中，官方預設了這樣一個問答場景：有親屬質問官員「你們給我家人辦的護照讓他們出去旅遊，電視上也說了可以出國旅遊，可是一回國就把他們帶到這裏了」，要求官方給出解釋。
而解釋部分則指出，只要有人從「敏感國家」回國，就需要被送去「住院治療」：「只要我們的人一到敏感國家，他們就千方百計……洗腦策反……因為他們去的是極端宗教思想嚴重的國家……回國後非常有必要對他們進行法制教育和愛國主義教育。」
秘密調查小組尋找「做得不夠」的官員
在這些文件中，還包括了前莎車縣委書記王勇智的一份認罪書。1964年出生於甘肅天水的王勇智，長年在新疆工作，於2015年就任喀什地區地委委員、莎車縣委書記，掌管這個人口近90萬人的南疆大縣。2018年，官方宣布王已經「落馬」並被「雙開」（開除黨籍，開除公職）。
在一份通稿中，官方指控王「嚴重違反政治紀律和政治規矩，嚴重違背黨中央治疆方略，履行全面從嚴治黨主體責任不力……違規修建樓堂館所，公款吃喝，收受禮品、禮金；違反組織紀律，不如實報告個人有關事項，在幹部選拔任用中大搞權錢交易……喪失理想信念，集政治蜕變、經濟貪婪、擅權妄為、道德敗壞於一身。」他隨即被移送檢察機關審理。
《紐約時報>稱，在其向組織交代的15頁認罪書中，王提到了另外兩件事——一是他在貫徹北京下達的扶貧任務時，強制將一些居民遷入冬天尚未有採暖設備的樓房，導致部分人燒柴取暖造成中毒傷亡。其二是，他對從上到下下達的「應收盡收」的強硬「再教育」政策有所保留。
「作為黨員幹部，我毫無黨性原則，不能和黨中央保持高度一致，不能自覺維護黨中央的絕對權威」，文件中寫到，「自比比黨中央和自治區黨委更了解喀什地區實際情況，上級的決策部署和基層實際差距大，不能照搬照套，必須有選擇抓落實。因此，在執行自治區黨委『應收盡收』要求中，打折扣、做選擇、搞變通，認為收多了會人為製造矛盾，增加抵觸情緒，加劇社會不穩定因素……」這份據信是王勇智自述的文件稱自己「擅自作主」，在全縣已經收押的2萬人中釋放了7000人，「給社會穩定帶來嚴重隱患」。
《紐約時報》指官方有秘密調查小組對各級官員執行政策的力度進行監督，「尋找那些做得不夠的人」。文中還提到，同時期落馬的阿克陶縣原縣委書記谷文勝，也是因為試圖放慢收押過程而受到懲罰。
在2019年7月國務院新聞辦公室發布的《新疆的若干歷史問題》白皮書中，北京政府高度讚揚當前的新疆情況，「當前，新疆經濟持續發展，社會和諧穩定，民生不斷改善，文化空前繁榮，宗教和睦和順，各族人民像石榴籽一樣緊緊團結在一起，新疆處於歷史上最好的繁榮發展時期。境外敵對勢力與『三股勢力』沆瀣一氣，杜撰歷史、歪曲事實，逆歷史潮流而動，其結果必將被歷史和人民所唾棄。」
但仍然有許多觀察者擔憂，大規模的「嚴打」和「再教育」系統，會否為未來的族群衝突埋下難以解開的導火索。
https://theinitium.com/article/20191117-whatsnew-mainland-xinjiang-nyt/
編者按：關於新疆民族問題的前世今生，端傳媒曾經在「七五」事件十週年紀念時刊出深度文章《「七五」事件十週年：為何「發展」與「開明」沒能解決新疆問題？》，為讀者梳理近十年來新疆發生的鉅變背後的社會經濟肇因。
香港時間11月16日，《紐約時報》在頭版刊出獨家長篇報導，指獲得超過400頁內部文件，揭露新疆「再教育營」大規模拘禁的政治決策和運作方式。
這些涉及新疆情況的文件中，包括了中共中央總書記習近平在不同場合發表的講話（共96頁），新疆維吾爾自治區黨委書記陳全國、自治區政法委書記朱海侖等官員在多個內部會議上的講話和指示（共102頁）、新疆內部有關監視、管控維吾爾人的各類報告（共161頁）以及黨和政府內對官員的調查材料（共44頁）。
《紐約時報》指為了保護提供文件一方，這些文件都被重新錄入和編排，並消除了可能提示來源的信息。
報導撰稿之一的記者 Austin Ramzy 在其推特上表示，他報導中國多年，這樣大規模的內部文件外露從未見過。
浮出水面的「再教育」系統
自2017年來，新疆地區不斷傳出有大規模拘禁和對以少數民族為主的群體進行「再教育」的情況，但事實信息較少。
2018年初，外國媒體開始刊出一系列調查報導，包括衞星地圖對比照片，提供了許多證明這類營區廣泛存在的證據，但中國官方直至年中仍然否認。在8月的一場國際會議上，被視為在對疆工作中地位重要的學者胡聯合即否認存在「再教育營」。
但到了這年入秋，政府開始改變口徑，承認「再教育」系統的存在。不過，他們強調那只是「去極端化」和「職業技能教育培訓」。
在中國官方媒體新華社的一篇新聞稿中，自治區主席雪克來提·扎克爾表示，這套系統是為了「受恐怖主義和極端主義影響，涉嫌犯罪但情節較輕依法不需要判處刑罰或者可以免除刑罰的人員，在依法寬大處理的同時，通過職業技能教育培訓機構向其提供免費職業技能教育培訓，以此增強他們在掌握國家通用語言文字、法律知識以及職業技能等方面的能力，從根本上築牢抵禦恐怖主義和極端主義滲透的防線。」
從2019年初開始，更多的資料流出。如「人權觀察」組織就指控稱，當局在新疆以「一體化」平台監管當地所有人從通信到汽車加油的一舉一動。有媒體指，隨着大規模拘禁，許多傳統社區亦遭到強制拆毀。媒體亦報導了系統性對新疆少數民族知識分子、藝術家和各界人士的逮捕、拘禁。
2019年1月，有22個國家在聯合國人權理事會聯名譴責中國的新疆政策，中國官媒則報導有超過50國致函支持中國。同期，北京開始邀請外交官乃至BBC記者探訪「再教育營」。
就這套系統的收押規模，至今為止沒有官方數據，但許多人估算認為，這套系統在高峰期可以收押數十萬到上百萬人。
2019年8月16日，國務院新聞辦公室曾經發布《新疆的職業技能教育培訓工作》白皮書，稱「大多數學員已達到培訓要求順利結業。」
自上而下的全面動員
據《紐約時報》記者 Austin Ramzy 在推特上公布的信息，這些超過400頁的文件，來源於一位匿名的「中國政治建制中人」（a member of the Chinese political establishment）。《紐約時報》整理了其中涉及政治決策和動員的部分。從整理中可以看到，再教育系統是一個從上到下的層層動員的體系，且開始時就估測了政治後果並計劃無視可能引起的批評。
這一切源於2014年。中共中央總書記在國家最高領導人任上第一次訪問新疆，開始扭轉2009年「七五」事件後胡温時代的對疆政策。《紐約時報》指習近平發表了一系列秘密講話，講話內容中要求對宗教極端勢力「針鋒相對，毫不留情」。
2014年發生了多起暴力恐怖襲擊事件，包括3月份在昆明火車站造成35人死亡的襲擊事件、4月30日造成3人死亡的烏魯木齊南站爆炸事件，以及7月在南疆莎車縣造成37人死亡的襲擊事件，等等。
報導中提到，習近平不認為單純經濟發展能夠解決新疆問題，「新疆這些年發展速度很快、人民生活水平不斷提高，但民族分子分裂活動和暴力恐怖活動仍然呈上升……這說明，經濟發展並不能自然而然帶來長治久安。」
國際反恐戰爭和伊斯蘭問題看似也對政策轉變帶來了推動作用，報導指習近平在講話中要求新疆官員學習美國反恐戰爭的經驗，並且預防美國撤出阿富汗之後中亞的極端分子滲透。
隨後的2016年，原西藏自治區書記陳全國調任新疆。在《紐約時報》披露的文件中，這位新任書記在2017年8月的一次內部視頻講話中把「職業技能教育培訓轉化中心」稱為「新疆貫徹落實總書記新疆工作總目標創造的好方法、好經驗」。與之並列的還有引入新技術的「一體化」監控模式等其他新舉措。
《紐約時報》指陳全國積極地在任上迅速擴大了「再教育」系統，「為表明這場運動的正確性，陳全國把習近平的講話分發給官員們，敦促他們『應收盡收』」。
報導中將這種運動式的治理模式類比為毛時代促進糧食增長或其他類似政治運動的模式。
強制「再教育」被看作「治病」
在此次披露出的內容中，從最高層到基層的官員、幹部，都用「治病」來理解「去極端化」的政策。
《紐約時報》在報導中引述其獲得的一份中共中央總書記習近平的內部講話，稱他在講話中「有時把伊斯蘭極端主義比作病毒傳播的傳染病，也有時把它比作讓人上癮的危險毒品，他宣稱，解決這個問題需要經過一個『干預治療陣痛期』」。
在《紐約時報》放出全文的其中兩份文件中，一份名為「吐魯番市集中教育培訓學校學員子女問答策略」的檔案詳細介紹瞭如何向被「再教育」者家屬解釋再教育系統的性質和目的。這套語言將「宗教極端主義」視為一種會隨時輕易傳播的病毒，為了預防「感染」，就算是輕微的接觸，也不乏送去封閉「學習」的必要。
文件強調了要向這些人普及「黨和國家包辦一切」的思想，所有學費、農活，一切全都「不必擔心」，因為「黨和政府替你解決」。
「問答策略」的目的，是幫助幹部應對被「學習」人士的家屬質問。其中指出，要向家屬解釋，他們的親人沒犯罪，不會判刑，但「思想上受到了感染」。
「只有在我們學校進行系統封閉式的『住院治療』後，徹底地消除了宗教極端和暴力恐怖思想，才能讓思想盡快恢復健康……在沒有得到根治的情況下，就立即回家，會把病毒傳染給你家人，導致一家人都生病」，文件中主張這樣向家人解釋為何被送去「學習」的人士不能和家人會面（可以偶爾視頻）並需要被關押較長時間。
文件還顯示，進入再教育營的人，需要學習「通用語言」即漢語，並且官方將對他們和家人進行「雙向考核」，在營內成員需要滿足各類指標的同時，家人也要被評估是否滿足政府要求，內外同時達標的情況下，營內親屬才可以申請離開。
這份文件還從側面反映出一些基礎事實，比如「再教育」並沒有年齡門檻。其中提到「無論年齡多大，只要受到宗教極端思想的感染，都應該參加學習」。但該文件並沒有提到怎樣具體的行為會導致被送去「再教育」。
在文件後半部分的第十三條中，官方預設了這樣一個問答場景：有親屬質問官員「你們給我家人辦的護照讓他們出去旅遊，電視上也說了可以出國旅遊，可是一回國就把他們帶到這裏了」，要求官方給出解釋。
