CHINA Inc. Winning in Hostile Takeover of Hong Kong
(Hong Kong, Christian Science Monitor .. abridged )— On the 51st day of Hong Kong’s so-called “Umbrella Movement,” protesters and court officials, working separately and calmly, removed barricades that impeded access to a business tower with links to mainland China in what may be the first step toward a peaceful resolution of a student-led protest demanding full democracy for the autonomous territory.
Bailiffs wearing black vests with the words “bailiff” and “judiciary” stitched in bright yellow began filtering into a crowd around the disputed barricade along with vest-clad officers dressed in otherwise casual clothes. There was a standoff between Mr. Ho and the CITIC lawyer who confronted each other on the street in front of journalists and photographers. Ho spoke in both Cantonese and English.
After an hour of debate a set of demonstrators – several covering their faces with cloth and surgical masks – picked up the railings and carried them to another location that obstructed traffic, but not cars going in and out of the CITIC tower.
Then, a group of bailiffs armed with bolt cutters and wire snips appeared and went to work on a second barricade. No protesters intervened and no jeering was heard as the bailiffs’ worked. They dismantled the two-tier mass of bound iron in about 30 minutes and opened a lane of traffic.
Student leader Joshua Wong said the demonstrators would proceed on the basis of non-violence and peace. “We are not looking for arguments with police,” he told reporters, adding that if an area outside the car park was cleared, students would have no problem with it.
WWJD?