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A pro-China demonstrator in Tamar park, Hong Kong, at a Saturday rally that drew almost half a million people
TENS of thousands of anti-China protesters thronged Hong Kong today, turning the city centre into a sea of umbrellas due to heavy rain.
The massive rally came a day after a similarly huge pro-Chinese demonstration in the city’s Tamar Park on Saturday, showing the special autonomous region of China, a British colony from 1842 to 1997, has become deeply polarised after months of protests against a much disputed extradition Bill.
Yesterday’s march organiser Bonnie Leung called on all demonstrators to remain peaceful. Previous marches have seen assaults on police, with protesters hurling bricks and caustic soda at officers who have hit back with baton charges and tear gas. On July 1, a group storm the legislative council chamber, smashing the glass doors and defacing the walls before raising the colonial-era flag featuring the Union Jack.
From anonymous surveys claiming Chinese students are spying on each other to a meltdown about the size of China’s London embassy, the evidence is everywhere that Britain is embracing full spectrum Sinophobia as the war clouds gather, writes CARLOS MARTINEZ
The Big Meeting isn’t simply nostalgia, it’s a happy day and a day to show resistance. HEATHER WOOD explains why
