Police force hong kong

HONG KONG: Two police officers were beaten bloody by protesters in Hong Kong on Sunday (Jan 19) as violence erupted at a rally calling for greater democratic freedoms in the heart of the city. Trouble flared when police ordered the authorised gathering to disperse from the city's commercial district, with protesters gathering behind shields of umbrellas. A group of plainclothes officers negotiating with the rally organisers was set upon by masked protesters, who beat them with umbrellas and sticks, an AFP reporter on the scene said. Riot police have stormed into Chater Garden pic.twitter.com/u0lz1OuBVZ — Afifah Ariffin (@AfifahCNA) January 19, 2020 Two officers were seen with bloody head wounds as colleagues shielded them from further attacks. "Such appalling acts are not to be condoned," the force said in a statement on Facebook. Riot police swept into the area and fired tear gas to disperse the crowds. READ: Police fire tear gas to disperse thousands … [Read more...] about Officers beaten after police disband Hong Kong rally

HONG KONG: Support for the demands of protesters in Hong Kong has grown even as rallies have paused due to the coronavirus outbreak, according to a survey conducted for Reuters that also showed a widespread lack of confidence in the government's ability to manage the COVID-19 crisis. Demands for the resignation of Hong Kong's leader, Carrie Lam, were supported by 63 per cent of respondents in the poll, conducted by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute between Mar 17 to 20, versus 57 per cent in a poll it conducted in December. Supporters of the protests outnumbered opponents by a ratio of roughly two to one, with 28 per cent against them compared with 30 per cent in a poll in December, and 58 per cent supporting them, versus 59 per cent previously. The poll showed a significant increase in the levels of support for key demands of the often-violent demonstrations which rattled the city for most of last year and into early January before the coronavirus crisis. … [Read more...] about Support for Hong Kong protesters’ demands rises even as COVID-19 pandemic halts rallies

HONG KONG: A "bomb-making factory" in Hong Kong with 2.6 tonnes of chemicals was raided by police on Sunday (Mar 8) and 17 people arrested over a plot to force the city's government to close its border with mainland China. Twenty-two properties across the city were raided in an operation linked to the detonation of an explosive device in January. Two Hong Kong groups claimed responsibility at the time, saying a shutdown of boundary crossings was needed to curb the spread of the deadly new coronavirus to the city. Three half-built makeshift bombs each containing 1.5kg of explosives were found on Sunday, according to Li Kwai-wah, a senior superintendent with the police's organised crime and triad bureau. READ: Hong Kong police fire tear gas as black-clad protesters return to streets READ: Hong Kong police get US$64 million protective upgrade to fight threat of 'local terrorism' A small bomb was detonated on Jan 27 inside a public toilet at a hospital in Hong Kong's … [Read more...] about Bomb-making materials seized by Hong Kong police

HONG KONG: Tom Bennell's olive oil distribution business took a heavy beating during months of protests that emptied Hong Kong hotels and restaurants, his major customers. Now he fears a knockout blow as the city fights the coronavirus. The two-decade-old Olives and Oils supplies more than 20 five-star hotels, as well as clubs, delis and restaurants in Chinese-ruled Hong Kong, where retail and tourism act like balance wheels for an economy running on trade and finance. The coronavirus, which has killed more than 1,800 people across the border in mainland China and one of 60 patients in Hong Kong , has reduced tourist arrivals to a trickle and kept residents away from shops at a time when the city is mired in its first recession in a decade. Business is so bad that Bennell has pulled his two teenage sons out of international school to cut costs. If things don't turn around, he might be forced to leave the city that has been home since 1993. READ: China's COVID-19 … [Read more...] about ‘Super-cold winter’: COVID-19 could be knockout blow for Hong Kong’s tourism, retail sectors

HONG KONG: Hong Kong has evacuated more than 100 people from a residential building in the New Territories district of Tsing Yi, after four residents in two different apartments tested positive for the coronavirus, authorities said early on Tuesday (Feb 11). Locals were forced to leave in the early hours as health officials in masks and white overalls scrambled to work out whether the virus had spread through the 35-storey complex that houses some 3,000 people. Officials said Tuesday's relocation of residents in Tsing Yi district was a precautionary measure after three members of the same family contracted the virus. The family lived 10 floors directly below another man who had already been diagnosed as a carrier. AUTHORITIES UNCLEAR ON ROUTE OF TRANSMISSION "We are not sure what was the exact route of transmission," Wong Ka-hing, from the Centre for Health Protection, told reporters. "It could still be through the usual method of droplets or contact." … [Read more...] about Hong Kong evacuates residential building after virus cluster find