HK Int'l Airport reopens; U.S., Canada warn China not to intervene with force
- 5 years ago
Around five thousand pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong swarmed the territory's international airport on Monday, forcing it to temporarily close.
Now only a few protesters remain in the terminals, and flights are taking off again.
Our Choi Si-young tells more.
Due to the large number of people grounded yesterday, Hong Kong International Airport reopened two hours earlier than announced at 6 a.m. local time on Tuesday, or 7 a.m. Korean time.
But the websites of many major airlines show some flights as still "cancelled."
So if you are travelling in or out of Hong Kong, you should check with your airline or the Hong Kong airport website to confirm whether there are any cancellations or delays to your flight.
This is the first time in the airport's history that it has been forced to close because of a mass rally.
The rallies swelled in size on Monday as a video of a female demonstrator, who was shot in the eye by police, went viral and enraged protesters.
On Sunday the female protester lost an eye to a bean-bag round shot by police, while taking part in a street demonstration.
The brutal force used by police shocked not just the demonstrators but also people around the world.
Amid the widely-circulated concerns that China may intervene in Hong Kong with force, the U.S. and Canada have openly expressed their concerns.
On Monday, the U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tweeted "any violent crackdown would be unacceptable" and said "the world is watching", clearly referring to China which is thought to be considering intervening in the matter with force.
Canada's prime minister also said he's deeply concerned about how the situation is unfolding in Hong Kong and called on China to "respectfully treat those Hong Kong citizens' who have reasonable concerns" toward the government bill.
However, on the same day, the State Council of China called the demonstrations "a sign of terrorism" and said the protesters' actions against the police are crimes because they had deadly weapons.
Choi Si-young, Arirang News.
Now only a few protesters remain in the terminals, and flights are taking off again.
Our Choi Si-young tells more.
Due to the large number of people grounded yesterday, Hong Kong International Airport reopened two hours earlier than announced at 6 a.m. local time on Tuesday, or 7 a.m. Korean time.
But the websites of many major airlines show some flights as still "cancelled."
So if you are travelling in or out of Hong Kong, you should check with your airline or the Hong Kong airport website to confirm whether there are any cancellations or delays to your flight.
This is the first time in the airport's history that it has been forced to close because of a mass rally.
The rallies swelled in size on Monday as a video of a female demonstrator, who was shot in the eye by police, went viral and enraged protesters.
On Sunday the female protester lost an eye to a bean-bag round shot by police, while taking part in a street demonstration.
The brutal force used by police shocked not just the demonstrators but also people around the world.
Amid the widely-circulated concerns that China may intervene in Hong Kong with force, the U.S. and Canada have openly expressed their concerns.
On Monday, the U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tweeted "any violent crackdown would be unacceptable" and said "the world is watching", clearly referring to China which is thought to be considering intervening in the matter with force.
Canada's prime minister also said he's deeply concerned about how the situation is unfolding in Hong Kong and called on China to "respectfully treat those Hong Kong citizens' who have reasonable concerns" toward the government bill.
However, on the same day, the State Council of China called the demonstrations "a sign of terrorism" and said the protesters' actions against the police are crimes because they had deadly weapons.
Choi Si-young, Arirang News.