China replaces top Hong Kong envoy after months of unrest
January 4, 2020
China has fired its Hong Kong liaison office chief Wang Zhimin — in Beijing's most significant personnel shakeup since political unrest began in the city. The office handles communications between Hong Kong and Beijing.
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China replaced its top envoy to Hong Kong, Wang Zhimin, on Saturday, according to state-run media.
"Wang Zhimin has been dismissed from his position as head of the Liaison Office" for Hong Kong affairs and was replaced by Luo Huining, state broadcaster CCTV said, without giving further details.
Wang, 62, headed the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong, a Chinese government body, housed in a heavily guarded Hong Kong skyscraper, through which official communications between the semi-autonomous city and China are conducted.
The office has come under criticism in Hong Kong for being isolated and out of touch with the situation following months of protests in the city.
"The Liaison Office has been mingling with the rich people and mainland elites in the city and isolated itself from the people," a Chinese official had said in November. "This needs to be changed."
Wang, who had been director of the liaison office is will be replaced by 65-year-old Luo Huining, according to the official website of China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.
Luo was also made deputy head of the National People's Congress Financial and Economic Affairs Committee, according to Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK.
Luo had been semi-retired after serving as secretary of the Shanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China.
Global companies, including Walt Disney and Marriot, are feeling the heat of the protests. Hong Kong officials are warning of more pains ahead as the financial hub reels from its worst political crisis in decades.
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Disneyland footfall drops
The unrest in Hong Kong is prompting people to stay away from Walt Disney's Disneyland theme park in the city. The US company's chief executive, Bob Iger, told analysts that visits to the park were significantly suffering because of the protests. "We will feel it in the quarter that we’re currently in, and we’ll see how long the protests go on," he said on an earnings call.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Jialiang
Turbulence at Cathay Pacific
Hong Kong's flagship carrier said ticket sales fell in July as fewer people travelled into the city. The protests are also hurting future bookings at the airline. Cathay Pacific found itself into further trouble after Beijing asked the airline to bar crew members who had taken part in the demonstrations from flying into mainland China.
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Hotel business hit
Intercontinental Hotels, which owns Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn chains, said earlier this month the unrest in Hong Kong was hurting demand. Declining tourist and corporate arrivals are also putting a strain on the businesses of Marriot and Wynn hotels, who expect the protests to hit their second-half results.
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Luxury shoppers stay away
The unrest has taken a toll on popular luxury brands such as Cartier and Prada, which have built a strong presence in the city to cater to the rising affluent consumers from mainland China. Cartier-owner Richemont said its sales were hit because of store closures and a fall in tourist arrivals, especially from China. Italian fashion brand Prada's business was also affected by the protests.
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Retail sales fall
Retail sales, a key part of the city's economy, fell nearly 7% in June, hurt by the mass protests. Shopkeepers see a steeper fall in July and August. They say tourist arrivals halved last month.
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'Difficult economic environment'
Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan warned on Sunday that the city was entering "a very difficult economic environment" amid weakening trade and slowing growth. He said the protests had hurt Hong Kong's reputation of being a safe city for tourists and businesses. The city's leader, Carrie Lam, has already warned of the economic fallout from the unrest.
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No end in sight
For more than seven months, protesters have taken to the streets of Hong Kong, disrupting commercial activity, establishing road blocks and occupying official buildings. What started as opposition to an extradition bill in June has since evolved into a movement calling for more democratic rights and further autonomy from mainland China.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam has been a focal point of the demonstrations, with activists calling on her to step down and for authorities to investigate what they describe as widespread police brutality during crowd dispersal operations.
Although initial demonstrations remained peaceful, the protests have now become more violent due to clashes with police.
From black worn by protesters in Hong Kong to orange donned by Ukraine's demonstrators in 2004, specific colors are often associated with significant protest movements. Here are some of our favorite examples.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/F. Belaid
Hong Kong dressed in black
Black, chosen for its association with mourning and sorrow, is the color — or anti-color — of choice for the hundreds of thousands of protesters who have taken to the streets in Hong Kong to fight for more democracy in their metropolis. Counter-protesters aligning with the city's pro-Beijing mayor chose white to distinguish themselves.
Image: AFP/H. Retamal
Hong Kong's yellow umbrella revolution
Hong Kong's protests have not always been in black and white. Back in 2014 during the so-called Umbrella Revolution, when protesters demanded fully free elections and other democratic reforms for their semi-autonomous city, yellow umbrellas were the symbolic item of choice. Protesters used them to fend off tear gas released by police.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/A. Wallace
Ukraine's orange crush
Replacing the color red, which many associate with communism in the Soviet Union, orange was the color of choice for the opposition during Ukraine's "Orange Revolution" in 2004. For 17 days in the harsh Ukrainian winter, members of different social classes came together on behalf of opposition candidate Viktor Yushenko.
Image: Sergey Dolzhenko/picture-alliance/dpa
The Saffron Revolution in Myanmar
The peaceful 2007 demonstrations in Myanmar became known by the color saffron — the typical hue of Buddhist monks' robes. At the forefront of the protests against the military government, the monks were joined by students and political activists, including many women.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo
The Philippines Yellow Revolution
After three years of demonstrations from 1983 to 1986 against president Ferdinand Marcos and his regime, citizens of the Philippines triumphed in a peaceful revolution. It's commonly referred to as the "Yellow Revolution" for the color of the ribbons protesters held during their gatherings. The image above shows yellow confetti thrown in honor of the revolution's anniversary in 2013.
Image: imago
Iran's Green Movement
Green is considered the color of Islam and was chosen by protesters fighting the government during the 2009-2010 elections in Iran: Demonstrators accused the regime of falsifying election results. The regime reacted swiftly, injuring defenseless protesters and arresting around 4000 people. Today, the demonstrations are still referred to as the "Green Movement."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Stringer
Macedonia's Colorful Revolution
Why choose one color when you can have them all? To protest against the government's decision to call off an investigation into a wiretapping scandal in 2016, Macedonian protesters gathered in the nation's capital in mid-April to show their discontent. Many threw colored paint at government buildings, achieving an effect similar to that of artist Jackson Pollock's famous splatter masterpieces.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/R. Atanasovski
The Carnation Revolution in Portugal
Not only colors but also flowers have come to symbolize significant protests in modern history. After a successful coup in Portugal on April 25, 1974 that ended years of dictatorship, overjoyed citizens celebrated by putting red carnations in the guns of their victorious fighters. It was the blossoming of a new era of democracy in Portugal, followed by similar developments in Spain and Greece.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. de Almeida
Moldova's Grape Revolution
In Moldova, the "Grape Revolution" was the name given to protests of the parliamentary election results in 2009: After the Communist party was successful, demonstrators took to the streets. The name reportedly referenced the country's numerous vineyards. The revolution did not grow to the magnitude of those in other countries once belonging to the Soviet Union, such as Ukraine.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/D. Doru
Tunisia's Jasmine Revolution?
For 28 days in 2011, Tunisians stormed the streets to protest corruption, unemployment and poor living conditions. Interestingly, the name "Jasmine Revolution" was popular with Western media, but not with Tunisians. Instead, Tunisian's referred to it as the "Dignity Revolution," since the ousting of the previous President Ben Ali in 1987 was also called the "Jasmine Revolution."