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As a police van sped past them, the 90-year-old woman and her 60-year-old daughter raised their fists, pointed their thumbs very deliberately down and yelled, “Triads!” That silver-haired women in Hong Kong no longer think twice about openly accusing officers of being in cahoots with mafia gangs shows how public trust in the city’s 30,000-strong police force, once considered among the finest in Asia, has been catastrophically damaged in the storm of protest gripping the international business hub. In trying to end the anti-government demonstrations, which broke out in multiple locations again on Saturday and are now in their fifth month, one of the most pressing problems to solve for Hong Kong leaders will be dispelling the now widespread public scorn for police officers. Protest graffiti likening officers to dogs and worse is all over the city, and protesters Saturday chanted for the force to be disbanded. Overall, Saturday’s rallies were lower-key and more peaceful than other far larger and more violent protests that have rocked the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. Riot police deployed but stayed far behind the day’s largest rally, which drew thousands of peaceful marchers in Kowloon. Police said rioters tossing gasoline bombs damaged a subway station, but there was no repeat of the more intense destruction and battles between protesters and police that have spread across Hong Kong. Still, restoring any semblance of trust between police officers and the 7.5 million people they are sworn to serve and protect is going to be a long, hard battle. Demonstrators widely decry the force’s policing of the hundreds of protests that began in early June as thuggish, with more than 2,300 people arrested. Its liberal use of tear gas and what has become a familiar sight of officers in full riot gear pursuing young protesters and making muscular, sometimes brutish arrests has come as a shock to a city that long prided itself on being safe. “They beat the butts out of people,” said the 90-year-old woman, Cheng Liang Yu, who angrily shouted at the passing police van with her 60-year-old daughter, Dorothy Lau. One of Lau’s daughters is a part-time police officer. Lau has her photo, proudly saluting in her police uniform, stored on her cellphone. But she was equally dismissive of the force her daughter serves. “They’re too violent,” she said. Together with another of Lau’s daughters, Liz Yuen, the women joined a protest of about 200 people, many of them retirees, outside the towering police headquarters in central Hong Kong on Saturday.
The peaceful rally held a minute’s silence for victims of what protesters described as police abuse. Photos taped on the sidewalk showed X-rays of fractured bones that protesters alleged were broken in police custody. Patrolling discreetly in their midst, a handful of plainclothes police officers tried to break the ice. They stopped traffic to allow elderly protesters, some with walking sticks, to cross a busy road to join the sit-in rally. They also took heated verbal abuse. “The police and the triads are brothers!” yelled 75-year-old Chiu Shuitin, directing his anger directly at officers who shuffled silently away. “The police don’t protect us anymore!” One of the plainclothes officers said the past few months have been tough on them, too. He said he worries that people who know he’s an officer might leak that fact, along with his name and address, on the internet, so protesters can target him and his family. To lower his profile outside of work, he said he’s now in touch with only a small circle of his closest friends. He lamented that protesters who used to target officers with nothing more dangerous than paper planes now hurl bricks and gasoline bombs. “That’s very sad,” said the officer, who didn’t want to be identified because he wasn’t authorized to give media interviews. “How can we talk?” One of the protest movement’s key demands is for an independent inquiry into the policing methods deployed against protesters and widely held conspiracy theories — repeatedly and strongly denied by the police force — that detainees have died in custody. But protesters are also pessimistic that Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie Lam, will bow to that or other demands, including universal suffrage. She is scheduled to deliver her annual policy address on Wednesday. If demonstrators don’t turn out in force for that, it could be another hint — along with the toned-down rallies on Saturday — that the movement may be losing a little steam. A 58-year-old teacher of English and history at the protest outside the police headquarters said she’d been terrified by the increase in violence this month, which included two police shootings of teen-aged demonstrators who were injured. She said trust in the police would take “a million years to rebuild.” The teacher said she didn’t want to be identified by name because her school wants “all the staff to stay absolutely silent.”
