By Virgil Ratner
On September 29–as the country celebrated its 70th anniversary of Communist rule–China’s streets were flooded with marching soldiers and military vehicles. Crowds cheered as General Secretary Xi Jinping made an appearance for the occasion.
On the same day, members of the Hong Kong police fired shots at protestors, gravely wounding one of the demonstrators and rekindling the same tensions which culminated last June in a now five months-strong clash between citizens and policemen.
During the military parade, Jinping spoke of the nation’s commitment “to the strategy of peaceful unification.” Meanwhile in Hong Kong, due to the outrage of Chinese demonstrators in response, guards were stationed in public areas during the recitation of the national anthem. Subways were shut down and a fireworks display was cancelled as protesting citizens made their way through the city. Although the protest was largely peaceful, several dissidents could be seen throwing bricks and petrol bombs at buildings. Policemen retaliated with tear gas, batons, water cannons and containers filled with “corrosive liquid.”
In the Tsuen Wan neighborhood, one protester was shot point blank in the chest by a revolver-wielding policeman. A second protester was shot in the hand, and another in the arm. While one of the citizens was arrested for assault, a response from the Chinese government has not yet been issued regarding the officer responsible for firing a live round. 74 people in total were injured during Tuesday’s protest.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/01/world/asia/hong-kong-protestor-shot.html (Also includes photo credit)