而解釋部分則指出，只要有人從「敏感國家」回國，就需要被送去「住院治療」：「只要我們的人一到敏感國家，他們就千方百計……洗腦策反……因為他們去的是極端宗教思想嚴重的國家……回國後非常有必要對他們進行法制教育和愛國主義教育。」
秘密調查小組尋找「做得不夠」的官員
在這些文件中，還包括了前莎車縣委書記王勇智的一份認罪書。1964年出生於甘肅天水的王勇智，長年在新疆工作，於2015年就任喀什地區地委委員、莎車縣委書記，掌管這個人口近90萬人的南疆大縣。2018年，官方宣布王已經「落馬」並被「雙開」（開除黨籍，開除公職）。
在一份通稿中，官方指控王「嚴重違反政治紀律和政治規矩，嚴重違背黨中央治疆方略，履行全面從嚴治黨主體責任不力……違規修建樓堂館所，公款吃喝，收受禮品、禮金；違反組織紀律，不如實報告個人有關事項，在幹部選拔任用中大搞權錢交易……喪失理想信念，集政治蜕變、經濟貪婪、擅權妄為、道德敗壞於一身。」他隨即被移送檢察機關審理。
《紐約時報>稱，在其向組織交代的15頁認罪書中，王提到了另外兩件事——一是他在貫徹北京下達的扶貧任務時，強制將一些居民遷入冬天尚未有採暖設備的樓房，導致部分人燒柴取暖造成中毒傷亡。其二是，他對從上到下下達的「應收盡收」的強硬「再教育」政策有所保留。
「作為黨員幹部，我毫無黨性原則，不能和黨中央保持高度一致，不能自覺維護黨中央的絕對權威」，文件中寫到，「自比比黨中央和自治區黨委更了解喀什地區實際情況，上級的決策部署和基層實際差距大，不能照搬照套，必須有選擇抓落實。因此，在執行自治區黨委『應收盡收』要求中，打折扣、做選擇、搞變通，認為收多了會人為製造矛盾，增加抵觸情緒，加劇社會不穩定因素……」這份據信是王勇智自述的文件稱自己「擅自作主」，在全縣已經收押的2萬人中釋放了7000人，「給社會穩定帶來嚴重隱患」。
《紐約時報》指官方有秘密調查小組對各級官員執行政策的力度進行監督，「尋找那些做得不夠的人」。文中還提到，同時期落馬的阿克陶縣原縣委書記谷文勝，也是因為試圖放慢收押過程而受到懲罰。
在2019年7月國務院新聞辦公室發布的《新疆的若干歷史問題》白皮書中，北京政府高度讚揚當前的新疆情況，「當前，新疆經濟持續發展，社會和諧穩定，民生不斷改善，文化空前繁榮，宗教和睦和順，各族人民像石榴籽一樣緊緊團結在一起，新疆處於歷史上最好的繁榮發展時期。境外敵對勢力與『三股勢力』沆瀣一氣，杜撰歷史、歪曲事實，逆歷史潮流而動，其結果必將被歷史和人民所唾棄。」
但仍然有許多觀察者擔憂，大規模的「嚴打」和「再教育」系統，會否為未來的族群衝突埋下難以解開的導火索。
https://theinitium.com/article/20191117-whatsnew-mainland-xinjiang-nyt/
Saturday, November 16, 2019
[端新聞], !即時 Instant News, 駐港解放軍「自發」出營外清理街道；商台記者疑似遭警察背後開槍
周六（16日）的香港依然發生多起示威抗議行動。但最引發關注的是下午四點半，一隊駐在九龍塘營區的解放軍穿著運動服走出營區，一名相信是軍官的中年男子表示是次行動是「自願清潔」，不願回答這項行動是否違反《基本法》等問題，更要求追訪的傳媒放下工作，「去做有意義的事」。
(本文更新至17日凌晨1時)
理工大學周邊，警民衝突至深夜
香港理工大學外周六也傳出警民衝突，雙方對峙直到午夜都未結束。
衝突起於部分市民周六發起「清理路障」行動。傍晚六點，有人在理大外發動清理，有黑衣人高叫「不要清路障」，否則將使用武力。之後向路面投擲一個汽油彈，無人受傷。
到了深夜10點，尖沙咀漆咸道南上有黑衣人向警方方向投擲燃燒彈，警察防線後退，黑衣人重新佔據漆咸道難的路障。警方警告記者向兩側散開，警方可能將有驅散行動。
11點半，警方從漆咸道南和科學館道兩邊推進，有人從理大平台向下投擲燃燒彈，在地下爆開，附近有記者，無人受傷。防暴警察不斷發射催淚彈。有部份黑衣人撤回理工大學內，警方催淚彈射入理大校園內。
午夜12點，理大內有示威者用無點着的燃燒彈和傘陣，架設防線。警方未有再向校內發射催淚彈。另外有黑衣人在暢運道的行車路設防線，與警方對峙。有人用擴音器呼籲示威者撤回學校，但警方暫時沒有行動。
駐港部隊步出軍營清理路障
周六下午，原本就有市民自發到香港大學及香港浸會大學一帶清理路障。下午4時半，在靠近香港浸會大學的駐港解放軍九龍塘軍營，數十名身穿便服的軍人突然小跑步出軍營，參與清理路障。隊伍一出營門，原本清理路面的市民就以抱以熱烈掌聲。
到場記者追訪一位相信是高階軍官的中年男性，詢問這項行動是否獲得中央授權，也問道是否違反相關法例。這名子表示是次行動是「自願清潔」，並指「香港市民的掌聲就是最好的形象！不要再問了！」現場大批記者繼續追問，該軍官態度強硬，指記者應該放下手頭工作，「去和老百姓一起，做有意義的事」。該名軍官表示不願透露職銜及姓名。現場有防暴警察在場戒備。
逗留約半小時後，出營的軍人列隊回營。根據《中華人民共和國香港特別行政區駐軍法》，駐港部隊履行4項防務職責：1.防備和抵抗侵略，保衛香港特別行政區的安全；2.擔負防衛勤務；3.管理軍事設施；4.承辦有關的涉外軍事事宜。按照《駐軍法》和香港地方憲法《基本法》，香港的法律和秩序由當地警察和法院負責，駐港部隊「不干預地方事務」；但香港區政府必要時，可向中央人民政府請求駐軍協助，維持社會治安和災害救援。
2018年颱風「山竹」襲港後，解放軍亦曾擅自出營，進行「自願性」清潔行動。當時政務司長張建宗表示，解放軍出動清理塌樹是「屬義務工作及公益性質」，他指若任何團體有心去做，政府都歡迎，大眾「不應過於執著於官僚」。前立法會議員何俊仁曾表示，解放軍擅自出營的做法是蔑視《基本法》及《駐軍法》規定駐港解放軍是為封閉式管理。而資深大律師梁家傑亦指出駐港解放軍「義工」活動是已違反《駐軍法》。
對於這項行動港府及解放軍稍後分別做出回應。政府回應傳媒查詢時表示，清理路障行動純屬駐軍自發及義務性質，不是特區政府尋求協助。
另一方面，政府新聞處則代解放軍駐港部隊新聞發言人韓鈾中校發放新聞稿稱，16日下午，有市民在駐軍九龍東軍營附近聯福道清理路障，期間駐軍部分官兵加入其中，配合清理軍營門口道路。
部分市民自發到香港大學清理路障
近中午時分，在香港大學寶翠園亦有逾百名民眾及港大校友自發到場清理路障。期間有十多位黑衣人靜坐在路障前。
下午約3時半，民眾與黑衣人數度發生衝突，有參與清理行動的市民指罵黑衣人為 「垃圾」及包圍黑衣人。黑衣人則高舉雙手，沒有作出回應。混亂之中有人擲出不知明物體，物體落地時隨即在地上燃點起小火種。衝突期間，不斷有人進行調停並拉走指罵黑衣人的民眾。期間，有民眾一度拿出鐵枝。黑衣人最後在民眾的指罵中離開現場。
接受訪問的南區薄扶林區選人姚潔凝表示是次活動是由她發起，指市民只是想和平地清理路障。有記者問及這是否為區選行動，她表示寶翠園不是其選區，是次活動是以市民身份發起並不是區選活動。稍後時份，有黑衣人到達薄扶林道的天橋上開咪和清理路障的人士表示，現時的問題是出自政府身上，他們只是爭取自由。
商業電台記者疑似遭警察背後開槍射擊
16日凌晨，一批防暴警察在亞皆老街驅散示威者的行動中，指一名香港商業電台記者涉嫌襲警。根據商台報導，該台一名記者拍攝過程期間，被警方強行推撞，指涉嫌暴動，記者讀出並打算拍攝有關警員的行動呼號時，警員指要拘捕該商台記者，記者轉身往朗豪坊方向離開時傳出一下槍聲，其後商台記者停下，防暴警察未有再追前，並退回彌敦道方向離開。
商台新聞指，該台記者其後發現背囊穿了一個洞，懷疑被警方開槍打穿，現場發現一個海綿彈彈頭，記者未有受傷。
警方於16日傍晚發表聲明表示，在上述時間當警方準備於砵蘭街進行另一輪推進及驅散行動時，曾要求在場記者離開，其間發射過一枚海綿彈。警方表示，正就事件進行深入調查，「有關警員現正休假」。
同志遊行遊行受反修例影響 參加人數不復往年
由同志組織「香港彩虹」舉辦的香港同志遊行踏入第十年，因遊行申請被警方拒絕，今屆改為在中環愛丁堡廣場以集會型式進行活動。活動有多國領事館代表出席，平機會主席朱敏健、立法會議員陳志全，民陣召集人及香港彩虹執行幹事岑子杰亦有參與集會。
受前一個星期示威行動影響，參加活動的人數明顯比去年為少。在現場亦見有不少反修例的市民人身穿黑衣、舉着「光復香港，時代革命」的標語出席活動。有參與活動的市民表示有感社會氣氛不太適合歡樂的彩虹顏色，而改為穿上黑衣。
https://theinitium.com/article/20191116-whatsnew-hk-protest-pla/
(本文更新至17日凌晨1時)
理工大學周邊，警民衝突至深夜
香港理工大學外周六也傳出警民衝突，雙方對峙直到午夜都未結束。
衝突起於部分市民周六發起「清理路障」行動。傍晚六點，有人在理大外發動清理，有黑衣人高叫「不要清路障」，否則將使用武力。之後向路面投擲一個汽油彈，無人受傷。
到了深夜10點，尖沙咀漆咸道南上有黑衣人向警方方向投擲燃燒彈，警察防線後退，黑衣人重新佔據漆咸道難的路障。警方警告記者向兩側散開，警方可能將有驅散行動。
11點半，警方從漆咸道南和科學館道兩邊推進，有人從理大平台向下投擲燃燒彈，在地下爆開，附近有記者，無人受傷。防暴警察不斷發射催淚彈。有部份黑衣人撤回理工大學內，警方催淚彈射入理大校園內。
午夜12點，理大內有示威者用無點着的燃燒彈和傘陣，架設防線。警方未有再向校內發射催淚彈。另外有黑衣人在暢運道的行車路設防線，與警方對峙。有人用擴音器呼籲示威者撤回學校，但警方暫時沒有行動。
駐港部隊步出軍營清理路障
