In Hong Kong, democracy activists kicked off a weekend of fresh protests today. It will be a major test for the movement as China’s state media in an apparent threat showing images of military personnel carriers across the border in Shenzhen.
It has prompted the United States to warn Beijing against sending in troops, which analysts say would be an economic disaster for China.
Today’s rallies began with thousands of teachers marching through torrential rain in support of the largely youth-led protests. In the afternoon crowds also began gathering for a march in Hung Hom and To Kwa Wan, two harbour-side districts popular with mainland tourists.
Billed as a rational, non-violent protest, it is being organized by the Civil Human Rights Front, a group that eschews confrontations with police and was the driving force behind record-breaking rallies in June and July that saw hundreds of thousands of people hit the streets.
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