Dressed in their school uniform, several hundred Hong Kong high school students formed peaceful human chains in different districts of Hong Kong on Monday (9 September). A mark of support for the anti-government protest movement that has been agitating the island for several months.
In the early morning Monday, before the classes started, rows of high school students and former students joined their hands chanting slogans of encouragement to the address of the protesters. Most high school students were wearing protective masks.
"This human chain is the best example of how deeply rooted this protest is in society, so deeply rooted that it goes through schoolchildren," said Alan Leong, a former student at Wah Yan High School in Kowloon District.
Despite the withdrawal of the extradition law, the challenge continues
Despite the reopening of metro stations that had been closed on Sunday as a precaution, the climate remained tense Monday morning in the semi-autonomous territory after rallies over the weekend caused new clashes between police forces and protesters.
The announcement by the head of the local executive, Carrie Lam, of the withdrawal of the draft law on extradition to mainland China, which is at the origin of the movement, has not calmed the dispute.
The demonstrations, which began last March but really gained momentum in June, have now spread to other demands: an independent inquiry into police violence, withdrawal of the word "riot" used by the authorities to qualify demonstrations, release of all arrested protesters, right to elect its own representatives.
In an editorial released on Monday, the China Daily said Hong Kong was an inseparable part of China and any form of secessionism would be "broken."
Nobody should put this link in question, "nor the protesters, nor the foreign powers who play an unhealthy game," writes the newspaper, official voice of Beijing in English, denouncing foreign "interference".
Thousands of protesters marched Sunday in the streets of Hong Kong seeking the help of US President Donald Trump so that the special administrative region is "liberated".
With Reuters