周六下午，原本就有市民自發到香港大學及香港浸會大學一帶清理路障。下午4時半，在靠近香港浸會大學的駐港解放軍九龍塘軍營，數十名身穿便服的軍人突然小跑步出軍營，參與清理路障。隊伍一出營門，原本清理路面的市民就以抱以熱烈掌聲。
到場記者追訪一位相信是高階軍官的中年男性，詢問這項行動是否獲得中央授權，也問道是否違反相關法例。這名子表示是次行動是「自願清潔」，並指「香港市民的掌聲就是最好的形象！不要再問了！」現場大批記者繼續追問，該軍官態度強硬，指記者應該放下手頭工作，「去和老百姓一起，做有意義的事」。該名軍官表示不願透露職銜及姓名。現場有防暴警察在場戒備。
逗留約半小時後，出營的軍人列隊回營。根據《中華人民共和國香港特別行政區駐軍法》，駐港部隊履行4項防務職責：1.防備和抵抗侵略，保衛香港特別行政區的安全；2.擔負防衛勤務；3.管理軍事設施；4.承辦有關的涉外軍事事宜。按照《駐軍法》和香港地方憲法《基本法》，香港的法律和秩序由當地警察和法院負責，駐港部隊「不干預地方事務」；但香港區政府必要時，可向中央人民政府請求駐軍協助，維持社會治安和災害救援。
2018年颱風「山竹」襲港後，解放軍亦曾擅自出營，進行「自願性」清潔行動。當時政務司長張建宗表示，解放軍出動清理塌樹是「屬義務工作及公益性質」，他指若任何團體有心去做，政府都歡迎，大眾「不應過於執著於官僚」。前立法會議員何俊仁曾表示，解放軍擅自出營的做法是蔑視《基本法》及《駐軍法》規定駐港解放軍是為封閉式管理。而資深大律師梁家傑亦指出駐港解放軍「義工」活動是已違反《駐軍法》。
對於這項行動港府及解放軍稍後分別做出回應。政府回應傳媒查詢時表示，清理路障行動純屬駐軍自發及義務性質，不是特區政府尋求協助。
另一方面，政府新聞處則代解放軍駐港部隊新聞發言人韓鈾中校發放新聞稿稱，16日下午，有市民在駐軍九龍東軍營附近聯福道清理路障，期間駐軍部分官兵加入其中，配合清理軍營門口道路。
部分市民自發到香港大學清理路障
近中午時分，在香港大學寶翠園亦有逾百名民眾及港大校友自發到場清理路障。期間有十多位黑衣人靜坐在路障前。
下午約3時半，民眾與黑衣人數度發生衝突，有參與清理行動的市民指罵黑衣人為 「垃圾」及包圍黑衣人。黑衣人則高舉雙手，沒有作出回應。混亂之中有人擲出不知明物體，物體落地時隨即在地上燃點起小火種。衝突期間，不斷有人進行調停並拉走指罵黑衣人的民眾。期間，有民眾一度拿出鐵枝。黑衣人最後在民眾的指罵中離開現場。
接受訪問的南區薄扶林區選人姚潔凝表示是次活動是由她發起，指市民只是想和平地清理路障。有記者問及這是否為區選行動，她表示寶翠園不是其選區，是次活動是以市民身份發起並不是區選活動。稍後時份，有黑衣人到達薄扶林道的天橋上開咪和清理路障的人士表示，現時的問題是出自政府身上，他們只是爭取自由。
商業電台記者疑似遭警察背後開槍射擊
16日凌晨，一批防暴警察在亞皆老街驅散示威者的行動中，指一名香港商業電台記者涉嫌襲警。根據商台報導，該台一名記者拍攝過程期間，被警方強行推撞，指涉嫌暴動，記者讀出並打算拍攝有關警員的行動呼號時，警員指要拘捕該商台記者，記者轉身往朗豪坊方向離開時傳出一下槍聲，其後商台記者停下，防暴警察未有再追前，並退回彌敦道方向離開。
商台新聞指，該台記者其後發現背囊穿了一個洞，懷疑被警方開槍打穿，現場發現一個海綿彈彈頭，記者未有受傷。
警方於16日傍晚發表聲明表示，在上述時間當警方準備於砵蘭街進行另一輪推進及驅散行動時，曾要求在場記者離開，其間發射過一枚海綿彈。警方表示，正就事件進行深入調查，「有關警員現正休假」。
同志遊行遊行受反修例影響 參加人數不復往年
由同志組織「香港彩虹」舉辦的香港同志遊行踏入第十年，因遊行申請被警方拒絕，今屆改為在中環愛丁堡廣場以集會型式進行活動。活動有多國領事館代表出席，平機會主席朱敏健、立法會議員陳志全，民陣召集人及香港彩虹執行幹事岑子杰亦有參與集會。
受前一個星期示威行動影響，參加活動的人數明顯比去年為少。在現場亦見有不少反修例的市民人身穿黑衣、舉着「光復香港，時代革命」的標語出席活動。有參與活動的市民表示有感社會氣氛不太適合歡樂的彩虹顏色，而改為穿上黑衣。
https://theinitium.com/article/20191116-whatsnew-hk-protest-pla/
Thursday, November 14, 2019
[端新聞], !即時 Instant News, 中大衝突後，台生急撤離港，台各大學均有因應措施
香港反修例運動衝突持續升高，警民戰場轉移至大學校園，繼香港中文大學發生警民對峙、宣布提早結束學期後，多間大專院校於近日相繼提早結束學期，校園氣氛緊張。台灣學生在陸委會、駐香港台北經濟文化辦事處及教育部的協助下迅速返台，預計近兩日已有逾368人撤港，其中包含一名香港中文大學的台籍教職員。
陸委會指出，總統與政府相關單位均高度關切近日持續升高的香港情勢，其中警民衝突最劇的香港中文大學，占台灣留港學生人數之首，應香港中文大學台灣學生會的需求，陸委會已於昨日安排車輛接送及協調華航載運學生搭機返台，並掌握約1021名在港台灣學生，也已組成專案小組與香港各大學及各校台灣學生會保持密切聯繫。
本學期赴港中大交換的國立成功大學學生亞淨（化名）昨日晚間就搭乘陸委會安排的華航班機回台，入住教育部安排的飯店。「在這幾天之前，香港的狀況其實沒有大家想的那麼誇張。」亞淨說，台灣媒體都會特別揀選最嚴重的畫面，導致台灣民眾對香港感到很恐慌，但當校園在這週淪為戰場，「原本這週要work on final project的，就有點難進行，同學們也沒有心情做。」
亞淨回憶，與其他大學積極安置學生的措施相比，成功大學略顯消極，直到他搭機返台的當天，學校才寄信關心同學狀況。但台大校方不僅在週一就寄信給交換生，還打越洋電話掌握情況，日本的大學甚至一天寄了四封信關心同學狀況。亞淨說，這幾日幫助交換學生最多的是中大的台灣學生會，學生會在第一時間便積極與陸委會、駐香港台北經濟文化辦事處聯絡接觸，協助處理班機問題，讓大家得以順利返台。
台灣交通大學已在昨晚率先發布聲明指出，因近日香港多所大學發生嚴重警民衝突，影響學生生命安全與就學權益，歡迎在港台生於此期間至交大就讀，教育部也已規劃學習銜接措施，轉學方案預計於下學期正式實施。
清華大學、台灣大學及東華大學也於今日陸續跟進，表示將全力協助在港學生來就學，包括旁聽、隨班附讀、修習學分、轉學等方案。除了台灣學生外，台大在聲明中也表示「歡迎其他國籍學生」，同時因應歐美部分姊妹校之請求，接納其下學期原安排去香港交換的學生改至台大就讀。
清大校長賀陳弘指出，大學是富於理想性的地方，所以經常難以見容於當時的政府，政府不分黨派，都應該以軍警未經大學同意不入校園，來珍惜這一份理想。「清華大學在校史上經歷過多次，台灣社會也走過，我和許多的國內大學校長，都會守護這個原則。」
陸委會估計，明、後兩日仍會陸續有台生返台，台灣政府將持續保持關注，「採取一切作為」確保同學人身安全。
https://theinitium.com/article/20191114-whatsnew-cu-taiwan-student/
陸委會指出，總統與政府相關單位均高度關切近日持續升高的香港情勢，其中警民衝突最劇的香港中文大學，占台灣留港學生人數之首，應香港中文大學台灣學生會的需求，陸委會已於昨日安排車輛接送及協調華航載運學生搭機返台，並掌握約1021名在港台灣學生，也已組成專案小組與香港各大學及各校台灣學生會保持密切聯繫。
本學期赴港中大交換的國立成功大學學生亞淨（化名）昨日晚間就搭乘陸委會安排的華航班機回台，入住教育部安排的飯店。「在這幾天之前，香港的狀況其實沒有大家想的那麼誇張。」亞淨說，台灣媒體都會特別揀選最嚴重的畫面，導致台灣民眾對香港感到很恐慌，但當校園在這週淪為戰場，「原本這週要work on final project的，就有點難進行，同學們也沒有心情做。」
亞淨回憶，與其他大學積極安置學生的措施相比，成功大學略顯消極，直到他搭機返台的當天，學校才寄信關心同學狀況。但台大校方不僅在週一就寄信給交換生，還打越洋電話掌握情況，日本的大學甚至一天寄了四封信關心同學狀況。亞淨說，這幾日幫助交換學生最多的是中大的台灣學生會，學生會在第一時間便積極與陸委會、駐香港台北經濟文化辦事處聯絡接觸，協助處理班機問題，讓大家得以順利返台。
台灣交通大學已在昨晚率先發布聲明指出，因近日香港多所大學發生嚴重警民衝突，影響學生生命安全與就學權益，歡迎在港台生於此期間至交大就讀，教育部也已規劃學習銜接措施，轉學方案預計於下學期正式實施。
清華大學、台灣大學及東華大學也於今日陸續跟進，表示將全力協助在港學生來就學，包括旁聽、隨班附讀、修習學分、轉學等方案。除了台灣學生外，台大在聲明中也表示「歡迎其他國籍學生」，同時因應歐美部分姊妹校之請求，接納其下學期原安排去香港交換的學生改至台大就讀。
清大校長賀陳弘指出，大學是富於理想性的地方，所以經常難以見容於當時的政府，政府不分黨派，都應該以軍警未經大學同意不入校園，來珍惜這一份理想。「清華大學在校史上經歷過多次，台灣社會也走過，我和許多的國內大學校長，都會守護這個原則。」
陸委會估計，明、後兩日仍會陸續有台生返台，台灣政府將持續保持關注，「採取一切作為」確保同學人身安全。
https://theinitium.com/article/20191114-whatsnew-cu-taiwan-student/
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
[端新聞], !即時 Instant News, 7旬老翁於下午群眾衝突中頭部受傷，情況危殆；晚上有人疑被催淚彈擊中頭部，失去知覺
因應局勢發展，多所大學就本學期剩餘課程安排作出調整。接連兩日發生示威衝突的中大今日發聲明，即時結束本學期課程，同時包括內地生在內的部分留學生，亦在各機構的安排下離開香港。
