{"id":3589,"date":"2019-09-19T23:53:23","date_gmt":"2019-09-19T23:53:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/?p=3589"},"modified":"2019-09-20T00:02:59","modified_gmt":"2019-09-20T00:02:59","slug":"hong-kong-wont-concede-to-more-protester-demands-top-adviser-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/2019\/09\/19\/hong-kong-wont-concede-to-more-protester-demands-top-adviser-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Hong Kong Won\u2019t Concede to More Protester Demands, Top Adviser Says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By\u00a0Iain Marlow<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

September 17, 2019, 8:00 PM EDT\u00a0Updated on\u00a0September 18, 2019, 5:30 AM EDT<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hong Kong\u2019s government doesn\u2019t see any benefit in conceding to more demands from protesters and the increasingly violent demonstrations are unlikely to stop anytime soon, according to a top adviser to leader Carrie Lam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Radical demonstrators — some of whom have lobbed petrol bombs at police and vandalized subway stations in recent weeks — won\u2019t give up their struggle even if the government meets all of their demands, said Bernard Chan, convener of the city\u2019s Executive Council. While more moderate protesters may be swayed by moves to address social inequality, their die-hard peers are unlikely to give up, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo one is foolish enough to think that the more violent, more radicalized ones will dissipate anytime soon — I\u2019m afraid that this might drag on for a while,\u201d Chan said in an interview this week. \u201cThey give the impression that it\u2019s the five demands they want, and they\u2019ll walk. Come on, we all know that\u2019s not true. The five demands may be just the outset. The underlying issues are about all the other social issues we\u2019re facing in Hong Kong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chan spoke after another weekend<\/a> of protests descended into violence, less than two weeks since Lam\u2019s government made its most significant concession to date by announcing it would formally withdraw<\/a> a controversial bill that kicked off the movement. While that met one of the five demands called for by protesters, it did little to quell the unrest<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Timeline: Hong Kong\u2019s 100 Days of Protests<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The city has been gripped by historic pro-democracy rallies<\/a> that have stretched into a fourth month. What began as pushback against legislation allowing extraditions to China has shifted into calls for greater democratic freedoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hong Kong authorities said Wednesday that they would cancel a National Day fireworks display scheduled for Oct. 1, the politically-sensitive 70th anniversary of Communist Party rule in China, citing safety concerns. Large crowds are expected to protest in the city on that day, and key organizer the Civil Human Rights Front has said it will apply for a permit to march.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tens
Riot police deploy tear gas during a protest in Causeway Bay on Sept. 15.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

U.S. lawmakers are considering passing legislation that would sanction<\/a> Chinese officials responsible for abducting or extraditing anyone from Hong Kong to the mainland. It would also seek to safeguard the autonomy that underpins special trading privileges for Hong Kong, which are crucial to its economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Lawmakers Seek to Ramp Up Pressure on Hong Kong<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the withdrawal of the extradition bill, Hong Kong\u2019s demonstrators have also called for an independent inquiry into the violence, an amnesty for those charged during the unrest, rescinding the categorization of participants as \u201crioters\u201d and the implementation of full universal suffrage. Tens of thousands marched in the city center over the weekend, some chanting \u201cFive Demands, Not One Less.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018No Go\u2019<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Chan said amnesty for people charged with crimes was a \u201cno go\u201d as it violated Hong Kong\u2019s rule of law. Launching a formal inquiry would take too long, possibly years, and wouldn\u2019t do anything to solve the immediate crisis, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt sounds good, it might be a good diversion, but it\u2019s not solving the problem,\u201d Chan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s How Hong Kong\u2019s Unrest Is Hitting the Economy: Tracker<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lam\u2019s government is intent on addressing the social inequality<\/a> they believe is the root cause of the protests, Chan said, despite many protesters insisting their real grievance is Hong Kong\u2019s lack of true democracy. One survey<\/a> led by the Chinese University of Hong Kong suggested that calls for an independent inquiry also ranked near the top of the protesters\u2019 motivations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said he hoped Lam\u2019s efforts to engage in dialogue with residents will help end demonstrations, but added that the movement\u2019s leaderless nature<\/a> has complicated that process. In a briefing this week, Lam said she will meet with local district councilors on Wednesday evening and begin meetings with citizens next week as part of a formal dialogue process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Hong
Carrie Lam<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, Chan said many people didn\u2019t want to be seen meeting Lam, whose popularity has plunged<\/a> as unrest worsens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome people have accused her of hiding. It\u2019s not true. She\u2019s been seeing people every day since June, but funnily enough, many would prefer not to be seen meeting her,\u201d he said. \u201cI guess they\u2019re afraid people might question, \u2018Why you? Why are you seeing her? Are you representing us?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S.-China talks are back on, one of the world\u2019s top investors sounds the alarm and Amnesty International accuses Hong Kong police of \u201ctorture.\u201d Here are some of the things people in markets are talking about today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back at the Table<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

