HONG KONG: One of the world's busiest airports cancelled all flights as thousands of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters crowded into the main terminal Monday afternoon, after clashes with police became increasingly violent during a 10th straight weekend of demonstrations.
“Airport operations at Hong Kong International Airport have been seriously disrupted as a result of the public assembly at the airport today,” the airport said in a statement. “All check-in service for departure flights has been suspended.”
In Beijing, the Cabinet's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office issued a statement saying the situation in Hong Kong was “beginning to show the sprouts of terrorism” and constituted an “existential threat” to the population of Hong Kong.
“One must take resolute action toward this violent criminality, showing no leniency or mercy,” said the statement, attributed to spokesman Yang Guang. “Hong Kong has reached an inflection point where all those who are concerned about Hong Kong's future must say ‘no’ to law breakers and ‘no' to those engaged in violence.”
A massive traffic jam soon formed on the highway leading back to Hong Kong's city centre. Some protesters were seen walking toward the airport amid the stifling heat.
During the weekend protests, website Hong Kong Free Press showed footage of one arrest that appeared to include officers in plain clothes pinning a demonstrator pressed to the ground. The young man, who said his name was Chow Ka-lok and asked for a lawyer, was shown with a bleeding head wound and said he had a broken tooth.
Police have also reported injuries among their ranks, including eye irritation from laser pointers, burns from petrol bombs and bruises and cuts from flying .
Protesters hurled bricks at officers and ignored warnings to leave before tear gas was deployed in the Sham Shui Po area, police said, calling a march there an “unauthorised assembly.”
Tear gas was also deployed in central Hong Kong on both sides of Victoria Harbour, in the Tsim Sha Tsui area on the Kowloon side and in Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island. At one point, protesters blocked the entrance to a plaza to prevent police from entering.
A train station in Kwai Fong filled with smoke after about a dozen police officers fired tear gas inside. It was not clear how many protesters were inside the station at the time, but it has been rare for officers to fire tear gas indoors.
Earlier, a large group of mostly young protesters marched down the middle of Hennessey Road, a main shopping drag in the Causeway Bay area, as a rally was held in nearby Victoria Park. Many wore face masks to shield their identities, and a few had helmets. Others just carried backpacks over the black T-shirts that have become their uniform.
A government official said 45 people were injured in the clashes, including two who were in serious condition.
Among them was a woman who suffered a serious face injury, reportedly after being hit by a bean bag round.
Images of her lying on the ground with blood pouring from her face quickly went viral and featured on posters calling for new demonstrations.
"An eye for an eye" read one call for a protest on Monday afternoon at the city's airport.
Police also arrested protesters across the city, with activists claiming plainclothes officers dressed in the movement's signature colours infiltrated their ranks to detain demonstrators.
- Water cannons put on show -
Police have defended themselves against accusations of using excessive force against protesters and on Monday unveiled two water cannons, complete with real-time surveillance cameras and multiple spray nozzles -- a method that has not yet been used during the crisis, but one that Amnesty International warned could cause serious injuries if misused within the densely-populated city's confined spaces.
Police demonstrated jets of water from the trucks on several dummy torsos placed at different distances from the vehicles.
Hong Kong has reportedly ordered three of the vehicles at a cost of HK$27 million ($3.4 million), though police declined to confirm the exact price-tag.
Police would only use the trucks in the event of a "large-scale public disturbance" leading to "casualties, property being destroyed wantonly, or public order and public safety coming under grave threat", senior superintendent Chan Kin-kwok told lawmakers.
The vehicles are "one of our options for our use of force or special tactics," he added during the Monday presentation.
Pro-democracy lawmakers attended the presentation holding signs that read "HK Police Murderers" and quarrelled with pro-Beijing lawmakers, who praised the police for their response to the demonstrations.
"We saw recently that the police's control of their emotions is extremely poor," said Lam Cheuk-ting, who accused police of having "abused their power to attack many protesters who aren't resisting".
It was the tenth consecutive weekend that protesters have taken to the streets in a movement that began over opposition to a bill allowing extradition to mainland China.
The protests have morphed into a broader bid to reverse a slide of democratic freedoms in the southern Chinese city.
They have been seen as the biggest threat to Beijing's rule since Britain handed Hong Kong over in 1997.
- Cathay caught in crossfire -
Mainland authorities have harshly condemned the demonstrators and Hong Kong's flagship carrier Cathay Pacific has found itself caught in the crossfire.
China's aviation regulator has issued new rules requiring that it submit lists of staff flying to the mainland or through its airspace and banning those involved with "illegal protests" in Hong Kong.
Cathay Pacific said it was obliged to comply with the new rules, citing the mainland's importance to its operations.
The airline has also found itself the target of a boycott call by mainland residents.
It has struggled to find middle ground after one of its pilots was arrested for rioting over his alleged participation in a Hong Kong protest.
The pilot has been suspended, and the airline has also fired two ground staff, reportedly after they leaked information on a Hong Kong police football team that was travelling to the mainland.
On Monday, the airline's chief executive Rupert Hogg warned staff in a message that they would face "disciplinary consequences" including being fired if they participated in or supported "illegal protests."