昨日（11月12日）香港中文大學校園內外發生激烈示威衝突、全港多區也出現衝突和堵路，警方單日發射1567枚催淚彈、1312發橡膠子彈和380發布袋彈。今日，有網民繼續發起「大三罷」行動，全日仍有示威者在各處堵路，多區交通服務受阻，下午中環交通癱瘓，近傍晚時分，海底隧道紅隧出入口出面堵塞，港鐵和巴士服務受到影響。教育局下午宣布，明天（13日）全港學校停課。
浸會大學和理工大學附近今晨發生警民衝突，其後緩和，而昨晚情況激烈的中文大學則沒有出現警民衝突，入夜前，幾間大學均有黑衣人加緊設置障礙物和布防。
因應局勢發展，多所大學就本學期剩餘課程安排作出調整。接連兩日發生示威衝突的中大今日發聲明，即時結束本學期課程，包括本科生及研究生科目。浸會大學則表示，考慮到校園安全問題，本學期將於兩星期內結束，所有校內課程由明天開始中止。理工大學、香港大學、教育大學則宣布本週停課。
另外，嶺南大學表示，本周將繼續關閉校園，並會安排在原定課堂時間以網上教學形式進行補課。而恒生大學、樹仁大學表示，本周四至周六將會停課。科技大學亦表示，課堂於下周起會以網上形式進行。
入夜後，多區繼續出現示威，警方在大埔、西灣河等地區清場，而中文大學方面，局勢仍然平靜。
中大就警方無理進入校園申請禁制令，遭高等法院拒絕
昨日的中大衝突事件，校方高層與警方協商不果，警方一度進入校內發射催淚彈，於下午和夜晚二次發生劇烈示威衝突，導致數十人受傷，中大夜晚有過百人留守。
今早，在衝突最激烈的香港中文大學二號橋（近科學園出口），仍有逾百黑衣人留守，包括中大學生及其他校院前來支援的學生。在中大一號橋，有示威者在橋面設置路障及有人嘗試拆除大學站內的設施。
中大今日發聲明表示，強烈譴責昨日校園連串衝突、暴力和違反行為。聲明還指，校方屢次嘗試作出調停及談判，雙方持續對峙過程中，在場人士投擲汽油彈及攻擊物品，警方多次發射催淚彈和橡膠子彈，導致校內多人受傷。校方還指，有責任保障校園內所有人員及學生安全，絕不容許任何形式的暴力。
中大學生會會長蘇浚鋒今日（13）就警方違反撤離中大聲明入稟高院申請臨時禁制令，以禁止警方在無搜查令及校方批準下違法進入中大校園，和濫用群眾管理武器。高等法庭下午開庭，惟禁制令申請遭到拒絕。其後，有學生為阻止警方於稍後時間再次進入中大校園，有人於大學站對出迴旋處附近擺放椅子、木板等障礙物，加固校園主要出入口。
警方今日召開記者會時強調，警方行動目的只有一個，即防止有人向吐露港公路投擲任何物品，並指警方無意圖進入中大任何地方，是在別無選擇下使用武力還擊。對於有說法指警方清場時「反口」，警方回應在撤離期間仍然遭遇攻擊，批評是學生「反口」。
警方表示在昨日的行動中拘捕了142人，包括97男45女，年齡介乎14至50歲，他們涉嫌非法集結，藏有攻擊性武器，襲警等。警方一共使用1567發催淚彈，1312發橡膠彈，380發布袋彈，126發海綿彈。
在今日立法會會議上，保安局局長李家超被問到為何中大校長段祟智昨晚在現場斡旋期間，警方隨即施放催淚彈。他表示，當時在校長背後，有人手持攻擊性的物件，因此警方要採取適當行動，警方之後已決定離開現場，令大家有得以緩和的情況。
另外，星期一（11日）於中大爆發的警民衝突中，有4名被捕的中大學生被控暴動罪和在非法集會內使用口罩蒙面物品，今早在沙田裁判法院提堂。裁判官接納控方申請，將案件押後至明年1月8日，4人獲准保釋。
理大、浸大兩間大學今早再出現衝突 港大亦見警車在場戒備
今日早上約8時，在九龍塘窩打老道和歌和老街浸大校園對開有示威者以磚頭及膠圍欄等雜物架設路障。接近12時，有十多名防暴警員沿聯合道斜路向浸會大學方向驅散，示威者向浸大逸夫行政樓方向撤退，期間最少制服一人。下午1時許，理工大學多個出入人及漆咸道南有示威者搬來鐵欄、椅子等雜物築起路障，紅隧口亦被堵塞。
中午時份，香港大學站的A1、A2及C1出口已封鎖，在黃克競大樓、潮商會小學及寶翠園連接香港大學的天橋亦見有警車在場戒備。
繼香港理工大學宣布延遲畢業禮、香港浸會大學宣布取消，香港樹仁大學亦出聲明表示會延遲畢業禮。下午5時許，鑒於交通被阻塞，浸會大學發出電郵，呼籲校園內的人盡快離開。
內地生撤離香港
早前外媒《彭博》曾報導，在香港多間大學就讀的內地生大部分已獲中方及共青團等協助離港，網上流傳著多張截圖，「中聯辦的意思是，能走都走」。
今日早上，有水警輪在中文大學對開馬料水碼頭停泊，協助中大內地學生撤離，
警方其後證實這一消息。「一批內地生基於安全理由打算搬離校園，但因為附近道路被暴徒放置雜物而嚴重阻塞，導致他們無法離開，於是聯絡警方尋求協助。 警方基於安全考慮及附近路面出現的堵路情況，決定調派水警輪協助該批學生前往安全地點。當抵達地點後，他們便自行安排交通工具離開。」
根據中文大學《大學線》報導，下午4時在逸夫書院的宿舍外，有數輛貼有校方標誌的私家車安排宿生離開，當中大部分是非本地生，職員表示，收到學生有意欲離開，由校方安排接送，接載並不只限於服務非本地生。另外也有南韓和印度等國籍的學生在駐港領事館的協助下離港。
香港台北經濟文化辦事處亦已協助中大126名台灣學生返台。應中大台灣學生會要求，辦事處代理處長高銘村下午率員到中大，接送85名台灣學生前往機場。目前香港中文大學已經有41位學生自行購票返抵臺灣，另有81位學生由教育部駐港人員協調提供機位，他們預計在今晚返抵台灣。
元朗、觀塘出現堵路 大埔施發催淚彈
在元朗約上午11時，大棠路站對出元朗大馬路被雜物堵塞，現場有市民聚集。前警員石房有其後帶領十多名市民到達大馬路自發清理，眾人手臂又繫上「香港好市民」橙色布；有人清理期間與黑衣示威者發生口角，甚至有人追打示威者。
約一個小時後，在元朗阜財街同時舉出藍旗、黑旗及橙旗，有一人被帶走。在中午時分，觀塘道向藍田方向的道路亦被示威者用雜物阻塞道路。另在康寧道和牛頭角道方向，有人堵路及擲汽油彈。下午3時半，警方在大埔太和路舉出黑旗及發射最少兩發催淚彈。
晚上10時20分，大批示威者及市民於元朗大馬路聚集，有人於馬路上築起磚頭陣。後中批防暴警察前來增援並準備驅散，有警員一度擎槍；示威者架起傘陣作準備，又以水馬、膠板等作遮擋，而雙方防線相隔約百米。現場大批市民勸籲示威者離去，又大喊「一齊走！」
期間有有示威者在南洋商業銀行縱火。十分鐘後，防暴向大棠路推進並曾多次發射催淚彈驅散；有示威者以汽油彈回擊；雙方持續對峙。據現場街坊稱，有一枚催淚彈射中一報紙檔簷篷後着火。期間大批街坊相繼以水桶盛水協助澆滅；不久消防員到場檢查該攤檔。
中環第三日出現快閃，多人被捕
今日午飯時分，繼續有黑衣人及上班市民於中環交易廣場及畢打街近德輔道中位置發起快閃活動。期間民眾與防暴警察發生口角，在連接交易廣場的街人天橋上有警察用棍揮向民眾，有兩人被制服。後民眾不滿警方做法，要求放人。但警方再持棍衝向人群。有一民眾被打至頭破血流，地下流有大量血跡。現場市民情緒十分激動，不斷和警方理論及向其大叫：「殺人犯」、「黑警」，而警方則有手持攝錄機拍攝在場市民面容。
而在畢打街及德輔道中交界亦有市民聚集，有數十名防暴與在場民眾發生衝突，警方兩度舉出藍旗及舉槍指向市民，有多人被捕。現場民眾亦與警方對峙並大叫：「走啦！」、「黑警」、「殺人犯」。
下午2時34分，防暴警在中環電車路、皇后街舉出黑旗，並在附近地區截查行人。其後防暴警察撤走，群眾再次聚集並以障礙物癱瘓中環一帶交通，包括以竹枝搭起巨型障礙物。傍晚近7時，防暴警再到中環清場，制服並拘捕多人。
旺角警署內外整夜僵持 警凌晨出動水炮車驅散
晚上近11時，有示威者於旺角警署外築起防線且架起傘陣。半小時後，示威者嘗試向旺角警署推進，並投擲數枚燃燒彈。後防暴警員施放7至8枚催淚彈還擊。其後一批防暴警員走出警署，於彌敦道一字排開後發射數發防暴槍，示威者退至始創中心。不久，示威者再次回到警署外彌敦道備陣，有人指揮並大叫「行前啲啊！」防暴警員後於警署高位發射數發橡膠子彈。
12時，一批防暴警員走出警署，向彌敦道發射多枚催淚彈後，嘗試清理路面障礙物後再次往後退回警署內。15分鐘後，在示威者嘗試向警署推動期間，一批防暴警員衝出警署進行拘捕行動，示威者立即四散並後退。凌晨1時，水炮車於太子道西天橋上，向橋下彌敦道的示威者多次發射水炮；示威者立即後退，並不斷用鐳射筆照射水炮車。
今日衝突現場發生多宗嚴重受傷個案
今日下午於東鐵線上水站外，有人疑因政見問題發生衝突，後有人扔磚頭及竹枝等雜物。而據悉，一名70歲男子於衝突期間疑被磚頭硬物打中頭部，即時倒地失去知覺；其後由救護車送往醫院治理。傍晚6時36分，威爾斯親王醫院發言人表示，一名70歲男子今日下午因頭部受傷由北區醫院急症室經救護車轉送本院神經外科，目前情況危殆。
醫管局表示，截至下午5時，因多區示威及衝突，共有48人受傷送往公立醫院，年齡由1歲至81歲，34男14女；當中1名70歲男子情況危殆，另外還有1名男子情况嚴重。
晚上10時20分，食環署表示，一名街道潔淨服務承辦商員工今日午膳期間，於北區大會堂附近被發現頭部受傷，而他當時並非進行清潔工作。食環署對有關事件感到十分難過，又稱正透過服務承辦商聯絡其家人，將會提供適切的支援及協助。
另外，晚上10時30分左右，有示威者向天水圍警署投擲汽油彈，警署前門及後門被縱火；防暴警察於新北江商場外施放多枚催淚彈。消息傳出，有兩名示威者被催淚彈擊中頭部，其中一人失去知覺。
晚上10時39分，據網上影片顯示，有一名身穿黑衣、黑褲的男子倒卧在葵福街近嘉里貨運中心附近位置，口鼻流血且失去知覺。香港01報導，救護員到達現場後為傷者作初步檢查時，發現其身體多處受傷，後以頸箍為其固定頭部，後送往仁濟醫院治理；經搶救後，該男子延至深夜約11時許證實不治。
