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China calls Hong Kong protesters ‘mobsters’ after stabbing
BEIJING, Nov 8, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – China has slammed radical protesters in
Hong Kong as “mobsters” using violence to influence upcoming local elections,
after a pro-Beijing lawmaker was injured in a stabbing.
The international finance hub has been shaken by five months of huge and
increasingly violent protests calling for greater democratic freedoms and
police accountability.
With Beijing and Hong Kong’s unpopular leader Carrie Lam refusing to offer
a political solution to the protesters’ grievances, violence has spiralled on
both sides of the ideological divide.
In the latest incident, a man holding a bouquet approached pro-Beijing
lawmaker Junius Ho on Wednesday morning as the politician was campaigning in
his constituency near the border with China.
The attack was “not only a serious criminal act but also pure election
violence,” Xu Luying, spokeswoman for the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office
of China’s central government, said Thursday, according to the official
Xinhua news agency.
Xu said radical protesters in Hong Kong “intend to create a ‘chilling
effect’ by threatening and intimidating their candidates and their
supporters”, in order to “affect the election results of the district
councils and realise their purpose of seizing political power”.
Xu also called for “strong punishment” against violence in Hong Kong and
for a “fair, just, safe and orderly environment” for the district elections,
set to be held on November 24.
In October, democracy activist Joshua Wong was barred from contesting a
seat in the upcoming polls.
An election officer had ruled that the concept of self-determination
advocated by Wong’s party, Demosisto, contradicted the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s
mini-constitution.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0847 hrs