Hong Kong (AFP) – Hong Kong democracy activists kicked off a weekend of fresh rallies on Saturday in a major test for the movement following criticism over an airport protest earlier this week — and as concerns mount over Beijing’s next move.
The new marches came as thousands of pro-government supporters — many waving Chinese flags — gathered in a park to condemn their opponents and support the police, a stark illustration of the polarisation now coursing through the city.
Ten weeks of demonstrations have plunged the international finance hub into crisis, with communist-ruled mainland China taking an increasingly hardline tone, including labelling the more violent protester actions “terrorist-like”.
Democracy activists are billing the weekend rallies as a way to show Beijing and the city’s unelected leaders that their movement still enjoys broad public support, despite increasingly violent tactics deployed by a minority of hardcore protesters that have cast a shadow.
news.yahoo.com/rival-rallies-hong-kongs-divisions-deepen-100523296.html
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Against police orders, Hongkongers leave Victoria Park and take to the streets
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Civil Human Rights Front, which is behind the biggest demonstrations against the extradition bill, had been banned from holding a march to Central
Relief spread across the city as anti-government protests ended relatively peacefully on Saturday, with no tear gas fired, on the eleventh consecutive weekend of unrest.