網傳一度以為該青年被斬傷致失去知覺，但有消息懷疑男子身上傷勢，或從高處墮下所致。據蘋果報導，有目擊者指出其駕車時途經事發現場，目睹該男子從高處墮下，當場折斷雙手並失去知覺。
https://theinitium.com/article/20191113-whatsnew-hong-kong-protest/
昨日（11月12日）香港中文大學校園內外發生激烈示威衝突、全港多區也出現衝突和堵路，警方單日發射1567枚催淚彈、1312發橡膠子彈和380發布袋彈。今日，有網民繼續發起「大三罷」行動，全日仍有示威者在各處堵路，多區交通服務受阻，下午中環交通癱瘓，近傍晚時分，海底隧道紅隧出入口出面堵塞，港鐵和巴士服務受到影響。教育局下午宣布，明天（13日）全港學校停課。
浸會大學和理工大學附近今晨發生警民衝突，其後緩和，而昨晚情況激烈的中文大學則沒有出現警民衝突，入夜前，幾間大學均有黑衣人加緊設置障礙物和布防。
因應局勢發展，多所大學就本學期剩餘課程安排作出調整。接連兩日發生示威衝突的中大今日發聲明，即時結束本學期課程，包括本科生及研究生科目。浸會大學則表示，考慮到校園安全問題，本學期將於兩星期內結束，所有校內課程由明天開始中止。理工大學、香港大學、教育大學則宣布本週停課。
另外，嶺南大學表示，本周將繼續關閉校園，並會安排在原定課堂時間以網上教學形式進行補課。而恒生大學、樹仁大學表示，本周四至周六將會停課。科技大學亦表示，課堂於下周起會以網上形式進行。
入夜後，多區繼續出現示威，警方在大埔、西灣河等地區清場，而中文大學方面，局勢仍然平靜。
中大就警方無理進入校園申請禁制令，遭高等法院拒絕
昨日的中大衝突事件，校方高層與警方協商不果，警方一度進入校內發射催淚彈，於下午和夜晚二次發生劇烈示威衝突，導致數十人受傷，中大夜晚有過百人留守。
今早，在衝突最激烈的香港中文大學二號橋（近科學園出口），仍有逾百黑衣人留守，包括中大學生及其他校院前來支援的學生。在中大一號橋，有示威者在橋面設置路障及有人嘗試拆除大學站內的設施。
中大今日發聲明表示，強烈譴責昨日校園連串衝突、暴力和違反行為。聲明還指，校方屢次嘗試作出調停及談判，雙方持續對峙過程中，在場人士投擲汽油彈及攻擊物品，警方多次發射催淚彈和橡膠子彈，導致校內多人受傷。校方還指，有責任保障校園內所有人員及學生安全，絕不容許任何形式的暴力。
中大學生會會長蘇浚鋒今日（13）就警方違反撤離中大聲明入稟高院申請臨時禁制令，以禁止警方在無搜查令及校方批準下違法進入中大校園，和濫用群眾管理武器。高等法庭下午開庭，惟禁制令申請遭到拒絕。其後，有學生為阻止警方於稍後時間再次進入中大校園，有人於大學站對出迴旋處附近擺放椅子、木板等障礙物，加固校園主要出入口。
警方今日召開記者會時強調，警方行動目的只有一個，即防止有人向吐露港公路投擲任何物品，並指警方無意圖進入中大任何地方，是在別無選擇下使用武力還擊。對於有說法指警方清場時「反口」，警方回應在撤離期間仍然遭遇攻擊，批評是學生「反口」。
警方表示在昨日的行動中拘捕了142人，包括97男45女，年齡介乎14至50歲，他們涉嫌非法集結，藏有攻擊性武器，襲警等。警方一共使用1567發催淚彈，1312發橡膠彈，380發布袋彈，126發海綿彈。
在今日立法會會議上，保安局局長李家超被問到為何中大校長段祟智昨晚在現場斡旋期間，警方隨即施放催淚彈。他表示，當時在校長背後，有人手持攻擊性的物件，因此警方要採取適當行動，警方之後已決定離開現場，令大家有得以緩和的情況。
另外，星期一（11日）於中大爆發的警民衝突中，有4名被捕的中大學生被控暴動罪和在非法集會內使用口罩蒙面物品，今早在沙田裁判法院提堂。裁判官接納控方申請，將案件押後至明年1月8日，4人獲准保釋。
理大、浸大兩間大學今早再出現衝突 港大亦見警車在場戒備
今日早上約8時，在九龍塘窩打老道和歌和老街浸大校園對開有示威者以磚頭及膠圍欄等雜物架設路障。接近12時，有十多名防暴警員沿聯合道斜路向浸會大學方向驅散，示威者向浸大逸夫行政樓方向撤退，期間最少制服一人。下午1時許，理工大學多個出入人及漆咸道南有示威者搬來鐵欄、椅子等雜物築起路障，紅隧口亦被堵塞。
中午時份，香港大學站的A1、A2及C1出口已封鎖，在黃克競大樓、潮商會小學及寶翠園連接香港大學的天橋亦見有警車在場戒備。
繼香港理工大學宣布延遲畢業禮、香港浸會大學宣布取消，香港樹仁大學亦出聲明表示會延遲畢業禮。下午5時許，鑒於交通被阻塞，浸會大學發出電郵，呼籲校園內的人盡快離開。
內地生撤離香港
早前外媒《彭博》曾報導，在香港多間大學就讀的內地生大部分已獲中方及共青團等協助離港，網上流傳著多張截圖，「中聯辦的意思是，能走都走」。
今日早上，有水警輪在中文大學對開馬料水碼頭停泊，協助中大內地學生撤離，
警方其後證實這一消息。「一批內地生基於安全理由打算搬離校園，但因為附近道路被暴徒放置雜物而嚴重阻塞，導致他們無法離開，於是聯絡警方尋求協助。 警方基於安全考慮及附近路面出現的堵路情況，決定調派水警輪協助該批學生前往安全地點。當抵達地點後，他們便自行安排交通工具離開。」
根據中文大學《大學線》報導，下午4時在逸夫書院的宿舍外，有數輛貼有校方標誌的私家車安排宿生離開，當中大部分是非本地生，職員表示，收到學生有意欲離開，由校方安排接送，接載並不只限於服務非本地生。另外也有南韓和印度等國籍的學生在駐港領事館的協助下離港。
香港台北經濟文化辦事處亦已協助中大126名台灣學生返台。應中大台灣學生會要求，辦事處代理處長高銘村下午率員到中大，接送85名台灣學生前往機場。目前香港中文大學已經有41位學生自行購票返抵臺灣，另有81位學生由教育部駐港人員協調提供機位，他們預計在今晚返抵台灣。
元朗、觀塘出現堵路 大埔施發催淚彈
在元朗約上午11時，大棠路站對出元朗大馬路被雜物堵塞，現場有市民聚集。前警員石房有其後帶領十多名市民到達大馬路自發清理，眾人手臂又繫上「香港好市民」橙色布；有人清理期間與黑衣示威者發生口角，甚至有人追打示威者。
約一個小時後，在元朗阜財街同時舉出藍旗、黑旗及橙旗，有一人被帶走。在中午時分，觀塘道向藍田方向的道路亦被示威者用雜物阻塞道路。另在康寧道和牛頭角道方向，有人堵路及擲汽油彈。下午3時半，警方在大埔太和路舉出黑旗及發射最少兩發催淚彈。
晚上10時20分，大批示威者及市民於元朗大馬路聚集，有人於馬路上築起磚頭陣。後中批防暴警察前來增援並準備驅散，有警員一度擎槍；示威者架起傘陣作準備，又以水馬、膠板等作遮擋，而雙方防線相隔約百米。現場大批市民勸籲示威者離去，又大喊「一齊走！」
期間有有示威者在南洋商業銀行縱火。十分鐘後，防暴向大棠路推進並曾多次發射催淚彈驅散；有示威者以汽油彈回擊；雙方持續對峙。據現場街坊稱，有一枚催淚彈射中一報紙檔簷篷後着火。期間大批街坊相繼以水桶盛水協助澆滅；不久消防員到場檢查該攤檔。
中環第三日出現快閃，多人被捕
今日午飯時分，繼續有黑衣人及上班市民於中環交易廣場及畢打街近德輔道中位置發起快閃活動。期間民眾與防暴警察發生口角，在連接交易廣場的街人天橋上有警察用棍揮向民眾，有兩人被制服。後民眾不滿警方做法，要求放人。但警方再持棍衝向人群。有一民眾被打至頭破血流，地下流有大量血跡。現場市民情緒十分激動，不斷和警方理論及向其大叫：「殺人犯」、「黑警」，而警方則有手持攝錄機拍攝在場市民面容。
而在畢打街及德輔道中交界亦有市民聚集，有數十名防暴與在場民眾發生衝突，警方兩度舉出藍旗及舉槍指向市民，有多人被捕。現場民眾亦與警方對峙並大叫：「走啦！」、「黑警」、「殺人犯」。
下午2時34分，防暴警在中環電車路、皇后街舉出黑旗，並在附近地區截查行人。其後防暴警察撤走，群眾再次聚集並以障礙物癱瘓中環一帶交通，包括以竹枝搭起巨型障礙物。傍晚近7時，防暴警再到中環清場，制服並拘捕多人。
旺角警署內外整夜僵持 警凌晨出動水炮車驅散
晚上近11時，有示威者於旺角警署外築起防線且架起傘陣。半小時後，示威者嘗試向旺角警署推進，並投擲數枚燃燒彈。後防暴警員施放7至8枚催淚彈還擊。其後一批防暴警員走出警署，於彌敦道一字排開後發射數發防暴槍，示威者退至始創中心。不久，示威者再次回到警署外彌敦道備陣，有人指揮並大叫「行前啲啊！」防暴警員後於警署高位發射數發橡膠子彈。
12時，一批防暴警員走出警署，向彌敦道發射多枚催淚彈後，嘗試清理路面障礙物後再次往後退回警署內。15分鐘後，在示威者嘗試向警署推動期間，一批防暴警員衝出警署進行拘捕行動，示威者立即四散並後退。凌晨1時，水炮車於太子道西天橋上，向橋下彌敦道的示威者多次發射水炮；示威者立即後退，並不斷用鐳射筆照射水炮車。
今日衝突現場發生多宗嚴重受傷個案
今日下午於東鐵線上水站外，有人疑因政見問題發生衝突，後有人扔磚頭及竹枝等雜物。而據悉，一名70歲男子於衝突期間疑被磚頭硬物打中頭部，即時倒地失去知覺；其後由救護車送往醫院治理。傍晚6時36分，威爾斯親王醫院發言人表示，一名70歲男子今日下午因頭部受傷由北區醫院急症室經救護車轉送本院神經外科，目前情況危殆。
醫管局表示，截至下午5時，因多區示威及衝突，共有48人受傷送往公立醫院，年齡由1歲至81歲，34男14女；當中1名70歲男子情況危殆，另外還有1名男子情况嚴重。
晚上10時20分，食環署表示，一名街道潔淨服務承辦商員工今日午膳期間，於北區大會堂附近被發現頭部受傷，而他當時並非進行清潔工作。食環署對有關事件感到十分難過，又稱正透過服務承辦商聯絡其家人，將會提供適切的支援及協助。
另外，晚上10時30分左右，有示威者向天水圍警署投擲汽油彈，警署前門及後門被縱火；防暴警察於新北江商場外施放多枚催淚彈。消息傳出，有兩名示威者被催淚彈擊中頭部，其中一人失去知覺。
