World

US senator warns Hong Kong becoming 'police state'

October 14, 2019
US Republican Senator from Missouri Josh Hawley listens to questions from members of the media at a hotel in Hong Kong on Monday.  -AFP
US Republican Senator from Missouri Josh Hawley listens to questions from members of the media at a hotel in Hong Kong on Monday. -AFP

HONG KONG - Strife-torn Hong Kong is sliding towards becoming a police state, US senator Josh Hawley warned Monday, as the financial hub braces for a rally calling on Washington to punish China over sliding freedoms.

The international finance hub was battered by another weekend of unrest Sunday as hardcore pro-democracy protesters and police fought running battles across the city.

Protests pushing for greater democratic freedoms and police accountability have raged for the last 19 weeks and there is little end in sight as Beijing and local leaders refuse concessions.

A large crowd is expected to gather in the heart of the city's commercial district Monday evening calling for US politicians to pass a bill that could dramatically alter Washington's relationship with the trading hub.

The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which could be discussed and voted on by the House of Representatives as early as this week, would require annual reviews of the territory's special trading status -- and potentially sanction some Chinese officials.

Monday's rally is expected to be large because it is one of the few protests in recent weeks to be granted permission to go ahead by police.

Among the bill's sponsors is Hawley, a Republican senator for Missouri.

He made a quick two-day trip to Hong Kong and watched the protests on Sunday night in the crowded district of Mongkok, later meeting with prominent democracy activist Joshua Wong.

"The situation here is urgent," he told reporters on Monday.

Asked what his message would be on returning to Washington he replied: "That Hong Kong is in danger of sliding towards a police state and that representative government in Hong Kong is at risk, and that the one country two systems model is at risk."

One country, two systems is deal China agreed to ahead of the 1997 handover by Britain in which it agreed to allow Hong Kong to keep its unique freedoms such as free speech and an independent judiciary for 50 years.

Democracy activists inside Hong Kong have long accused Beijing of chipping away at those freedoms, a gripe that has fueled years of growing resentment which exploded this summer. -AFP


October 14, 2019
50 views
HIGHLIGHTS
World
hour ago

Fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison

World
2 hours ago

Jacob Zuma barred from running in South Africa elections

World
5 hours ago

India opposition leader Kejriwal to remain in jail in corruption case