Last Tuesday, thousands of demonstrators risked violating social distancing orders and unauthorized assembly rules to protest the expansion of charges against people involved in the months-long protests, which rocked the city in 2019.
Some who had been charged with illegally entering the city legislature last year are now being charged with “rioting,” a far more serious crime often leading to extended jail time.
Last Tuesday also marked the one-year anniversary when over a million demonstrators took to the streets of Hong Kong demanding withdrawal of a controversial extradition bill.
The Beijing-drafted bill would have allowed Hong Kong authorities to extradite citizens accused of crimes to be shipped to the mainland.
Under pressure, the Hong Kong executive Carrie Lam withdrew the bill on 4 September. But street demonstrations continued along with continuous physical confrontations with police.
Immediately after COVID-19 broke out in China, protests were prohibited, and it put an end to the months-long protest that virtually shut down Hong Kong.
But, as reported in the Trends Journal, beginning on 24 May, thousands returned to the streets, peacefully for the most part, in reaction to Beijing initiating tough security laws to increase its control over Hong Kong activities.
The protests that broke out on Friday continued over the weekend, as thousands filled city streets despite police hauling out water cannons along with tear gas and pepper spray.
According to police, as of last Saturday, over 40 people had been arrested for violations ranging from misconduct in a public place to possession of offensive weapons and violating the ban on gatherings of more than eight people.
While thousands showed up this time, the number pales in comparison to the original protest a year ago, as many citizens note the new high risk of arrest for unlawful assembly.
TREND FORECAST: With the U.S. and Europe in economic turmoil, COVID Hysteria throughout the planet, and Black Lives Matter protests sweeping across America… what’s going on in Hong Kong and the harsh crackdowns by its government are not big mainstream news.
Considering the military might of its police force, and it being backed by Beijing, we forecast the future of massive, ongoing Hong Kong protests have ended.