晚上10時39分，據網上影片顯示，有一名身穿黑衣、黑褲的男子倒卧在葵福街近嘉里貨運中心附近位置，口鼻流血且失去知覺。香港01報導，救護員到達現場後為傷者作初步檢查時，發現其身體多處受傷，後以頸箍為其固定頭部，後送往仁濟醫院治理；經搶救後，該男子延至深夜約11時許證實不治。
網傳一度以為該青年被斬傷致失去知覺，但有消息懷疑男子身上傷勢，或從高處墮下所致。據蘋果報導，有目擊者指出其駕車時途經事發現場，目睹該男子從高處墮下，當場折斷雙手並失去知覺。
https://theinitium.com/article/20191113-whatsnew-hong-kong-protest/
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
[端新聞], !即時 Instant News, 防暴警強攻中文大學兩個半小時後撤退；網民發起各區示威「圍魏救趙」，市面狼藉
全港多處交通堵塞，多區發生衝突。中大校園兩度發生劇烈衝突，警方下午進入校園發射催淚彈，夜晚連續兩個半小時發射催淚彈、橡膠子彈等，多人中彈、燒傷，有人雙腿骨折，有人需要心肺復甦。
端傳媒記者 林可欣 實習記者 韋穎芝 梁中勝 發自香港2019-11-12
繼昨日（11日）有網民發起香港「雙十一、大三罷」後，今日亦有網民繼續發起「破曉行動」，嘗試癱瘓各區交通，呼籲全港市民罷工。今早，香港城市大學、香港大學外有示威者堵路，防暴警察於理工大學、中文大學外、城市大學外戒備，並朝城大宿舍發射催淚彈。中午過後，中大校長段崇智、副校長吳基培、學生事務處等教職員，先後多次到場協調不果，示威者與警方兩度發生劇烈衝突，警方曾進入校園發射多輪催淚彈和橡膠子彈等。從晚上7時半到10時間，槍聲不絕。
因應中大情勢，網絡發起多區遊行示威「圍魏救趙」，包括銅鑼灣、九龍塘、沙田、屯門、大埔、旺角和香港仔等地區都出現快閃堵路，縱火和破壞商場商店的情況；同時，民眾帶同補給品以不同方式前往中大支援示威者，而警察亦在道上截查車輛，有車主被拉出車廂制服。
中大前校長沈祖堯於十點半到達現場，他對現場人士表示，希望大家和平散去，稱學校已和警方協商，只要大學派保安在二號橋駐守，確保沒有人拋物品至吐露港公路。現場有人朝他大喊，希望校長不要太快離開，去警署探望學生。沈祖堯而後進入中大健身室探望學生。
在警方撤退後約一個半小時後，即晚上12時左右，又有多部警車駛至，其後折返，衝突至此暫告一段落。中大在大學健身室設立臨時醫療站，據現場人士表示，有30至40名傷者等待救援，部分人需要包紥和縫合傷口。
根據醫管局數字，截至12點，共有51名傷者送院，其中包括40男、11女，一男傷者情況嚴重在威爾斯親王醫院留醫，31人情況穩定，16人已出院。
今早全港交通多處受阻。港鐵東鐵綫沙田與大圍站之間，有列車撞到搭車，路軌受阻塞，致火炭至大埔墟站的列車服務暫停，車上乘客在消防與港鐵職員協助下離開車廂，經由路軌離開。有黑衣人士疑似向紅磡站投擲燃燒彈。在旺角彌敦道匯豐銀行對出的十字路口，有逾50輛巴士車胎被刺破。
多間大學和大專院校宣布明日繼續停課，包括香港大學、香港中文大學、浸會大學、城市大學、公開大學、職業訓練局等。
據明報報導，由於連續兩天警方進入大學校園執法，一眾大學學者組成的「學術自由學者聯盟」今日呼籲，大學校長及高層應到現場保護學生，明愛專上學院客座教授何芝君指，特首林鄭本週應該積極降溫、停止警暴。大律師查錫我則表示，大學管理層應該探討為大學範圍申請禁制令的可能性。
警方連續兩天進入大學校園執法，由一眾大學學者組成的「學術自由學者聯盟」呼籲罷課一周，讓雙方冷靜。大律師查錫我則指，校園為私人地方，警方不可因懷疑有人使用武力入校，只有追捕疑犯時才可進入，並建議各大院校為校園申禁制令。
下午至夜晚，警方於多地發射催淚彈驅散人群。5時許，大埔太和路有示威者設置路障，防暴警場到場發射催淚彈驅散，中環畢打街、環球大廈外，警方亦向密集人群發射催淚彈；5時半，防暴警察於沙田好運中心、沙田中心商場一帶發射催淚彈。旺角一帶亦有示威者設置路障，警方於夜晚8點出動水炮車清理路障。
下午，中大二號橋警方與示威者發生激烈衝突，現場多人受傷、被捕，警方而後一度進入校園範圍，朝運動場內發射催淚彈。示威者則於多處焚燒路障。
中大校長段崇智下午抵達現場，先與警方進行協商，而後示威者討論後再度前往二號橋，前行途中警方突與示威者再度發生劇烈衝突，現場充斥催淚彈的濃煙和燃燒彈的火光。
中大發生激烈衝突，警方進入校內發射催淚彈
警方昨日首次進入香港中文大學校園範圍內執法，並徹夜留守在二號橋。今日凌晨2時許，曾有約10名防暴警員進入中大校園。至早上8時，約20名防暴警員進入校園，一度抵達崇基學院外網球場。
今早，二號橋仍有防暴警員與示威者對峙。現場有數十名示威者用水馬、雨傘、垃圾桶、磚頭等雜物設置路障。有示威者從運動場取出弓箭、標槍，亦有人搬出裁判架和壓草坪機，在一輛廢棄車輛附近淋食油。示威者在木板噴上「黑警填命」、「暴大人報仇」的字樣，還掛上寫有「快跑，否則無PE分」的字牌。防暴警員一直在數十米外戒備，現場氣氛大致平靜，警員曾舉橙旗，未發射子彈。
中午，中大副校長吳基培到二號橋與學生溝通，他希望騰出一條路讓教職員進入校園。吳基培還指，警方希望進入二號橋行車路清理雜物，但見到現場有很多黑衣人，便未再進入。有學生表示，在場留守學生希望保護中大，另有學生對警員進入校園範圍清理路障、並在門外向校園內發射催淚彈表示不滿。吳基培其後表示，將了解詳細情況並發布聲明。
下午2時左右，有中大教師到場與警方和示威者雙方溝通，警方表示因要確保吐露港公路和東鐵綫安全，不會退後，亦不會與示威者有所協議。示威者則表示，若防暴警員不撤退，將在2時半有所行動。
3時左右，中大傳訊與公共關係處處長與學生事務處職員亦到現場做調停。職員與警方溝通後，防暴警察一度後退，示威者則用垃圾箱和雨傘做防線向前推進，警方立即發射數枚催淚彈、布袋彈，現場濃煙瀰漫。示威者向警方投擲磚頭及燃燒彈，地上多處有火頭。現場疑似有記者的鏡頭被磚頭擊中。
約3時半，警方突然向前推，制服多人，並進入校園範圍。大量示威者退至運動場，亦在運動場內外焚燒雜物，警方朝運動場內再度發射多輪催淚彈。
衝突引致多人受傷，有被捕示威者頭破血流，地上留有大灘血跡。浸大編委鄧澤旻在警方進入校內驅散時，右眼中彈。《南華早報》攝影記者臉部被警方的彈頭擦過，面部流血。
警方於記者會上表示，根據《公安條例》，學校不是私人地方，重申不容任何地方成為罪犯的窩藏地，即使沒有手令都可進入校園拘捕。但根據地總署地理資訊地圖，中大範圍為政府批出的私人土地。
昨天上午中大發布當日停課消息，二號橋出現對峙場面後，有部分內地生感到威脅，在微信朋友圈和群組內譴責校內示威人士的暴力，並為昨日燒傷男子感到憤怒。亦有內地生表示，憂慮課堂安排，很多人希望能「安安靜靜地上課」，更有人認為學歷貶值，希望學校退學費。有相當一部分內地生在昨晚前往深圳，或買票回家「逃難」。
段崇智與警方交涉不果，夜晚中大再發生劇烈衝突，多人受傷
約5時半，中大校長段崇智與民主派議員鄺俊宇、葉建源等人到達中大示威現場，一眾人士護送段崇智前行。在場仍有不少身穿黑衣、配戴防具的學生。中大學生會會長蘇浚鋒向段崇智表示，希望他能明確向警方表達校園是私人範圍。校方則指，希望能讓段崇智等校方人員單獨與警方溝通，叫記者後退，現場亦有記者勸阻其他同業暫時不要上前。
約六時半，校長等管理層返回，由於現場有眾多傳媒，校方表示校長希望先同學生傾談。地面仍是遍地磚頭和雜物，有學生上前帶校長前往學生聚集地。段崇智向學生表示，這兩天發生很多痛苦的事，「來到這裏很傷心。」段崇智交代與警方溝通結果，警方表示在二號橋駐防的目的，是防止有人擲雜物至吐露港公路。校方提出協商方式，表示將在橋頭安排保安和義務員工維持治安，警方退至橋尾。警方指揮官表示接受這個方式。段認為這個協商具有突破性。段崇智還指，大學的安寧是大學的責任，不是警方的。
現場有人提問，受傷被捕學生、警方進入校內發射催淚彈如何處理。校長表示，先解決眼下的情況。在場人士不滿，副校長吳樹培進而表示，已有聯絡義務律師跟進幫助被捕學生，已會派高層人員保護學生。
而後有學生提出，是否可由學生提出交涉條件。段崇智答應將學生條件交予警方，並希望學生接受校方提出的方案。段崇智還表示，會立刻去警署，處理同學被捕的事，現場則會有其他同事留守。
現場學生表示，今晚警方必須全數撤出中大校園範圍，同時所有同學須無罪釋放，否則會繼續站在二號橋。
約7時半，段崇智準備前往警署，一眾人士護送段崇智通過二號橋離開。但當人群出現在二號橋，防暴警方不斷叫現場人士離開，並舉橙旗和黑旗，指在場人士正參與非法集結、有攻擊性武器。而後現場突然出現激烈衝突，警方連續發射催淚彈和橡膠子彈，示威者則不斷投擲汽油彈。事後中大講師梁啟智在Facebook表示，校長在二號橋途中，警方一度表示「現在不是談判的時候」，有同學用鐳射筆射向警方防線，警方舉橙旗後很快發射催淚彈。
警方發射催淚彈後，校長段崇智中催淚煙，離開學校前往警署探望學生。中大衝突持續近兩個半小時，期間警方不間斷發射催淚彈、橡膠子彈等。副校長吳基培留在學校，他戴著防毒面具，於九時許在現場表示，已和警方協商，警方將撤離中大，但現場槍聲仍持續不斷。
約9時50分，警方發聲明指，「為緩和目前形勢及希望以一個和平的方式解決問題，警方已和校方作出溝通，正安排撤退以停止對峙情況，」並呼籲示威者停止追擊。近10時，水炮車來到二號橋附近，朝人群發射藍色水柱，示威者則投擲燃燒彈還擊。數分鐘後，警方撤退。
今晚衝突導致大量人士受傷，不斷有傷者送回校園，多人中彈、燒傷，有男生雙腿骨折。據有線新聞，衝突期間有人中彈，需要做心肺復甦。有網媒記者頭部中彈。
中大前校長沈祖堯於十點半到達現場，在其他人幫助下戴上防毒面罩和眼罩。他對現場人士表示，希望大家和平散去，稱學校已和警方協商，只要大學派保安在二號橋駐守，確保沒有人拋物品至吐露港公路。現場有人朝他大喊，希望校長不要太快離開，去警署探望學生。沈祖堯而後進入中大健身室探望學生。
