Violence in Hong Kong Worsens

Hong Kong’s image as a cosmopolitan financial center has been tarnished by protests in recent months. (Wikimedia Commons)

Hong Kong was faced with some of the worst violence seen since the start of unrest in June during the week of November 10. This comes as protesters tried to bring the city’s transportation network to a standstill and police placed university campuses, formerly sacrosanct, under siege. 

Hong Kong has been "pushed to the brink of a total breakdown,'' police spokesman Kong Wing-cheun told reporters on November 13. Police have fought running battles with protesters who gathered in the central financial district to block an intersection and attempted to overrun the subway network. Meanwhile, other police officers mounted raids along the edges of major university campuses, while students responded by building barricades and attacking police formations. University administrators, while intervening in an attempt to de-escalate, found themselves caught in the crossfire and enveloped by tear gas. Protestors throughout the city armed themselves with improvised weapons such as bricks, Molotov cocktails, and slingshots. Some university students were seen firing bows to light barricades and ward off approaching police officers.

The violence reached a fever pitch after Chow Tsz-lok, an 18-year-old student at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, suffered fatal injuries while falling from a parking garage close to the site of protests last week. Police have denied any involvement, which seems to have convinced few protesters.

In another incident, a 57-year-old man was doused with a flammable liquid and set alight after arguing with protestors. Hong Kong’s police furiously denounced the escalation of violence, with police spokesman Kong Wing-Cheun opining that “anyone [who] still has any wishful thinking that they can achieve their so-called ideals by using violence, please wake up…. If you still refuse to cut ties with rioters and are still looking for excuses to defend them, you are indeed an accomplice." 

Meanwhile, Beijing took a hard line with the United States, “urg[ing] the U.S. to clearly assess the situation and pull back before it's too late,” according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang. "The U.S. side must immediately stop pushing the relevant bills, stop supporting violent offenses, and stop using Hong Kong to interfere in China's domestic affairs," he went on, presenting a defiant line even as the situation on the ground continued to fester.

Hong Kong’s economy recently went into recession, precipitated by disruptions to the financial sector and a loss of tourism revenue. As the city teeters on the edge, experts see little end in sight. "It's sinking into the mire even more deeply, and the levels of violence are continuing to escalate on both sides," Charles Parton, a former British diplomat, told NBC. "It's more of the same—but far worse."