China and the U.S. are talking trade again<\/a>. Negotiators have resumed face-to-face discussions in Washington, while the Trump administration says a Chinese delegation will visit American farmlands next week. The talks are expected to lay the ground-work for top-level negotiations between U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Vice Premier Liu He in October. The past two months have seen a ratcheting up of the trade war, after the last set of talks in late July. Since then, China\u2019s trade performance is showing signs of a bad situation becoming worse<\/a>, U.S. growth<\/a> has decelerated and the OECD has forecast the slowest global expansion<\/a> in a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Excessive Force\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hong Kong police beat pro-democracy protesters<\/a> in custody and committed acts that amount to \u201ctorture,\u201d Amnesty International alleged in a new report. Police used \u201cunnecessary and excessive force\u201d in making arrests, beat a protester for declining to answer a question and threatened to electrocute a man\u2019s genitals after he refused to unlock his phone, the human rights group said. The Hong Kong Police said it would not comment on individual cases and that police officers would give warning of their intention to use force when circumstances allowed. Officers are required to use a \u201chigh level of restraint at all times,\u201d it said. As the protests have rolled on, one humble accessory has emerged as a demonstrator\u2019s most valuable, and versatile, tool<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Market Open<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Asia stocks looked set for muted gains after U.S. equities<\/a> ended the day near where they started. The dollar sank and Treasuries rose amid a slew of fresh monetary-policy decisions. After getting a boost<\/a> from positive comments on trade by White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow early in the day, equities took a leg down after a report<\/a> about a U.S. official threatening steeper tariffs against China. In China, all eyes will be on the Loan Prime Rate \u2014 a new gauge of borrowing costs. In India, central bank chief Shaktikanta Das said there\u2019s room for interest-rate cuts<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two Japans<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Japan has a population problem, and it\u2019s a cautionary tale for wealthy countries around the globe<\/a>. The Japanese economy is essentially split in two. Cutting-edge businesses and world-class wealth fill the urban-industrial corridor stretching about 300 miles from Tokyo through Osaka; just about everywhere else, small cities and towns are dying as people relocate in search of opportunity. The rural population is expected to plunge another 17% by 2030 \u2014 an extreme example of a trend hitting countries from the U.S. to Italy. The big question is how policy makers respond to a trend that, so far, seems impossible to reverse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s Looking at You<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

India is planning to set up one of the world\u2019s largest facial recognition<\/a> systems. Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s government will open bids next month<\/a> to build a system to centralize facial recognition data captured through surveillance cameras across India. It would link up with databases containing records for everything from passports to fingerprints<\/a> to help India\u2019s depleted police force identify criminals, missing persons and dead bodies. The plan promises to be a lucrative opportunity for surveillance companies. But in a nation with no data privacy laws and a government that just shut down<\/a> the internet for the last seven weeks in the key state of Kashmir to prevent unrest, it\u2019s also ringing alarm bells.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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By\u00a0Iain Marlow September 17, 2019, 8:00 PM EDT\u00a0Updated on\u00a0September 18, 2019, 5:30 AM EDT Hong Kong\u2019s government doesn\u2019t see any benefit in conceding to more demands from protesters and the increasingly violent demonstrations are unlikely to stop anytime soon, according to a top adviser to leader Carrie Lam. Radical demonstrators — some of whom have lobbed petrol bombs at police… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/139"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3589"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3637,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3589\/revisions\/3637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}