The peaceful rally held a minute’s silence for victims of what protesters described as police abuse. Photos taped on the sidewalk showed X-rays of fractured bones that protesters alleged were broken in police custody. Patrolling discreetly in their midst, a handful of plainclothes police officers tried to break the ice. They stopped traffic to allow elderly protesters, some with walking sticks, to cross a busy road to join the sit-in rally. They also took heated verbal abuse. “The police and the triads are brothers!” yelled 75-year-old Chiu Shuitin, directing his anger directly at officers who shuffled silently away. “The police don’t protect us anymore!” One of the plainclothes officers said the past few months have been tough on them, too. He said he worries that people who know he’s an officer might leak that fact, along with his name and address, on the internet, so protesters can target him and his family. To lower his profile outside of work, he said he’s now in touch with only a small circle of his closest friends. He lamented that protesters who used to target officers with nothing more dangerous than paper planes now hurl bricks and gasoline bombs. “That’s very sad,” said the officer, who didn’t want to be identified because he wasn’t authorized to give media interviews. “How can we talk?” One of the protest movement’s key demands is for an independent inquiry into the policing methods deployed against protesters and widely held conspiracy theories — repeatedly and strongly denied by the police force — that detainees have died in custody. But protesters are also pessimistic that Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie Lam, will bow to that or other demands, including universal suffrage. She is scheduled to deliver her annual policy address on Wednesday. If demonstrators don’t turn out in force for that, it could be another hint — along with the toned-down rallies on Saturday — that the movement may be losing a little steam. A 58-year-old teacher of English and history at the protest outside the police headquarters said she’d been terrified by the increase in violence this month, which included two police shootings of teen-aged demonstrators who were injured. She said trust in the police would take “a million years to rebuild.” The teacher said she didn’t want to be identified by name because her school wants “all the staff to stay absolutely silent.”
Companies have welcomed a U.S.-Chinese trade truce as a possible step toward breaking a deadlock in a 15-month-old tariff war, while economists caution there was little progress toward settling core disputes including technology that threaten global growth. President Donald Trump said Washington will suspend a tariff hike planned for Tuesday on $250 billion of Chinese goods. In exchange, Trump said China agreed to buy as much as $50 billion of American farm goods. Details of other possible agreements weren’t immediately released. The bruising battle over China’s trade surplus and technology ambitions has disrupted global trade. Economists warn a final settlement might take years to negotiate. Despite that, financial markets rise ahead of each round of talks and fall back when no progress is reported. Companies acknowledged Friday’s agreement was a modest step and appealed to both governments to step up efforts to end the fight that is battering manufacturers and farmers. Washington still is planning a Dec. 15 tariff hike on $160 billion of smartphones and other imports. Before then, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are due to attend an economic conference in Chile in mid-November. That is raising hopes a face-to-face meeting might produce progress. “Taking tariffs out of the equation for at last the next two months will give space for substantive negotiations,” said Jake Parker, senior vice president of the U.S.-China Business Council, an industry group. Trump said Friday’s deal has yet to be put down on paper but said, “We should be able to get that done over the next four weeks.” China’s government welcomed “substantial progress” but gave no details of possible agreements. “I don’t think it’s a victory, but it eases the situation,” said economist Yu Chunhai at Renmin University in Beijing. He said both sides want to restore business and consumer confidence. There was no word of agreements on the core issues that sparked the dispute. Those include U.S. pressure on Beijing to roll back plans for government-led creation of global competitors in robotics, electric cars and other technologies. “There remains significant work ahead to address many of the most important U.S. trade and investment priorities,” Myron Brilliant, executive vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement. Still, he called Friday’s announcement a “ray of hope.” Washington, Europe, Japan and other trading partners say China’s plans violate its market-opening obligations and are based on stealing or pressuring companies to hand over technology. Chinese leaders see those tactics as the surest path to prosperity and global influence. “With the key structural issues no closer to being resolved, we suspect that a mini deal would, at best, simply delay a breakdown in the negotiations,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard and Martin Lynge Rasmussen of Capital Economics.
