Protesters have gathered in Hong Kong for the ninth weekend in a row amid mounting tensions with the authorities.<\/p>\n
Groups rallied in the Mong Kok district before starting their march, with some donning p"},"modified":"2019-08-03T15:04:15","modified_gmt":"2019-08-03T15:04:15","slug":"demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/08\/03\/demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions\/","title":{"rendered":"Demonstrators march amid rising tensions"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
\n
Protesters have gathered in Hong Kong for the ninth weekend in a row amid mounting tensions with the authorities.<\/p>\n
Groups rallied in the Mong Kok district before starting their march, with some donning protective clothing.<\/p>\n
Opposition groups plan further demonstrations on Sunday, and a city-wide strike on Monday.<\/p>\n
Some demonstrators are now demanding Hong Kong\u2019s leader Carrie Lam resign, and are calling for greater democracy.<\/p>\n
Beijing and the Chinese army have issued stern warnings about the growing unrest.<\/p>\n
Two months of demonstrations sparked by a controversial extradition bill show no signs of abating, with both sides hardening their stance.<\/p>\n
Mass protests began in March over the bill which would have allowed extraditions to mainland China.<\/p>\n
Although the government has now suspended it, demonstrators want the bill fully withdrawn, and are widening their demands.<\/p>\n
Hong Kong \u2013 a former British colony \u2013 is part of China but enjoys unique freedoms not seen on the mainland.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the latest?<\/strong><\/p>\n
Protesters gathered in Mong Kok, a Hong Kong district where violent clashes took place during pro-democracy protests in 2014.<\/p>\n
Police had initially denied permission for the gathering but relented after an appeal.<\/p>\n
Demonstrators reportedly walked past a designated end point for their march, chanting slogans and calling on people to join the planned strike on Monday.<\/p>\n
Some unions and organisations have reportedly already agreed to take part in the action.<\/p>\nVolunteers handed out hard hats to the protesters<\/span><\/figure>\nMarchers \u2013 some flying US and UK flags \u2013 first gathered in Mong Kok before setting off into the centre<\/span><\/figure>\n
Volunteers handing out masks, hard hats, bottled water and pre-paid subway tickets to marchers. Many businesses along the route closed their doors.<\/p>\n
A group of demonstrators blocked access to the Cross Harbour Tunnel, causing traffic chaos. Others set up make-shift barricades on shopping streets.<\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s march comes after a group of civil servants \u2013 ordered to be politically neutral \u2013 joined demonstrations in their thousands on Friday.<\/p>\n
The rally followed the publication of an anonymous letter on Facebook complaining about \u201cextreme oppression\u201d and listing five key demands \u2013 the complete withdrawal of the extradition bill; waiving charges against those arrested; an end to descriptions of protests as \u201crioting\u201d; an independent inquiry into the unrest; and resuming political reforms.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the government should respond to the demands, instead of pushing the police to the frontline as a shield,\u201d 26-year-old government worker Kathy Yip told Reuters news agency.<\/p>\n
Supporters of Hong Kong\u2019s police force have also gathered for a rally on Saturday in Victoria Park.<\/p>\nSome gathered in support of the police<\/span><\/figure>\n
\u201cI really feel upset about the violence that we are seeing in Hong Kong everyday,\u201d bank worker Evan told Reuters. \u201cThe protesters are now not listening to the government, they are not listening to the police.\u201d<\/p>\n
How have tensions risen this week?<\/strong><\/p>\n
More than 40 activists appeared in court on Wednesday, charged with rioting after protests last Sunday turned violent.<\/p>\n
They could face up to 10 years behind bars if convicted.<\/p>\n
Tensions rose further when the military \u2013 which has not yet intervened in the unrest \u2013 posted a video on social media network Weibo showing soldiers conducting anti-riot drills.<\/p>\n\n
<\/div><\/figure>\n
Chen Daoxing, commander of the territory\u2019s People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA) garrison, said the protests \u201cshould not be tolerated\u201d, according to reports in the South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong newspaper.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Protesters have gathered in Hong Kong for the ninth weekend in a row amid mounting tensions with the authorities. Groups rallied in the Mong Kok district before starting their march, with some donning protective clothing. Opposition groups plan further demonstrations on Sunday, and a city-wide strike on Monday. Some demonstrators are now demanding Hong Kong\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":671063,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-671062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lifestyle"],"yoast_head":"\n
Demonstrators march amid rising tensions - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/08\/03\/demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Demonstrators march amid rising tensions - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Protesters have gathered in Hong Kong for the ninth weekend in a row amid mounting tensions with the authorities. Groups rallied in the Mong Kok district before starting their march, with some donning protective clothing. Opposition groups plan further demonstrations on Sunday, and a city-wide strike on Monday. Some demonstrators are now demanding Hong Kong\u2019s […]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/HongKong.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ghana News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/03\\\/demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/03\\\/demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ghana News\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036\"},\"headline\":\"Demonstrators march amid rising tensions\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-08-03T15:04:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/03\\\/demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":556,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/03\\\/demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/HongKong.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Lifestyle\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/03\\\/demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/03\\\/demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/03\\\/demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions\\\/\",\"name\":\"Demonstrators march amid rising tensions - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/03\\\/demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/03\\\/demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/HongKong.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-08-03T15:04:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/03\\\/demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/03\\\/demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/HongKong.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/HongKong.jpg\",\"width\":660,\"height\":371},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036\",\"name\":\"Ghana News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ghana News\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Demonstrators march amid rising tensions - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/08\/03\/demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Demonstrators march amid rising tensions - Ghanamma.com","twitter_description":"Protesters have gathered in Hong Kong for the ninth weekend in a row amid mounting tensions with the authorities. Groups rallied in the Mong Kok district before starting their march, with some donning protective clothing. Opposition groups plan further demonstrations on Sunday, and a city-wide strike on Monday. Some demonstrators are now demanding Hong Kong\u2019s […]","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/HongKong.jpg","twitter_creator":"@ghanamma","twitter_site":"@ghanamma","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ghana News","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/08\/03\/demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/08\/03\/demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions\/"},"author":{"name":"Ghana News","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/#\/schema\/person\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036"},"headline":"Demonstrators march amid rising tensions","datePublished":"2019-08-03T15:04:15+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/08\/03\/demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions\/"},"wordCount":556,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/08\/03\/demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/HongKong.jpg","articleSection":["Lifestyle"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/08\/03\/demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/08\/03\/demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/08\/03\/demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions\/","name":"Demonstrators march amid rising tensions - Ghanamma.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/08\/03\/demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/08\/03\/demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/HongKong.jpg","datePublished":"2019-08-03T15:04:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/#\/schema\/person\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/08\/03\/demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/08\/03\/demonstrators-march-amid-rising-tensions\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/HongKong.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/HongKong.jpg","width":660,"height":371},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/","name":"Ghanamma.com","description":"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/#\/schema\/person\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036","name":"Ghana News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ghana News"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=671062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671062\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/671063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=671062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=671062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=671062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Demonstrators](\"https:\/\/ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/_108177725_055658516.jpg\")
Volunteers handed out hard hats to the protesters<\/span><\/figure>\n![\"Demonstrators](\"https:\/\/ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/_108177102_055658752.jpg\")
Marchers \u2013 some flying US and UK flags \u2013 first gathered in Mong Kok before setting off into the centre<\/span><\/figure>\n![\"Pro-government](\"https:\/\/ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/_108177727_055658266.jpg\")
Some gathered in support of the police<\/span><\/figure>\n![](\"https:\/\/ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/p07jjttr.jpg\"\/)
<\/div>