With high security and expectation of new riots, celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China have begun in Hong Kong. Barred by the public, invited guests followed a ceremony on Tuesday in the city's convention center, which was streamed live into the enclosed spaces.
A guard of honor hoisted the national flag on the golden Bauhinia statue, a landmark of the city. Two helicopters with a large Chinese and a smaller Hong Kong flag flew over the harbor along the Hong Kong skyline.
In anticipation of new riots, the authorities closed in the morning a few streets and subway stations in the city center. At least 6,000 police officers were on hand, as the Hong Kong newspaper "South China Morning Post" reported. Several large shopping malls announced they would stay closed; Some hotels advised their guests to stay indoors.
The Democracy Movement announced several protests for the day. First demonstrators were already walking through the streets in the morning.
Video of China's national holiday: showdown in the war of images
Naohiko Hatta / AP; THE MIRROR
On Tuesday, China wants to celebrate its 70th anniversary with the largest weapon show in its history. The huge military parade on Tiananmen Square in Beijing will host 15,000 troops, more than 160 aircraft, and 580 weapon systems and pieces of equipment, which are expected to include nuclear-ready intercontinental ballistic missiles. China's Party and Party leader Xi Jinping will take the parade and give a speech.
The military show is accompanied by massive security measures. Entire streets and parts of the capital were sealed off.
more on the subject
Weekend protests in Hong Kong again saw serious clashes between police and protesters. Protesters call for an independent investigation of police violence in the five-month protests, an amnesty of the more than 1,500 arrested so far, a withdrawal of their protests as a "riot," and free elections.
Since its return to China in 1997, Hong Kong has been governed autonomously by its own constitution. The seven million Hong Kong residents are under China's sovereignty, but, unlike the people of the Communist People's Republic, they enjoy more rights such as freedom of expression and assembly, which they now fear.