VEILED THREAT? Footage shows thousands of cops tackling mock protesters in hats and face masks
BEIJING/HONGKONG: Thousands of Chinese riot police staged a drill just across the border from Hong Kong, in what appeared to be a thinly veiled warning from Beijing about its ability to end two months of protests in the global financial hub.
AFP■ Photo taken on Tuesday shows Chinese paramilitary police officers taking part in a drill in Shenzhen, across the border from Hong Kong.
The exercise, which took place on Tuesday in Shenzhen – a city in southern China that borders the semi-autonomous city – instantly attracted online attention given the close resemblance between the drill and the ongoing clashes in adjacent Hong Kong.
The footage showed squads of police facing down “protesters” dressed in construction hats and face masks – reminiscent of demonstrators in Hong Kong.
As the crowd attacked police with long, wooden poles, officers pushed back with riot shields and deployed tear gas.
“All police forces in Shenzhen are always ready!” Shenzhen police wrote in an online post about Tuesday’s drills, which it said involved 12,000 police officers.
CHINA: BIGGEST CRISIS SINCE 1997 HANDOVER Hong Kong is facing its “most severe situation” since its handover from British rule in 1997 following weeks of demonstrations and the central government is considering what measures to take next, the head of Beijing’s Cabinet office responsible for the territory said on Wednesday.
Zhang Xiaoming was speaking to Hong Kong residents attending a seminar in the mainland city of Shenzhen.
The protests are having “an increasingly broad impact on society”, Zhang told the 500 attendees, who included members of the Hong Kong and central government legislative and advisory bodies. “It can be said that Hong Kong is facing the most severe situation it has faced since the handover,” Zhang said.