Beijing calls the airport protest "unlawful, human rights-infringing and inhumane"


Chaos paralyzes Hong Kong airport
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Flights resume after second night of chaos at Hong Kong airport
By Ben Westcott, James Griffiths, Helen Regan, Joshua Berlinger and Jessie Yeung, CNN

Updated 3:56 a.m. ET, August 14, 2019
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What we're covering here
The morning after: Last night, riot police clashed with protesters, who were occupying Hong Kong International Airport for the second day in a row. Dozens of outgoing flights were canceled and the airport descended into chaos.
Anti-China extradition bill movement: The protests were sparked in early June by a proposed law which would have seen people extradited into mainland China's opaque justice system. The bill has been suspended, but not withdrawn.

5 min ago
Beijing calls the airport protest "unlawful, human rights-infringing and inhumane"
Police officers stand guard next to China's liaison office emblem in Hong Kong on July 28, 2019.
Police officers stand guard next to China's liaison office emblem in Hong Kong on July 28, 2019. ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP/Getty Images
The Chinese Liaison Office in Hong Kong released a statement Wednesday "expressing great indignation and strong condemnation" of the protests at the airport on August 13.

The statement said that demonstrators "took off the so-called mask of ‘peaceful, reasonable and non-violent protest’ and paralyzed the airport by obstructing, insulting and attacking passengers."

What happened? Last night, two people were held by protesters and accused of being undercover police officers. One appeared to be unconscious and was eventually evacuated by paramedics. There were also scuffles later on, when police tried to leave after evacuating the man. One of the men has been confirmed to be a reporter for the Chinese state media outlet Global Times, while the other was described by Chinese officials as a "visitor."

What was the response? The Chinese Liaison Office said in its statement, "What is even more distressing is that on the evening of the 13th, the extreme violent force surrounded, body searched, illegally imprisoned and brutally beat a Global Times reporter at the scene as well as a Shenzhen resident who was in transit at the Hong Kong airport."

"The illegal imprisonment and brutal beating of journalists by the mob is a challenge and insult to the global press and a serious violation of freedom of the press. These atrocities are unlawful, human rights infringing and inhumane, completely go beyond the bottom line of civilized society."

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