Hong Kong protesters plan to jam banks with huge synchronised cash withdrawals as China rehearses ‘violent crackdown’
HONG Kong protesters plan on withdrawing all their cash from banks and ATMs in one go, in a bid to protest against mainland China.
The synchronised cash withdrawals is a new nonviolent protest tactic to send a message to the mainland and Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam as China continues to threaten military involvement.
The claim cannot be independently verified but social media posts in LIHKG, Hong Kong's version of Reddit, show photos of hard currency withdrawn from banks, as well as ATMs declaring they're out of cash.
“Then we will all gather on the streets again after the PLA has left, unless they would like to stay in Hong Kong forever,” she added. “I can’t wait for them to come. We have nothing to lose.”
The student said this movement demands the Hong Kong government: "Completely withdraw the extradition bill; retract the proclamation that the protests were riots; withdraw criminal charges against all protesters; thoroughly investigate abuse of powers by the police; dissolve the Legislative Council by administrative order; and immediately implement dual universal suffrage."
NEW TECHNIQUES
Hong Kong protesters have become increasingly innovative with their tactics over the ten-week campaign.
This year, on the anniversary of its handover from UK to Chinese rule, protesters clashed with police.
Activists recently used laser pointers to protest the arrest of a student.
French urban climber Alain Robert, popularly known as the 'French Spiderman', climbed the Cheung Kong Center building in Hong Kong on Friday.
According to media reports, Robert displayed a banner which is believed to be related to the anti-government protests in Hong Kong.
CHINESE MILITARY AT BORDER
Recent images showed the Chinese military hiding armoured vehicles at a football stadium near the Hong Kong border, sparking fears of another Tiananmen Square-style massacre.
The aerial images illustrate the military's stark warning that they could meet protesters "in 10 minutes" if the unrest continues.
Dozens of military vehicles can be seen inside the Chunjian stadium in Shenzhen, which is 35 miles from the Hong Kong border.
Hundreds of members of the People's Armed Police (PAP) were seen at the stadium in the car park that was filled with more than 100 dark-painted paramilitary vehicles.
Hong Kong handover
Hong Kong became a British colony with the end of the First Opium War in 1842.
The British fought the war to preserve the right of the East India Company to sell opium into mainland China.
The establishment of the colony gave Britain control over a number of ports to which foreign merchants could deliver goods.
Britain obtained a 99-year lease for the territory in 1898, and relinquished control when that lease expired in 1997.
Hong Kong now operates as a semi-autonomous territory, with control over its own trade, tax, and immigration policy.
Under the terms of the 1997 handover, that status is protected until 2047.
What happens after then is currently undecided, but opponents of the Beijing government fear that China will seek to gain control of the territory.
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