Protestors involved in a long-running dispute are talking with law enforcement officials about how to keep demonstrations peaceful. While that headline might come from Hawaii Island and Mauna Kea, it actually originates from the other side of the Pacific.
Organizers who have already put together two mass protests in Hong Kong want to stage another one this weekend.They’re talking with local police — who asked them to postpone the protest until August.
A group called the Civil Human Rights Front organized past rallies against a bill in the Hong Kong legislature that would have allowed extradition of Hong Kong residents to other locations — including mainland China.
The South China Morning Post reports police asked leaders of the group to delay a march this weekend because officers say they are “reaching a breaking point” following a series of recent clashes with protestors.
On Sunday, 22 people were hospitalized and more than 40 were arrested after a peaceful rally turned violent at a shopping mall in Sha Tin — in the new territories north of Hong Kong Island.
In Beijing, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng is in town for meetings today. She was the official behind the extradition treaty, and, according to the latest polling by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute, her approval rating has sunk to 21%.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam’s approval rating is now 33% — the lowest level of approval for any Hong Kong chief executive since Britain returned Hong Kong to China in 1997.
