Liaison Office Hits Out At 'extremist Radicals'

Beijing’s Liaison Office issued a strongly worded statement on Saturday, severely condemning what it described as “extremist radicals” of a litany of offences during Friday’s Labour Day holiday.

The office accused the “radicals” of organising illegal gatherings, and claimed they had caused a nuisance to shops, and hurled petrol bombs. It said these “radicals” had been inciting people to take part in violent activities and threatening to place bombs in public places.

The Liaison Office said that all of this had occurred while the rest of the world was putting aside differences in order to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

The office went on to criticise opposition lawmakers, saying it had noticed some of them had disregarded the rules of the free market to promote the so-called “yellow economy”. It said they had been doing this to gain seats in the upcoming Legislative Council elections.

It also accused the pro-democracy camp of pushing for political and economic destruction in Hong Kong.

Riot police were deployed across Hong Kong on Friday, following online calls for “flash mob” style protests. A group of labour activists had their attempted protest outside the government headquarters stopped by police, and large-scale protests failed to materialise.

The force had refused permission for a Labour Day march on Hong Kong Island, citing health risks due to the Covid-19 crisis.

The Confederation of Trade Unions instead set up street booths to promote workers rights.

And instead of protest action, people were encouraging one another to shop at "yellow" businesses known to support the ongoing anti-government movement.

A crowd later gathered at Sha Tin’s New Town Plaza for a “sing-along” protest and to chant anti-government slogans. However, officers entered the mall half an hour before the protest was due to begin, and pepper spray was fired at the crowd after scuffles and a warning for the crowd not to gather together.