Friday’s announcement also made no mention of commitments by Beijing in sensitive areas including subsidies to industry and cyber security, or the status of telecom equipment giant Huawei, which faces damaging U.S. sanctions. Trump imposed curbs in May on sales of American components and technology to Huawei Technologies Ltd., China’s first global tech brand. Trump has said he is willing to use Huawei, one of the biggest global makers of smartphones and network switching gear, as a bargaining chip in the trade talks. “The two sides will now return to a ‘muddle through’ strategy that avoids further tariff escalation but may not substantially reduce tensions,” Michael Hirson and Kelsey Broderick of Eurasia Group wrote in a report. “Both the U.S. and China are likely to continue targeting each other through non-tariff measures, such as investment restrictions and regulatory barriers, which will be highly disruptive.” Tit-for-tat tariff hikes by both sides have raised costs for producers and consumers. Some companies are shifting production and supply lines out of China to avoid the U.S. tariffs, suggesting they expect the sanctions to stay in place for an extended period. China’s exports to the United States, its biggest foreign market, have plunged, adding to pressure on Xi’s government to shore up cooling economic growth and avoid politically dangerous job losses. The looming Dec. 15 tariff hike leaves a “black cloud” over Apple Inc. and other tech companies with factories or customers in China, said Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities in a report. He said it would be a “gut punch” if it goes ahead. U.S. complaints about Chinese technology policies, cyber spying and protection of patents and other intellectual property “will be the focus of tech investors,” said Ives. Another potential stumbling block is how to enforce any agreement. Talks broke down in May over Beijing’s insistence that Trump’s punitive tariffs had to be lifted once a deal took effect. Washington says some must remain in place to ensure Chinese compliance. Trump and Xi agreed in June to resume negotiations but there have been no breakthroughs. Despite that, Beijing has gone ahead with other industry-opening initiatives aimed at making China’s economy more competitive and productive. None, however, addresses Trump’s complaints and business groups say they have had little impact on foreign companies. On Friday, regulators announced a timetable for an initiative announced in 2017 to abolish limits on foreign ownership of some financial businesses. That starts with futures traders Jan. 1 and extends to securities firms and mutual fund managers later in the year. “Even if it is not a new liberalization or something that hasn’t been announced before, it is still positive to have a date on the horizon for when companies can apply,” said Parker of the USCBC.
Friday’s announcement also made no mention of commitments by Beijing in sensitive areas including subsidies to industry and cyber security, or the status of telecom equipment giant Huawei, which faces damaging U.S. sanctions. Trump imposed curbs in May on sales of American components and technology to Huawei Technologies Ltd., China’s first global tech brand. Trump has said he is willing to use Huawei, one of the biggest global makers of smartphones and network switching gear, as a bargaining chip in the trade talks. “The two sides will now return to a ‘muddle through’ strategy that avoids further tariff escalation but may not substantially reduce tensions,” Michael Hirson and Kelsey Broderick of Eurasia Group wrote in a report. “Both the U.S. and China are likely to continue targeting each other through non-tariff measures, such as investment restrictions and regulatory barriers, which will be highly disruptive.” Tit-for-tat tariff hikes by both sides have raised costs for producers and consumers. Some companies are shifting production and supply lines out of China to avoid the U.S. tariffs, suggesting they expect the sanctions to stay in place for an extended period. China’s exports to the United States, its biggest foreign market, have plunged, adding to pressure on Xi’s government to shore up cooling economic growth and avoid politically dangerous job losses. The looming Dec. 15 tariff hike leaves a “black cloud” over Apple Inc. and other tech companies with factories or customers in China, said Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities in a report. He said it would be a “gut punch” if it goes ahead. U.S. complaints about Chinese technology policies, cyber spying and protection of patents and other intellectual property “will be the focus of tech investors,” said Ives. Another potential stumbling block is how to enforce any agreement. Talks broke down in May over Beijing’s insistence that Trump’s punitive tariffs had to be lifted once a deal took effect. Washington says some must remain in place to ensure Chinese compliance. Trump and Xi agreed in June to resume negotiations but there have been no breakthroughs. Despite that, Beijing has gone ahead with other industry-opening initiatives aimed at making China’s economy more competitive and productive. None, however, addresses Trump’s complaints and business groups say they have had little impact on foreign companies. On Friday, regulators announced a timetable for an initiative announced in 2017 to abolish limits on foreign ownership of some financial businesses. That starts with futures traders Jan. 1 and extends to securities firms and mutual fund managers later in the year. “Even if it is not a new liberalization or something that hasn’t been announced before, it is still positive to have a date on the horizon for when companies can apply,” said Parker of the USCBC.