在警方撤退後約一個半小時後，即晚上12時左右，又有多部警車駛至，有現場人士指防暴警察及速龍小隊將在大學站部署，但警車逗留一會後再折回。衝突至此暫告一段落，中大在大學健身室設立臨時醫療站，據現場人士表示，有30至40名傷者等待救援，部分人需要包紥和縫合傷口。
城大、港大外有示威者堵路，警方於城大宿舍外發射催淚彈
今早九龍塘城市大學外歌和老街與達之路交界，有示威者向馬路投擲磚頭設置路障。約7時半，防暴警察在歌和老街一帶發射催淚彈，有催淚彈擊中天橋護欄。警方而後還向城大宿舍發射多枚催淚彈，並進入校園範圍。
Now新聞直播片段顯示，早上8時許，警方指揮官曾對在場持槍警員下指令時表示，「佢突個頭出嚟，打頭呀。」（他的頭露出來了，打頭呀。）而後有防暴警員向天橋方向發射橡膠子彈，並集中橋上一把雨傘。 警方則表示，早上7時起有激進示威者聚集於九龍塘城市大學宿舍的行人天橋，從高處向地面投擲磚頭等硬物，有激進示威者在歌和老街與達之路交界，以磚頭、木板及鐵欄等雜物堵塞多條行車線，警方在施放多枚催淚煙驅散。
今早在香港大學薄扶林道天橋上，有數十名示威者向道路投擲雪糕筒等雜物，香港大學港鐵站多個出入口關閉，升降機大堂、扶手電梯亦被雜物堵塞。期間有警車經過，未有停留，示威者向警車投擲雜物。至下午3時，薄扶林道行車線全線受阻，天橋上仍有示威者留守。
港大理學院院長、外籍教授艾宏思上午曾到場與學生溝通，表示警方不能在未知會校方情況下進入校園，並稱自己擔心現場同學，認為暴力不能解決問題，希望學生回到校園與他討論其他解決方式。
香港大學校方證實，昨日有5名學生於校園範圍內或一帶被捕。
另外，今早8時許，紅磡理工大學出口天橋上有防暴警員戒備，期間不時向校園範圍內舉槍。理工大學校園電台今日在Facebook表示，約8時許，理大學生校董李傲然得悉校外有人被捕後，趕至現場了解情況，被防暴警員拉出校外毆打，身體多處有傷勢，而後獲放行。
中環再發起「和你Lunch」快閃行動，警方發射催淚彈驅散
中午，有網民再次於中環發起「和你Lunch」快閃行動，有大量市民響應。示威者堵塞畢打街、干諾道中，警方於12時許到現場清理路障，並呼籲現場市民離開。下午1點，警方曾舉起黑旗及橙旗，警告將使用武力作出驅散，最後未有使用武力便離去。
示威者重新佔據干諾道中，期間有一輛黑色私家車嘗試衝過路障，在場市民不滿，並向車輛投擲雜物，亦有人嘗試以巴士作路障堵塞交通。約3時許，防暴警察到中環清場並發射催淚彈，現場人士沿皇后大道東離開。警方在置地廣場門外制服多人，約10幾人被警方命令在牆邊高舉雙手，在場大部份人士未佩戴口罩。
大埔旺角持續對峙，港島、新界入夜各區開花
中大發生激烈警民衝突，有網民號召示威者於香港各區示威「開花」，分散警力，以支援中大示威者。晚上起，包括銅鑼灣、九龍塘、沙田、屯門、大埔、旺角和香港仔等地都出現快閃及遊行，示威者設起路障和放火，並與防暴警對峙，防暴警在多區施放催淚彈，但未能驅散人群。
大約7點30分左右，沙田富豪花園外有示威者包圍一名警察，警察曾經試圖向示威者舉槍但失敗，之後逃離現場，留下警車，最終示威者把警車焚毀。
晚上7點50分在又一城，有十多名黑衣人打破連接達之路又一城商場的玻璃門。商場內一個巨大的聖誕樹裝飾起火，其後有示威者把商場內的玻璃圍欄打破。
最接近中文大學的大埔出現長時間對峙，警方曾舉起黑旗警告，示威者築起傘陣、設路障，及放火燃燒部分路障，試圖阻止警方前進。有示威者在太和路一直高叫「光復香港、時代革命」，並不斷向前推進，阻止警方往香港中文大學增援。至晚上11時，大批示威者仍然聚集，警察再施射一輪催淚彈並推進，示威人群短暫散去又重新聚集。
同時，在銅鑼灣怡和街，一家圍起木板的中資商店被人縱火焚燒，火舌蔓延至3、4米高的招牌及冷氣機，火勢非常猛烈，濃煙攻至大廈上的住宅，部份住在上面的住客逃生，有沒穿著裝備的市民嘗試用滅火筒阻止火勢蔓延不遂。消防員在8分鐘後到場射水救火，成功將火撲熄。
多區持續衝突至深夜
全港多區包括中文大學、旺角、大埔、天水圍、葵涌、西灣河、元朗等衝突持續至深夜，警方密集發射催淚彈，但示威者仍未有散去的跡象。示威者在旺角外與警方對峙，警察多次在警署內發射催淚彈，示威者在太子道西築成傘陣對抗，警員一度步出旺角警署向太子道西推進，但遭示威者群起反撃最後退回警署內，有示威者懷疑腿部受傷需由救護員抬走。至1時10分左右，有大批防暴警察到場增援，並發射最少10枚催淚彈。警察向太示威者方向推進並多次開槍發射橡膠子彈，將示威者趕離旺角警署一帶。在1時20分，警方將防線推至旺角道一帶。
同樣在12點多開始，大埔太和路一帶仍有示威者與警方對峙，警方舉起橙旗及黑旗，現場煙霧彌漫，示威者需慢慢後退至大埔警署十字路口一帶。至1點半左右防暴警察雖與示威者距離甚遠，但仍舉起橙旗，一邊推前一邊密集發射多枚催淚彈，有示威者嘗試將催淚彈扔回警察方向並漸漸後退至一田橋附近散去，有示威者以汽油彈還擊，地上留有火頭。
在天水圍方面，12點30分左加有示威者向警署方向投擲雜物，警方多次發射催淚彈，又有示威者用鐳射筆射向警署的警員。
https://theinitium.com/article/20191112-whatsnew-central-cu-protest/
端傳媒記者 林可欣 實習記者 韋穎芝 梁中勝 發自香港2019-11-12
繼昨日（11日）有網民發起香港「雙十一、大三罷」後，今日亦有網民繼續發起「破曉行動」，嘗試癱瘓各區交通，呼籲全港市民罷工。今早，香港城市大學、香港大學外有示威者堵路，防暴警察於理工大學、中文大學外、城市大學外戒備，並朝城大宿舍發射催淚彈。中午過後，中大校長段崇智、副校長吳基培、學生事務處等教職員，先後多次到場協調不果，示威者與警方兩度發生劇烈衝突，警方曾進入校園發射多輪催淚彈和橡膠子彈等。從晚上7時半到10時間，槍聲不絕。
因應中大情勢，網絡發起多區遊行示威「圍魏救趙」，包括銅鑼灣、九龍塘、沙田、屯門、大埔、旺角和香港仔等地區都出現快閃堵路，縱火和破壞商場商店的情況；同時，民眾帶同補給品以不同方式前往中大支援示威者，而警察亦在道上截查車輛，有車主被拉出車廂制服。
中大前校長沈祖堯於十點半到達現場，他對現場人士表示，希望大家和平散去，稱學校已和警方協商，只要大學派保安在二號橋駐守，確保沒有人拋物品至吐露港公路。現場有人朝他大喊，希望校長不要太快離開，去警署探望學生。沈祖堯而後進入中大健身室探望學生。
在警方撤退後約一個半小時後，即晚上12時左右，又有多部警車駛至，其後折返，衝突至此暫告一段落。中大在大學健身室設立臨時醫療站，據現場人士表示，有30至40名傷者等待救援，部分人需要包紥和縫合傷口。
根據醫管局數字，截至12點，共有51名傷者送院，其中包括40男、11女，一男傷者情況嚴重在威爾斯親王醫院留醫，31人情況穩定，16人已出院。
今早全港交通多處受阻。港鐵東鐵綫沙田與大圍站之間，有列車撞到搭車，路軌受阻塞，致火炭至大埔墟站的列車服務暫停，車上乘客在消防與港鐵職員協助下離開車廂，經由路軌離開。有黑衣人士疑似向紅磡站投擲燃燒彈。在旺角彌敦道匯豐銀行對出的十字路口，有逾50輛巴士車胎被刺破。
多間大學和大專院校宣布明日繼續停課，包括香港大學、香港中文大學、浸會大學、城市大學、公開大學、職業訓練局等。
據明報報導，由於連續兩天警方進入大學校園執法，一眾大學學者組成的「學術自由學者聯盟」今日呼籲，大學校長及高層應到現場保護學生，明愛專上學院客座教授何芝君指，特首林鄭本週應該積極降溫、停止警暴。大律師查錫我則表示，大學管理層應該探討為大學範圍申請禁制令的可能性。
警方連續兩天進入大學校園執法，由一眾大學學者組成的「學術自由學者聯盟」呼籲罷課一周，讓雙方冷靜。大律師查錫我則指，校園為私人地方，警方不可因懷疑有人使用武力入校，只有追捕疑犯時才可進入，並建議各大院校為校園申禁制令。
下午至夜晚，警方於多地發射催淚彈驅散人群。5時許，大埔太和路有示威者設置路障，防暴警場到場發射催淚彈驅散，中環畢打街、環球大廈外，警方亦向密集人群發射催淚彈；5時半，防暴警察於沙田好運中心、沙田中心商場一帶發射催淚彈。旺角一帶亦有示威者設置路障，警方於夜晚8點出動水炮車清理路障。
下午，中大二號橋警方與示威者發生激烈衝突，現場多人受傷、被捕，警方而後一度進入校園範圍，朝運動場內發射催淚彈。示威者則於多處焚燒路障。
中大校長段崇智下午抵達現場，先與警方進行協商，而後示威者討論後再度前往二號橋，前行途中警方突與示威者再度發生劇烈衝突，現場充斥催淚彈的濃煙和燃燒彈的火光。
中大發生激烈衝突，警方進入校內發射催淚彈
警方昨日首次進入香港中文大學校園範圍內執法，並徹夜留守在二號橋。今日凌晨2時許，曾有約10名防暴警員進入中大校園。至早上8時，約20名防暴警員進入校園，一度抵達崇基學院外網球場。
今早，二號橋仍有防暴警員與示威者對峙。現場有數十名示威者用水馬、雨傘、垃圾桶、磚頭等雜物設置路障。有示威者從運動場取出弓箭、標槍，亦有人搬出裁判架和壓草坪機，在一輛廢棄車輛附近淋食油。示威者在木板噴上「黑警填命」、「暴大人報仇」的字樣，還掛上寫有「快跑，否則無PE分」的字牌。防暴警員一直在數十米外戒備，現場氣氛大致平靜，警員曾舉橙旗，未發射子彈。
中午，中大副校長吳基培到二號橋與學生溝通，他希望騰出一條路讓教職員進入校園。吳基培還指，警方希望進入二號橋行車路清理雜物，但見到現場有很多黑衣人，便未再進入。有學生表示，在場留守學生希望保護中大，另有學生對警員進入校園範圍清理路障、並在門外向校園內發射催淚彈表示不滿。吳基培其後表示，將了解詳細情況並發布聲明。
