After the US government passed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act late last month, the Chinese government announced early this month that it would retaliate by suspending visits to Hong Kong by US military ships and imposing sanctions on five US non-governmental organizations for instigating the “anti-extradition” protests in the territory.
Many people in Taiwan — and around the world — will be watching Hong Kong tomorrow, where the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) received permission to hold a large-scale demonstration, two weeks after district council elections that delivered a resounding rebuke to Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s (林鄭月娥) administration — and Beijing.
While CHRF vice convener Eric Lai (黎恩灝) said the aim was to show Lam that the elections were not the end of the pro-democracy protests, new Hong Kong Police Commissioner Chris Tang (鄧炳強) said that he hoped the demonstration would show the world that Hong Kongers are able to rally “in an orderly and peaceful manner.”