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September 22, 2019 at 09:00AM
Sunday, September 22, 2019
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Hong Kong Braces for Airport Protest After Night of Violent Clashes
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Hong Kong Braces for Airport Protest After Night of Violent Clashes
Hong Kong announced new curbs on rail travel Sunday ahead of the latest in a series of planned protests targeting the airport after a night of widespread violent street clashes in the Chinese-ruled territory.
Anti-government protesters have targeted the airport before, occupying the arrivals hall, blocking approach roads and setting street fires in the nearby town of Tung Chung.
"The airport is still the most important asset to the government," a 23-year-old protester said Saturday. She only gave her name as Kay. "We will adopt hit-and-run tactics and each time help us to gain experience. That's why I am still calling people to the airport."
Sunday's protest is due to start at noon local time.
The Airport Express train, which takes passengers under the harbor and across a series of bridges to the airport, built on reclaimed land around an outlying island, will only allow passengers to board in downtown Hong Kong Sunday, not on the Kowloon Peninsula, the Airport Authority said.
Only people holding tickets would be allowed to enter the terminal, it said.
"There are calls online for using fake boarding passes, fake air tickets or fake flight booking information to enter the terminal buildings. ... The Airport Authority reminds that such behavior could amount to forgery or using false instrument," it said in a statement.
Headache for Beijing
The violence has hit pockets of Hong Kong at different times over more than three months, allowing life to go on as normal for the vast majority most of the time.
But pictures of petrol bombs and street clashes broadcast worldwide present a huge headache for Beijing just days ahead of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic on Oct. 1.
The Hong Kong government has called off a big fireworks display to mark the day in case of further clashes. China, which has a People's Liberation Army garrison in Hong Kong, has said it has faith in Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam to solve the crisis.
Police fired tear gas to disperse pro-democracy protesters who threw petrol bombs in two new towns Saturday after pro-China groups pulled down some of the "Lennon Walls" of anti-government messages. There were violent clashes elsewhere in the city.
Police condemned the violence and said there had been many serious injuries in fights between people of "different views."
"They threw petrol bombs at police vehicles and police officers, and even attempted to snatch the revolver of a police officer," police said in a statement Sunday.
Pro-democracy protests
The protests picked up in June over legislation, now withdrawn, that would have allowed suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial. Demands have since broadened into calls for universal suffrage.
The protesters are angry about what they see as creeping Chinese interference in the former British colony, which returned to China in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" formula intended to guarantee freedoms that are not enjoyed on the mainland.
China says it is committed to the "one country, two systems" arrangement and denies meddling. It has accused foreign governments including the United States and Britain of inciting the unrest.
September 22, 2019 at 12:26PM
Steak, Beer and Politics: 2020 Democrats Look to Impress Iowans
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Steak, Beer and Politics: 2020 Democrats Look to Impress Iowans
With marching bands, drum lines, hundreds of yard signs and at least one fire truck, Democratic presidential candidates made a colorful and often loud pitch to Iowa Democrats at the Steak Fry fundraiser in Des Moines on Saturday.
The event, a fundraiser for the Polk County Democratic Party and one of the biggest remaining opportunities for candidates to flex their organizing muscles in Iowa before the caucuses, comes as a number of candidates are facing an uncertain future in the race and shaking up their campaign strategies in an effort to break out of the pack.
Warren gains in poll
A new CNN/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll Saturday shows Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren challenging Joe Biden's dominance in the field. Warren stands at 22% to the former vice president's 20% in a poll of likely Iowa caucusgoers.
On Saturday morning, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker warned he may need to end his campaign if he's unable to raise $1.7 million by the end of the third fundraising quarter. His announcement came soon after California Sen. Kamala Harris announced she'd be going all-in on Iowa in hopes of finishing in the top three. Both have been stagnant in national and Iowa surveys, with Harris polling in the middle of the pack and Booker struggling to move beyond low single digits.
In the new poll, Harris sits at 6% and Booker, along with Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, has 3%.
At the Steak Fry, however, Harris turned out her fans in force, marching into the event with hundreds of supporters and a drum line. Booker had a smaller crowd gathered to see him into the event, and the portrait the candidate painted to reporters after speaking to the Steak Fry crowd was dire.
"I don't believe people should stay in this just to stay in it," he said. "You either have a trajectory to win or not. And right now if we don't raise $1.7 million we won't be able to make the investments necessary. He added: "If we don't have a pathway to win we should get out of this race."
Part parade
The event Saturday is part parade, part organizing show of force — and quintessentially Iowa, home of the 2020 race's leadoff caucuses in February.
It began as a fundraiser for Tom Harkin's first congressional bid, where the 53 attendees could buy a steak and a foil-wrapped baked potato for $2.
Harkin has retired from the Senate and is out of politics, but the steak fry lives on, now more than four decades strong.
This year, more than 12,000 people were expected to join in addition to 19 presidential candidates. Attendees enjoyed the traditional steaks — 10,500 were grilled by volunteers — but they also had the option to order from a food truck or visit a craft beer tent.
There are even camping grounds, where supporters of former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke spent Friday night.
The county's Democratic chairman, Sean Bagniewski, said the event has a "modern twist."
"That's the future of the party — it's gonna be more women in positions of leadership, it's gonna be more people of color, and it's going to be more young people," he said.
Part show of force
What hasn't changed is the event's significance for the candidates. When Barack Obama marched into the 2007 Iowa steak fry flanked by 1,000 supporters, skeptical Iowans were put on notice that he could win the state's caucus. Bagniewski said that, like 2007, Democrats are looking for someone who can show they have the organizational strength to win.
"Everyone wants to beat Donald Trump," he said. "Everyone has a top five, but when you actually see that your candidate of choice has 1,000 people supporting them at the steak fry, it gives you more liberty to make that decision."
A few hours before the candidates began their speeches, gray clouds swirled overhead at the Des Moines Waterworks.
People wore campaign T-shirts and chanted the names of their preferred candidates as smoke hovered over the thousands of cooking steaks at the riverside park.
South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who was hoping to make a big splash Saturday as he steps up his Iowa presence, addressed hundreds of supporters sporting his campaign's signature gold and blue T-shirts. In the new CNN/Des Moines Register poll, Buttigieg has 9%. O'Rourke, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Tom Steyer and Andrew Yang all have 2%
Against this festive backdrop, former Vice President Joe Biden commented on the whistleblower's complaint in Washington that involved Trump's phone conversation with Ukraine's leader. Although the complaint is under wraps, Trump is known to want Ukraine to investigate business dealings there by Biden's son, Hunter, during his vice presidency.
"The fact of the matter is that that fellow in the White House knows that if we get the nomination we're gonna beat him like a drum," Biden said. "So be prepared for every lousy thing that's coming from him."
September 22, 2019 at 10:29AM
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