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WORLD NEWS Tuesday 13 augusT 2019

Hong Kong airport shuts down amid pro-democracy protest

By YANAN WANG Companies from luxury
CHRISTOPHER BODEEN fashion brands to bubble
Associated Press tea shops are under pres-
HONG KONG (AP) — One sure to distance themselves
of the world's busiest air- from protesters and de-
ports canceled all flights clare their support for the
after thousands of pro- ruling Communist Party's
democracy demonstrators position on Hong Kong.
crowded into Hong Kong's China had said it would
main terminal Monday, bar any airline employees
while the central govern- found to have taken part in
ment in Beijing issued an demonstrations.
ominous characterization Earlier Monday, Hong Kong
of the protest movement police showed off water
as something approaching cannons that could be
"terrorism." deployed, a development
The extreme action by the that Amnesty International
largely leaderless move- has warned could lead to
ment seemed calculated serious injuries if misused in
to prompt a stern response the densely populated city.
from Beijing, and Commu- Legislators and journalists
nist Party leader Xi Jinping's were invited to witness the
administration responded display of crowd-control
within hours. Protesters gather near a flights information board during a protest at the Hong Kong International tactics, which came after a
No new violence was re- Airport, Monday, Aug. 12, 2019. weekend of protests at the
ported by Monday eve- Associated Press airport and in one of Hong
ning, although the city Kong's main shopping dis-
remained on edge after "All other flights have been A massive traffic jam soon criminality, showing no le- tricts.
more than two months of canceled for the rest of to- formed on the highway niency or mercy," said the During the weekend pro-
near-daily and increasingly day," the airport statement leading back to Hong statement, attributed to tests, website Hong Kong
bloody confrontations be- said. It later said flights Kong's city center. Some spokesman Yang Guang. Free Press showed footage
tween protesters and po- would resume at 6 a.m. protesters were seen walk- "Hong Kong has reached of one arrest that appeared
lice. Beijing tends toward Tuesday (2200 GMT, 6 p.m. ing toward the airport amid an inflection point where to include officers in plain
a broad definition of terror- EDT Monday). the stifling heat. all those who are con- clothes pinning a demon-
ism, including in it nonvio- Joydeep Chakravarti, a The demonstrations that cerned about Hong Kong's strator to the ground. The
lent protests of government software engineer whose have drawn more than 1 future must say 'no,' to law young man, who said his
policies on the environ- connecting flight to San million people at times call breakers and 'no' to those name was Chow Ka-lok
ment or in minority regions Francisco was canceled for democratic reforms and engaged in violence." and asked for a lawyer,
such as Xinjiang and Tibet. during a layover in Hong an independent inquiry The chief executive of Hong was shown with a bleeding
Such a designation adds to Kong, expressed frustration into police conduct, with Kong's Cathay Pacific Air- head wound and said he
the regime's descriptions of that he was told to leave both protesters and police ways said there would be had a broken tooth.
protesters as clowns, crimi- the airport when he want- adopting ever-more ex- "disciplinary consequenc- Police defended their tac-
nals and traitors intent on ed to stay inside the termi- treme tactics. es" for employees involved tics and tried to fend off
overthrowing Chinese rule nal. In Beijing, the Cabinet's in "illegal protests," as the criticism over widely shared
in Hong Kong. "I don't know what's out Hong Kong and Macao Af- airline joined businesses videos from Sunday night's
Hong Kong International there, so I don't want to fairs Office issued a state- that have apologized clashes, including graphic
Airport said in a statement leave. I didn't make any ment saying the situation in to China in recent days images of Chow's arrest
the demonstration "serious- plans for Hong Kong," said Hong Kong was "beginning over political flaps. Rupert and of a female protester
ly disrupted" airport opera- Chakravarti, who had a to show the sprouts of ter- Hogg warned in an internal who was shot in the eye.
tions. Only flights that had carry-on bag with laptop, rorism" and constituted an memo that the company Deputy Commissioner Tang
already started boarding charger and an extra shirt "existential threat" to the has a "zero tolerance ap- Ping-keung acknowledged
or those cleared for land- while the rest of his luggage population. proach to illegal activities," that police use decoy offi-
ing were allowed to use already was checked in on "One must take resolute apparently referring to un- cers in some operations but
runways at the airport. his Singapore Airlines flight. action toward this violent approved protests. would not go into details.q