By Jasmine Leung, Yuliya Talmazan and Matt Bradley
Hong Kong - As Hong Kong police (click here) continued to lay siege to one of the city's universities Tuesday, the former British colony's embattled leader urged around 100 protesters holed up inside to leave the campus "as soon as possible."
Some 600 protesters had left Hong Kong Polytechnic University "peacefully," including about 200 who were younger than 18, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said in a news conference. Those under 18 would not be immediately arrested but could face charges later, she said, adding that the other 400 who have left had been arrested.
The city's hospitals are dealing with nearly 200 injured who have been removed from the university campus and are urging people to stay away from emergency rooms unless absolutely necessary.
A small clutch of family members and friends of those inside have been gathering outside the campus in hopes of news.
Tiffany Chan, 24, who was at the police cordon outside the university said she was worried about her younger brother who is trapped inside....
Family members of the protesters do not see this as a protest so much as people being trapped by the Hong Kong police. The Hong Kong police need to leave the university and the area to allow some semblance of normalcy to return.
THESE STUDENTS ARE NOT THE ENEMY.
"Basic Law" (full text)
Decree of the President of the People's Republic of China (Special Administrative Region) (click here)
No. 26
I hereby promulgate the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, including Annex I, Method for the Selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Annex II, Method for the Formation of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Its Voting Procedures, Annex III, National Laws to be Applied in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and designs of the regional flag and regional emblem of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which was adopted at the Third Session of the Seventh National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on 4 April 1990 and shall be put into effect as of 1 July 1997.
 | (Signed) Yang Shangkun President of the People's Republic of China 4 April 1990 |
The court is correct in ending the law, it is definitely a human rights violation. China should understand the importance of masks for the pollution it has. People are protecting their lungs from gases that are unknown to them. China has no role here.
November 19, 2019
By James Griffiths
Hong Kong - In a surprise decision Monday, (click here) a Hong Kong court threw out a month-old mask ban the government had introduced in the hopes of stemming the city's ongoing political unrest.
But the ruling has provoked anger in China, with the country's top legislature signaling that it may use this as an opportunity to drastically rewrite Hong Kong's legal framework.
The original ban was introduced by the city's embattled leader, Carrie Lam, using colonial-era emergency powers in the case of "public danger or emergency."
On Monday, the court said that these powers, at least in the case of "public danger," were unconstitutional and had been superseded by the city's de facto constitution, the Basic Law....
