Published on : Monday, July 29, 2019
According to The Associated Press, more than 1,000 demonstrators dressed in black filled Arrival Hall A in Terminal 1 of Hong Kong International Airport before spilling into Arrival Hall B. The group chanted, “There are no riots, there’s only tyranny!”
Organisers billed the airport rally as an opportunity to brief arrivals on the political unrest, particularly visitors from mainland China where the state-controlled news has portrayed the protests as a violent, foreign-funded plot to destabilise the motherland.
The airport rally is the latest bid to keep pressure on Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing leaders after seven weeks of largely peaceful mass demonstrations followed by violent clashes, an unprecedented challenge to Beijing’s authority since the city’s 1997 handover.
The protests were triggered by a controversial bill which would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, but they have evolved into a call for wider democratic reforms and a halt to sliding freedoms.
Tags: airport rally, hong kong