New Delhi: Hong Kong witnessed one of its most violent days since the beginning of the summer protests, Tuesday. On the same day, the People’s Republic of China celebrated its 70th anniversary with a massive military parade.
The parade held in Beijing and featured anticipated weapons like the lethal ICBM DF-41 and the supersonic DR-8 spy drone. While the event was underway in Beijing, more than 1900 kilometres away, Hong Kong’s riot police broke protocol and used live bullets on the protestors.
Live bullets fired
In an unprecedented move, the Hong Kong riot police gave up its practise of only using rubber bullets and fired live bullets on protesters.
The police were reacting to the use of petroleum bombs and projectiles by the protestors.
According to a BBC report, the police fired six rounds of bullets.
The whole episode left 104 people injured and 180 protestors were arrested. The police chief claimed that 25 police officers were also injured.
The police action became more controversial, when a video footage of the police shooting an 18-year-old protestor Tsang Chi-kin, was released.
No, not a dystopian movie, but today in Hong Kong. pic.twitter.com/UrERpFTGMV
— Ted Gioia (@tedgioia) October 1, 2019
“Video footage showed a police officer shooting the 18-year-old in the chest with a pistol at point blank range — the first time anyone has been shot in four months of often violent demonstrations in the city — during a running battle between police and protesters,” notes a report in the Financial Times.
According to reports, Tsang along with other protestors attacked the police officer before the latter responded with bullets.
He was rushed to the hospital after the firing and his condition was reported as stable in a press release by the government.
Lawful and reasonable
Stephen Lo, Hong Kong’s head of police, spoke to the press at the end of the day. Lo said that this was “one of Hong Kong’s most violent and chaotic days.”
On the use of live bullets, Lo said that the firing was “lawful and reasonable” as the officer felt that he and his colleagues were in danger.
“He [the officer] did not decide the distance between him and the assailant,” said Lo, when asked about the officer firing the bullet from such a close range.
Not on the same page
Hong Kong featured prominently in President Xi Jinping’s speech at the 70th anniversary celebrations.
“We need to maintain the long-term stability and prosperity of Hong Kong and Macau,” said Xi.
But the mood was quite different in Hong Kong.
“The so-called National Day is a day for mourning. We are mourning those who sacrificed for democracy in China . . . it’s 70 years of suppression,” Lee Cheuk-yan, former Hong Kong legislator and pro-democracy activist told the Financial Times.