Hong Kong: Anti-Beijing protester shot in chest on China National Day

An anti-government protester has been shot in the chest by the Hong Kong police from a close range. As the protests intensified on China’s national day celebrations, a pro-democracy online news website of Hong Kong shared a video of an injured protester. The protester bled on the street begging for help. “Send me to hospital, my chest is hurting. I need to go to the hospital,” he said

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Fired live rounds at protesters

The Hong Kong police fired live rounds at protesters for the first time as the matter escalated. The police had fired live rounds earlier only as a warning and not at the protestors. However, rubber bullets have earlier been used by the police frequently which caused injuries to the protesters. The victim was admitted to Princess Margaret Hospital and a Hong Kong daily quoted his friend saying his condition is critical.

Read: Hong Kong Pro-democracy Protesters Defy Police Ban, March On

Hong Kong had police warned the protesters

On September 30, the Hong Kong police warned the protesters that to engage in the violence during national day events will be “one step closer to terrorism”. The activists slammed the police for the warning and called it propaganda to scare people away from taking to streets. Police public relations chief Tse Chun-Chung claimed that the protesters were inciting violence and even encouraging others to commit ‘extreme acts’ which involved killing police personnel. He also claimed that protesters were planning to kill other civilians by posing as police. “We are on the verge of extreme danger,” Tse told a news conference. “There are apparent signs that hard-core violence may escalate. Those acts are one step closer to terrorism.”

Read: Activists Slam Hong Kong Police's Warning Of Holiday Violence

Critics call intelligence input as propaganda

Claudia Mo, member of the pan-democracy camp and journalist, called the intelligence inputs regarding the protesters as a joke.  “This is Chinese propaganda at play,” said Mo. “What’s more worrying is that police have admitted to its officials masquerading as protesters. So who will be the arsonists? Who will be the murderers? The goal is to institute fear in society so that people will be scared to go out. This is a despicable tactic,” she added. On September 30, amid the anti-government protests in Hong Kong, Chinese President Xi Jinping renewed his government's commitment allowing Hong Kong to manage its own affairs under ‘one country, two systems’.

Read: Xi Jinping Renews Commitment To Allow Hong Kong Manage Its Own Affairs

(Inputs from AP)