A heavy downpour and strong winds pounded Tokyo and surrounding areas on Saturday as a powerful typhoon forecast to be Japan’s worst in six decades made landfall and passed over the capital, where streets, nearby beaches and train stations were long deserted. Store shelves were bare after people stocked up on water and food ahead of Typhoon Hagibis. The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of dangerously heavy rainfall in Tokyo and surrounding prefectures, including Gunma, Saitama and Kanagawa, and later expanded the area to include Fukushima and Miyagi to the north. A coastal earthquake also rattled the area. “Be ready for rainfall of the kind that you have never experienced,” said meteorological agency official Yasushi Kajihara, adding that areas usually safe from disasters may prove vulnerable. “Take all measures necessary to save your life,” he said. Kajihara said people who live near rivers should take shelter on the second floor or higher of any sturdy building if an officially designated evacuation center wasn’t easily accessible. Hagibis, which means “speed” in Filipino, was advancing north-northwestward with maximum sustained winds of 144 kilometers (90 miles) per hour, according to the meteorological agency. It was traveling northward at a speed of 40 kph (25 mph). It reached Kawasaki, a western part of greater Tokyo, late Saturday and headed to Tsukuba city to the north about an hour later, before it was expected to swerve toward the sea, the agency said. The storm brought heavy rainfall in wide areas of Japan all day ahead of its landfall, including in Shizuoka and Mie prefectures, southwest of Tokyo, as well as Chiba to the north, which saw power outages and damaged homes in a typhoon last month. Under gloomy skies, a tornado ripped through Chiba on Saturday, overturning a car in the city of Ichihara and killing a man inside the vehicle, city official Tatsuya Sakamaki said. Five people were injured when the tornado ripped through a house. Their injuries were not life-threatening, Sakamaki said. The heavy rain caused rivers to swell, and several had flooded by late Saturday. The wind flipped anchored boats and whipped up sea waters in a dangerous surge along the coast and areas near rivers, flooding some residential neighborhoods and leaving people to wade in ankle-deep waters and cars floating. Some roads were so flooded they looked like muddy ditches. An earthquake shook the area drenched by the rainfall shortly before the typhoon made landfall in Shizuoka prefecture Saturday evening. but there were no immediate reports of damage. The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 5.3 quake was centered in the ocean off the coast of Chiba, near Tokyo, and was fairly deep, at 59.5 kilometers (37 miles).