下午2時左右，有中大教師到場與警方和示威者雙方溝通，警方表示因要確保吐露港公路和東鐵綫安全，不會退後，亦不會與示威者有所協議。示威者則表示，若防暴警員不撤退，將在2時半有所行動。
3時左右，中大傳訊與公共關係處處長與學生事務處職員亦到現場做調停。職員與警方溝通後，防暴警察一度後退，示威者則用垃圾箱和雨傘做防線向前推進，警方立即發射數枚催淚彈、布袋彈，現場濃煙瀰漫。示威者向警方投擲磚頭及燃燒彈，地上多處有火頭。現場疑似有記者的鏡頭被磚頭擊中。
約3時半，警方突然向前推，制服多人，並進入校園範圍。大量示威者退至運動場，亦在運動場內外焚燒雜物，警方朝運動場內再度發射多輪催淚彈。
衝突引致多人受傷，有被捕示威者頭破血流，地上留有大灘血跡。浸大編委鄧澤旻在警方進入校內驅散時，右眼中彈。《南華早報》攝影記者臉部被警方的彈頭擦過，面部流血。
警方於記者會上表示，根據《公安條例》，學校不是私人地方，重申不容任何地方成為罪犯的窩藏地，即使沒有手令都可進入校園拘捕。但根據地總署地理資訊地圖，中大範圍為政府批出的私人土地。
昨天上午中大發布當日停課消息，二號橋出現對峙場面後，有部分內地生感到威脅，在微信朋友圈和群組內譴責校內示威人士的暴力，並為昨日燒傷男子感到憤怒。亦有內地生表示，憂慮課堂安排，很多人希望能「安安靜靜地上課」，更有人認為學歷貶值，希望學校退學費。有相當一部分內地生在昨晚前往深圳，或買票回家「逃難」。
段崇智與警方交涉不果，夜晚中大再發生劇烈衝突，多人受傷
約5時半，中大校長段崇智與民主派議員鄺俊宇、葉建源等人到達中大示威現場，一眾人士護送段崇智前行。在場仍有不少身穿黑衣、配戴防具的學生。中大學生會會長蘇浚鋒向段崇智表示，希望他能明確向警方表達校園是私人範圍。校方則指，希望能讓段崇智等校方人員單獨與警方溝通，叫記者後退，現場亦有記者勸阻其他同業暫時不要上前。
約六時半，校長等管理層返回，由於現場有眾多傳媒，校方表示校長希望先同學生傾談。地面仍是遍地磚頭和雜物，有學生上前帶校長前往學生聚集地。段崇智向學生表示，這兩天發生很多痛苦的事，「來到這裏很傷心。」段崇智交代與警方溝通結果，警方表示在二號橋駐防的目的，是防止有人擲雜物至吐露港公路。校方提出協商方式，表示將在橋頭安排保安和義務員工維持治安，警方退至橋尾。警方指揮官表示接受這個方式。段認為這個協商具有突破性。段崇智還指，大學的安寧是大學的責任，不是警方的。
現場有人提問，受傷被捕學生、警方進入校內發射催淚彈如何處理。校長表示，先解決眼下的情況。在場人士不滿，副校長吳樹培進而表示，已有聯絡義務律師跟進幫助被捕學生，已會派高層人員保護學生。
而後有學生提出，是否可由學生提出交涉條件。段崇智答應將學生條件交予警方，並希望學生接受校方提出的方案。段崇智還表示，會立刻去警署，處理同學被捕的事，現場則會有其他同事留守。
現場學生表示，今晚警方必須全數撤出中大校園範圍，同時所有同學須無罪釋放，否則會繼續站在二號橋。
約7時半，段崇智準備前往警署，一眾人士護送段崇智通過二號橋離開。但當人群出現在二號橋，防暴警方不斷叫現場人士離開，並舉橙旗和黑旗，指在場人士正參與非法集結、有攻擊性武器。而後現場突然出現激烈衝突，警方連續發射催淚彈和橡膠子彈，示威者則不斷投擲汽油彈。事後中大講師梁啟智在Facebook表示，校長在二號橋途中，警方一度表示「現在不是談判的時候」，有同學用鐳射筆射向警方防線，警方舉橙旗後很快發射催淚彈。
警方發射催淚彈後，校長段崇智中催淚煙，離開學校前往警署探望學生。中大衝突持續近兩個半小時，期間警方不間斷發射催淚彈、橡膠子彈等。副校長吳基培留在學校，他戴著防毒面具，於九時許在現場表示，已和警方協商，警方將撤離中大，但現場槍聲仍持續不斷。
約9時50分，警方發聲明指，「為緩和目前形勢及希望以一個和平的方式解決問題，警方已和校方作出溝通，正安排撤退以停止對峙情況，」並呼籲示威者停止追擊。近10時，水炮車來到二號橋附近，朝人群發射藍色水柱，示威者則投擲燃燒彈還擊。數分鐘後，警方撤退。
今晚衝突導致大量人士受傷，不斷有傷者送回校園，多人中彈、燒傷，有男生雙腿骨折。據有線新聞，衝突期間有人中彈，需要做心肺復甦。有網媒記者頭部中彈。
中大前校長沈祖堯於十點半到達現場，在其他人幫助下戴上防毒面罩和眼罩。他對現場人士表示，希望大家和平散去，稱學校已和警方協商，只要大學派保安在二號橋駐守，確保沒有人拋物品至吐露港公路。現場有人朝他大喊，希望校長不要太快離開，去警署探望學生。沈祖堯而後進入中大健身室探望學生。
在警方撤退後約一個半小時後，即晚上12時左右，又有多部警車駛至，有現場人士指防暴警察及速龍小隊將在大學站部署，但警車逗留一會後再折回。衝突至此暫告一段落，中大在大學健身室設立臨時醫療站，據現場人士表示，有30至40名傷者等待救援，部分人需要包紥和縫合傷口。
城大、港大外有示威者堵路，警方於城大宿舍外發射催淚彈
今早九龍塘城市大學外歌和老街與達之路交界，有示威者向馬路投擲磚頭設置路障。約7時半，防暴警察在歌和老街一帶發射催淚彈，有催淚彈擊中天橋護欄。警方而後還向城大宿舍發射多枚催淚彈，並進入校園範圍。
Now新聞直播片段顯示，早上8時許，警方指揮官曾對在場持槍警員下指令時表示，「佢突個頭出嚟，打頭呀。」（他的頭露出來了，打頭呀。）而後有防暴警員向天橋方向發射橡膠子彈，並集中橋上一把雨傘。 警方則表示，早上7時起有激進示威者聚集於九龍塘城市大學宿舍的行人天橋，從高處向地面投擲磚頭等硬物，有激進示威者在歌和老街與達之路交界，以磚頭、木板及鐵欄等雜物堵塞多條行車線，警方在施放多枚催淚煙驅散。
今早在香港大學薄扶林道天橋上，有數十名示威者向道路投擲雪糕筒等雜物，香港大學港鐵站多個出入口關閉，升降機大堂、扶手電梯亦被雜物堵塞。期間有警車經過，未有停留，示威者向警車投擲雜物。至下午3時，薄扶林道行車線全線受阻，天橋上仍有示威者留守。
港大理學院院長、外籍教授艾宏思上午曾到場與學生溝通，表示警方不能在未知會校方情況下進入校園，並稱自己擔心現場同學，認為暴力不能解決問題，希望學生回到校園與他討論其他解決方式。
香港大學校方證實，昨日有5名學生於校園範圍內或一帶被捕。
另外，今早8時許，紅磡理工大學出口天橋上有防暴警員戒備，期間不時向校園範圍內舉槍。理工大學校園電台今日在Facebook表示，約8時許，理大學生校董李傲然得悉校外有人被捕後，趕至現場了解情況，被防暴警員拉出校外毆打，身體多處有傷勢，而後獲放行。
中環再發起「和你Lunch」快閃行動，警方發射催淚彈驅散
中午，有網民再次於中環發起「和你Lunch」快閃行動，有大量市民響應。示威者堵塞畢打街、干諾道中，警方於12時許到現場清理路障，並呼籲現場市民離開。下午1點，警方曾舉起黑旗及橙旗，警告將使用武力作出驅散，最後未有使用武力便離去。
示威者重新佔據干諾道中，期間有一輛黑色私家車嘗試衝過路障，在場市民不滿，並向車輛投擲雜物，亦有人嘗試以巴士作路障堵塞交通。約3時許，防暴警察到中環清場並發射催淚彈，現場人士沿皇后大道東離開。警方在置地廣場門外制服多人，約10幾人被警方命令在牆邊高舉雙手，在場大部份人士未佩戴口罩。
大埔旺角持續對峙，港島、新界入夜各區開花
中大發生激烈警民衝突，有網民號召示威者於香港各區示威「開花」，分散警力，以支援中大示威者。晚上起，包括銅鑼灣、九龍塘、沙田、屯門、大埔、旺角和香港仔等地都出現快閃及遊行，示威者設起路障和放火，並與防暴警對峙，防暴警在多區施放催淚彈，但未能驅散人群。
大約7點30分左右，沙田富豪花園外有示威者包圍一名警察，警察曾經試圖向示威者舉槍但失敗，之後逃離現場，留下警車，最終示威者把警車焚毀。
晚上7點50分在又一城，有十多名黑衣人打破連接達之路又一城商場的玻璃門。商場內一個巨大的聖誕樹裝飾起火，其後有示威者把商場內的玻璃圍欄打破。
最接近中文大學的大埔出現長時間對峙，警方曾舉起黑旗警告，示威者築起傘陣、設路障，及放火燃燒部分路障，試圖阻止警方前進。有示威者在太和路一直高叫「光復香港、時代革命」，並不斷向前推進，阻止警方往香港中文大學增援。至晚上11時，大批示威者仍然聚集，警察再施射一輪催淚彈並推進，示威人群短暫散去又重新聚集。
同時，在銅鑼灣怡和街，一家圍起木板的中資商店被人縱火焚燒，火舌蔓延至3、4米高的招牌及冷氣機，火勢非常猛烈，濃煙攻至大廈上的住宅，部份住在上面的住客逃生，有沒穿著裝備的市民嘗試用滅火筒阻止火勢蔓延不遂。消防員在8分鐘後到場射水救火，成功將火撲熄。
多區持續衝突至深夜
全港多區包括中文大學、旺角、大埔、天水圍、葵涌、西灣河、元朗等衝突持續至深夜，警方密集發射催淚彈，但示威者仍未有散去的跡象。示威者在旺角外與警方對峙，警察多次在警署內發射催淚彈，示威者在太子道西築成傘陣對抗，警員一度步出旺角警署向太子道西推進，但遭示威者群起反撃最後退回警署內，有示威者懷疑腿部受傷需由救護員抬走。至1時10分左右，有大批防暴警察到場增援，並發射最少10枚催淚彈。警察向太示威者方向推進並多次開槍發射橡膠子彈，將示威者趕離旺角警署一帶。在1時20分，警方將防線推至旺角道一帶。
同樣在12點多開始，大埔太和路一帶仍有示威者與警方對峙，警方舉起橙旗及黑旗，現場煙霧彌漫，示威者需慢慢後退至大埔警署十字路口一帶。至1點半左右防暴警察雖與示威者距離甚遠，但仍舉起橙旗，一邊推前一邊密集發射多枚催淚彈，有示威者嘗試將催淚彈扔回警察方向並漸漸後退至一田橋附近散去，有示威者以汽油彈還擊，地上留有火頭。
在天水圍方面，12點30分左加有示威者向警署方向投擲雜物，警方多次發射催淚彈，又有示威者用鐳射筆射向警署的警員。
https://theinitium.com/article/20191112-whatsnew-central-cu-protest/
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