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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》Hong Kong civil servants take to streets
Medical workers shine the lights from their cellphones at a rally in support of protests against Chinese oppression in Hong Kong yesterday. Photo: Reuters
‘VERGE OF COLLAPSE’: An open letter to Carrie Lam said that the territory ‘has always been well-behaved’ so ‘it is a pity that we have seen extreme oppression’
/ Reuters, HONG KONG
Thousands of Hong Kong civil servants yesterday evening rallied to support protesters and urge authorities to rebuild confidence in the government as escalating protests rock the Asian financial hub.
The rally was the first time that government employees have promoted a demonstration in Hong Kong.
The civil servants assembled peacefully with protesters in the heart of the business district, many in black masks to hide their identities.
“I think the government should respond to the demands, instead of pushing the police to the front line as a shield,” 26-year-old government worker Kathy Yip said.
Police said that they had arrested eight people, including a leading pro-independence leader, after seizing weapons and suspected bomb-making material in a raid.
A wave of protests is planned across Hong Kong this weekend, along with a mass strike on Monday across sectors such as transport, schools and businesses that could bring the territory to a standstill.
The protests in Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to China in 1997, pose one of the gravest populist challenges to its Chinese Communist Party （CCP） rulers in Beijing.
The protests against a now-suspended extradition bill, which would have seen people sent for trial in Chinese courts controlled by the CCP, have widened to demand greater democracy and the resignation of Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam （林鄭月娥）.
Under Chinese rule, Hong Kong has been allowed to retain extensive freedoms, such as an independent judiciary, but many residents see the extradition bill as the latest step in a relentless march toward Beijing’s control.
“At present, the people of Hong Kong are already on the verge of collapse,” a group of civil servants said in an open letter to Lam. “Hong Kong has always been well-behaved and enjoys a high degree of freedom. It is a pity that we have seen extreme oppression.”
The letter asked Lam to respond positively to five public demands: completely withdrawal the extradition bill, halt descriptions of the protests as “rioting,” waive charges against those arrested, establish an independent inquiry and resume political reform.
The territory’s 180,000 civil servants must remain politically neutral, the Hong Kong government said on Thursday.
“At this difficult moment, government colleagues have to stay united and work together to uphold the core values of the civil service,” it said in a statement.
Hundreds of medical workers also demonstrated yesterday to protest against the government’s handling of the situation. Large-scale protests are planned for the weekend in Mong Kok, Tseung Kwan O and Western districts.
Clashes between protesters and police have become increasingly violent. Police have been criticized for excessive use of force and failing to protect protesters from attacks by what opposition politicians suspect to be criminal gangs.
Police said that seven men and a woman, aged between 24 and 31, were yesterday arrested after a raid on a building in the New Territories district of Sha Tin, where police seized weapons and suspected Molotov cocktails.
Making or possessing explosives illegally can carry a sentence of up to 14 years in jail.
More people might be arrested as the investigations unfold, police officer Li Kwai Wah said, adding: “Recently, we are very worried about the escalating violence.”
Andy Chan （陳浩天）, a founder of the pro-independence Hong Kong National Party that was banned in September last year, was among those arrested.
His arrest prompted about 100 protesters to surround a police station to demand his release, TV footage showed.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
