Students who have taken to the streets for democracy warn: last night’s riots were orchestrated by China, which is using members of the triads to unleash violence. Talks with government canceled (for now). Martin Lee: "They are using an old communist trick to avoid getting their hands dirty while taking out unwelcome people".

Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - Yesterday's "targeted attacks" against democratic protesters "are nothing more than an old and well known communist tactic. They set people against other people: in this way they can remove uncomfortable people without getting their hands dirty in front of reporters". This is according to Martin Lee, 76, founder of the Democratic Party of Hong Kong. According to Lee, who has been active for decades in defending democracy in the Territory, the presence of the violent members of the triads "does nothing but confirm our worst suspicions. They want to eliminate us at all costs".

The violent clashes took place in Mong Kon, the commercial district of Kowloon Peninsula, and around the corridors of power in Central. Here, a week ago, hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated peacefully to ask Beijing to "keep its promises" and allow democracy in Hong Kong. The police assault against a group of unarmed students, which took place on September 29, only served to garner further popular support for the demonstrations.

Perhaps to avoid another boomerang effect, yesterday it wasn't police who took to the streets, but organized groups of "civilians" - who do speak Mandarin and not Cantonese - who tried to break up pickets and raise the tension. The authorities did not intervene, allowing the violence to unfold  but today 19 people were arrested, of which "some" had mafia links.

Faced with this situation, the Students Federation has decided to cancel meetings scheduled with the Secretary General of the Territory, Carrie Lam. In a statement, the federation said they "have no choice but to cancel the meetings, given that the police have turned a blind eye to the attacks against demonstrators conducted in different areas of the city and in particular against the students in Mong Kok ". Benny Lai, a law professor and one of the three founders of Occupy Central, has supported the students version stating that the attackers, who wounded a dozen young people were members of the triads.

These mafias, particularly in the south of China, have traditionally support the government in Beijing. Eyewitnesses reported that some of the so-called "anti-Occupy" seemed to really be a citizens of Hong Kong, but added that the majority was made up of men between 30 and 40 years old in shorts and T-shirt with garish tattoos, a fact confirmed by dozens of photos posted on Twitter and other social media sites.

 

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