Protesters clashed with riot
police at Hong Kong's international airport on Tuesday evening after flights were disrupted for a second day, as
Donald Trump warned that
China is moving troops to the border. The airport scuffles broke out in the evening between police and protesters, after
protesters allegedly detained two men suspected of being undercover Chinese officials. Trouble began as about 10-15 regular police officers entered the airport without riot gear to assist paramedics after a man collapsed. The man was accused by demonstrators of being a member of Chinese state security. Protesters then drove the police out of the terminal building. Shortly after, about 50 riot police arrived and clashes broke out in and around the entrance of the airport. Police used pepper spray and made a handful of arrests as scenes briefly turned violent. A policeman was cornered and beaten with his own baton before protesters dispersed when he drew his pistol. Cameramen and photographers film a detained man, who protesters claimed was a police officer from mainland China Credit: Vincent Yu/AP Protesters also detained a second man who they suspected of being an undercover agent. After emptying out his belongings, they found a blue T-shirt that has been worn by pro-Beijing supporters that they said was evidence he was a spy. The editor-in-chief of the Global Times claimed one of the men seen detained and tied to a trolley was a reporter for the Chinese state newspaper. Meanwhile, Chinese paramilitary police were assembling across the border in the city of Shenzhen for exercises. While China has yet to threaten sending in the army - as it did against pro-democracy protesters in
Beijing in 1989 - the Shenzhen exercises were a sign of its ability to crush the demonstrations, even at the cost to Hong Kong's reputation as a safe haven for business and international exchange. Images on the internet showed armored personnel carriers belonging to the People's Armed Police driving in a convoy Monday toward the site of the exercises. Mr Trump said in a tweet: "Our Intelligence has informed us that the Chinese Government is moving troops to the Border with Hong Kong. Everyone should be calm and safe!" He retweted a video purporting to show army trucks queuing in Shenzhen, the Chinese city that borders Hong Kong. The US president, who is embroiled in a major trade dispute with China, added: "Many are blaming me, and the
United States, for the problems going on in Hong Kong. I can’t imagine why?" Ten weeks of increasingly violent clashes between police and protesters have roiled the Asian financial hub as thousands of residents chafe at a perceived erosion of freedoms and autonomy under Chinese rule. The
United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights urged Hong Kong to exercise restraint and investigate evidence of its forces firing tear gas at protesters in ways banned under international law. China later rejected what it called a "wrongful statement" by the UN, saying it amounted to interference in its domestic affairs. Riot police clashed with pockets of protesters at the airport as demonstrations crippled terminals Credit: THOMAS PETER/ REUTERS At a news conference in the government headquarters complex, which is fortified behind 6-foot (1.8-m) -high water-filled barricades, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said: "Take a minute to look at our city, our home." Her voice cracked as she added: "Can we bear to push it into the abyss and see it smashed to pieces?" Ms Lam’s repeated refusals to make any concessions or show sympathy toward protesters, some of whom have been injured as police shoot tear gas and rubber bullets, has only upset them more and boosted public support for the activists plunging the city into its worst political crisis in decades. Chris Patten, the last governor under
British colonial rule, said that Hong Kong was "close to the abyss", because Ms Lam refused to withdraw a controversial extradition bill "I think there is a degree of frustration and anger at the government refusing to give any sensible ground at all, which probably provokes more violence," Mr Patten told
BBC Radio 4's Today programme. He urged
Boris Johnson to take a firmer line with Beijing, and to put pressure on visiting National Security Advisor
John Bolton for US help. Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the foreign affairs committee, said the
UK should extend citizenship rights to Hong Kong citizens. The
White House has also urged "all sides" to avoid violence in Hong Kong.
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, a
Republican, on Monday praised protesters for standing up to the Chinese Communist Party, warning that the "world is watching" for any violent crackdown by authorities. US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he hoped no one would be killed. The crisis was a "very tricky situation," the president told reporters in New Jersey. "I hope it works out peacefully, nobody gets hurt, nobody gets killed," he said. Hong Kong
protests | Read more China this week condemned some protesters for using dangerous tools to attack police, calling the clashes "sprouts of terrorism". They present President
Xi Jinping with one of his biggest challenges since he came to power in 2012. Hong Kong legal experts say Beijing might be paving the way to use anti-terrorism laws to try to quell the demonstrations. The clashes at the airport followed an unprecedented airport shutdown on Monday. Again on Tuesday, thousands of black-clad protesters jammed the terminal, chanting, singing and waving banners. Floors and walls were covered with missives penned by activists and other artwork. Initially, the scene was peaceful as knots of protesters spoke to travellers, explaining their aims. "Sorry for the inconvenience, we are fighting for the future of our home," read one protest banner at the airport. "I think paralysing the airport will be effective in forcing Carrie Lam to respond to us ... it can further pressure Hong Kong's
economy," said Dorothy Cheng, 17. The weeks of protests began as opposition to a now-suspended bill that would have allowed suspects to be extradited to mainland China, but have swelled into wider calls for democracy. Demonstrators say they are fighting the erosion of the "one country, two systems" arrangement that enshrined some autonomy for Hong Kong since China took it back from
Britain in 1997. They want Lam to resign. She says she will stay. Fu Guohao, reporter of GT website is being seized by demonstrators at HK airport. I affirm this man being tied in this video is the reporter himself. He has no other task except for reporting. I sincerely ask the demonstrators to release him. I also ask for help of West reporters pic.twitter.com/sbFb0L3s92— Hu Xijin 胡锡进 (@HuXijin_GT) August 13, 2019 "My responsibility goes beyond this particular range of protest," Lam said on Tuesday, adding that violence had pushed the territory into a state of "panic and chaos". As she spoke, the benchmark Hang Seng index hit a seven-month low. It shed more than 2%, dragging down markets across Asia. Lam did not respond to questions at a press briefing to clarify if she had the power to withdraw the extradition bill and satisfy a key demand made by the protesters, or if she needed Beijing's approval. Airport authorities had earlier suspended check-in operations. Crowds of protesters continued to swell in the evening. "Terminal operations at Hong Kong International Airport have been seriously disrupted as a result of the public assembly," the airport authority said. Some passengers challenged protesters over the delays as tempers began to fray, while the demonstrators, using a Chinese term of encouragement, chanted, "Hong Kong people - add oil!" Flag carrier Cathay Pacific said: "There is potential for further flight disruptions at short notice". The airline, whose British heritage makes it a symbol of Hong Kong's colonial past, is also in a political bind. China's civil aviation regulator demanded that the airline suspend staff who joined or backed the protests from flights in its airspace, pushing the carrier's shares past Monday's 10-year low. Other Chinese airlines have offered passengers wanting to avoid Hong Kong a free switch to nearby destinations, such as Guangzhou, Macau, Shenzhen or Zhuhai, with the disruption sending shares in Shenzhen Airport Co Ltd surging.