Protestors push Hong Kong flag raising ceremony indoors

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - Authorities in Hong Kong were forced by protesters on Monday to hold a flag-raising ceremony indoors marking the day the U.K. handed over the city to China for the first time in its history.

Clashes between police and civilian protesters broke out at dawn on Monday, the Hong Kong Free Press reported, with local authorities forced to hold the event in government facility, though they blamed this on "poor" weather conditions.

"The flag-raising event marking 22 years since the city’s 1997 Handover on Monday was moved for the first time inside of the Convention and Exhibition Centre due to poor weather," the online newspaper quoted a statement from the local government.

Hong Kong is an autonomous region ruled by China after the U.K. withdrew in 1996. Under an agreement reached between Beijing and Hong Kong, China looks after the foreign and defense policies of the territory.

Protests on Monday erupted as the local administration headed by Chief Executive Carrie Lam prepared to hold the flag-raising day ceremony.

Pictures and videos show tens of hundreds of masked protesters occupying major arteries of central Hong Kong, blocking roads and streets.

The government has been facing widespread protests for several weeks now since it brought a controversial amendment which may pave the way for the extradition of detained suspects from the city China, Taiwan and Macau.

However, every year on July 1, pro-democracy demonstrators stormed streets, protesting the handover of Hong Kong to China.

Police fired pepper spray and used batons against protesters as preparations were ongoing for the flag-raising ceremony.

More people are expected to join the annual July 1 march by evening.

The Hong Kong Free Press reported that one demonstrator was hospitalized while police accused protesters of using an "unknown liquid" that caused harm to cops who were rushed to health facilities.

During the flag-raising ceremony, Lam, who earlier publicly apologized for using force against protesters in June, said she would "listen more to people."

"This has made me fully realize that I, as a politician, have to remind myself all the time of the need to grasp public sentiments accurately," she said.

An activist based in Hong Kong told Anadolu Agency over the phone that the current protests were an "extension of anti-extradition protests which took place in June."

"The government has not rolled back the bill," he said.

After massive protests, the local government postponed the reading of the proposed amendment to extradition ordinance, while no date has been given for a vote on the bill.

Lam refused to scrap the bill in her last public appearance on June 18 .

"I am also fully aware that while we have good intentions, we still need to be open and accommodating," Lam said today.

Hong Kong Police criticized the organizers of Monday’s protests.

"[Police are] disappointed that the organizer did not put people’s safety as the top priority," the Hong Kong Free Press quoted a police spokesperson who also urged organizers of the annual July 1 pro-democracy march to postpone their rally or restrict to certain areas.