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In Hong Kong, protesters keep the pressure on the government. After a walk near the border the day before against the parallel trade of Chinese who come to enjoy lower taxes, the procession of this Sunday, July 14 passed through a large residential area and some official buildings in Sha Tin.
Once again, there are tens of thousands to parade on Sunday, July 14th. The promises of Carrie Lam, the chief executive of Hong Kong, were not enough to appease the inhabitants: early last week, she said that the extradition law to mainland China to be tried was " Dead of old age ", but refused to commit to a withdrawal of the bill, leaving some doubt about its intentions, reports our special envoy in Hong Kong, Simon Leplâtre .
" She refuses to use the word" withdraw ", a word that has legal consequences, whereas the expression she uses," old age ", is just a Chinese expression, she plays on the words " said a gentleman, in Cantonese.
Some wanting to escape the facial recognition of the police wore masks on their faces. Among them, completely hooded protesters seemed prepared to fight.
It heats after a protest in HK, police block most outings of a shopping mall pic.twitter.com/X0WM75UUTk
Simon Leplâtre (@SLeplatre) July 14, 2019Already the day before, in Sheung Shui, the demonstration against the Chinese " parallel traders " who come to take advantage of the lower taxes, ended with confrontations with the police.
On Sunday, the procession passes through the district of Sha Tin in the new territories, a more residential area and more popular. Protesters seek to vary the course and go to audiences may be less politicized, but can however be sensitive to the slogans of the demonstrations.
Contestation based on inequality : the big voters support Shanghai.
The challenge is also based on a great frustration of part of the population makes inequalities. If the social joins politics, it is because it is the big voters - the richest and the business community - who support the pro-Chinese government.
The protesters still demand the official withdrawal of the extradition law. In statements to RFI, they say that the promises of the head of the executive are not enough and want a withdrawal in good and due form. They also asked for an investigation into police violence .
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Hong Kong people worried about losing their freedoms
More generally, behind this law lies the influence of China, which worries. Because the Hong Kong people are informed, they are well aware that the human rights situation in China is deteriorating and many are talking about it. They still have many more freedoms than the Chinese and they know they have a lot to lose.
" As you know, there are a lot of terrible things happening in China, very inhuman, as we can see with the events in Xinjiang and Tibet today ," said a thirty-something merchant present at the march. That's what we're afraid of : losing our freedoms . "
For now, China calls on the Hong Kong government to be firm - which should not help to find concessions. The protesters are determined to return and, according to them, every weekend if necessary.