Deep quakes tend to cause less damage than shallow ones. In Shizuoka, one of two men who went missing in the Nishikawa River was rescued, Gotemba city official Fumihiko Katsumata said. Firefighters said the two men were working at a river canal to try to control overflowing when they were swept away. The nationally circulated Yomiuri newspaper put the storm’s casualty toll at two people dead, three missing and 62 injured. More than 170,000 people had evacuated, the paper said. More than 370,000 homes suffered power outages as a result of the typhoon, according to Tokyo Electric Power Co. Yusuke Ikegaya, a Shizuoka resident who evacuated ahead of the storm, said he was surprised that the nearby river was about to overflow in the morning, hours before the typhoon made landfall. “In the 28 years of my life, this is the first time I’ve had to evacuate even before a typhoon has landed,” he said. Authorities also warned of mudslides, common in mountainous Japan. Two dams began to release some of their waters and other dams in the area may take similar measures, as waters were nearing limits, public broadcaster NHK reported. An overflooded dam is likely to cause greater damage, and so releasing some water gradually is a standard emergency measure, but the released water added to the heavy rainfall could be dangerous, causing rivers to flood. Rugby World Cup matches, concerts and other events in the typhoon’s path were canceled, while flights were grounded and train services halted. Authorities acted quickly, with warnings issued earlier in the week, including urging people to stay indoors. Some 17,000 police and military troops were called up, standing ready for rescue operations. Residents taped up their apartment windows to prevent them from shattering. TV talks shows showed footage of household items like a slipper bashing through glass when hurled by winds. Evacuation centers were set up in coastal towns, and people rested on gymnasium floors, saying they hoped their homes were still there after the storm passed. The typhoon disrupted a three-day weekend in Japan that includes Sports Day on Monday. Qualifying for a Formula One auto race in Suzuka was pushed to Sunday. The Defense Ministry cut a three-day annual navy review to a single day on Monday. All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines grounded most domestic and international flights at the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya airports, and some Sunday flights have also been canceled. Central Japan Railway Co. canceled bullet-train service between Tokyo and Osaka except for several early Saturday trains connecting Nagoya and Osaka. Tokyo Disneyland was closed, while Ginza department stores and smaller shops throughout Tokyo were shuttered. A typhoon that hit the Tokyo region in 1958 left more than 1,200 people dead and half a million houses flooded.
Deep quakes tend to cause less damage than shallow ones. In Shizuoka, one of two men who went missing in the Nishikawa River was rescued, Gotemba city official Fumihiko Katsumata said. Firefighters said the two men were working at a river canal to try to control overflowing when they were swept away. The nationally circulated Yomiuri newspaper put the storm’s casualty toll at two people dead, three missing and 62 injured. More than 170,000 people had evacuated, the paper said. More than 370,000 homes suffered power outages as a result of the typhoon, according to Tokyo Electric Power Co. Yusuke Ikegaya, a Shizuoka resident who evacuated ahead of the storm, said he was surprised that the nearby river was about to overflow in the morning, hours before the typhoon made landfall. “In the 28 years of my life, this is the first time I’ve had to evacuate even before a typhoon has landed,” he said. Authorities also warned of mudslides, common in mountainous Japan. Two dams began to release some of their waters and other dams in the area may take similar measures, as waters were nearing limits, public broadcaster NHK reported. An overflooded dam is likely to cause greater damage, and so releasing some water gradually is a standard emergency measure, but the released water added to the heavy rainfall could be dangerous, causing rivers to flood. Rugby World Cup matches, concerts and other events in the typhoon’s path were canceled, while flights were grounded and train services halted. Authorities acted quickly, with warnings issued earlier in the week, including urging people to stay indoors. Some 17,000 police and military troops were called up, standing ready for rescue operations. Residents taped up their apartment windows to prevent them from shattering. TV talks shows showed footage of household items like a slipper bashing through glass when hurled by winds. Evacuation centers were set up in coastal towns, and people rested on gymnasium floors, saying they hoped their homes were still there after the storm passed. The typhoon disrupted a three-day weekend in Japan that includes Sports Day on Monday. Qualifying for a Formula One auto race in Suzuka was pushed to Sunday. The Defense Ministry cut a three-day annual navy review to a single day on Monday. All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines grounded most domestic and international flights at the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya airports, and some Sunday flights have also been canceled. Central Japan Railway Co. canceled bullet-train service between Tokyo and Osaka except for several early Saturday trains connecting Nagoya and Osaka. Tokyo Disneyland was closed, while Ginza department stores and smaller shops throughout Tokyo were shuttered. A typhoon that hit the Tokyo region in 1958 left more than 1,200 people dead and half a million houses flooded.
