Hong Kong government attempts to stop protests

Tear Gas Hit Hong Kong Protesters

Massive protests have caused a reaction from the government in Hong Kong:

December 1, 2014

BEIJING—Hong Kong’s chief executive warned protesters not to return to the streets after they and police clashed early Monday outside government headquarters.The clashes occurred in central Hong Kong after hundreds of demonstrators stormed past police lines early Monday in a bid to occupy a major road in the Admiralty district.

Hundreds of riot police armed with pepper spray and batons pushed back, injuring several protesters and arresting at least 18.

Protesters are demanding direct elections of the city’s leader in 2017.

Hong Kong’s government Monday indicated it would be taking a harder line toward the protesters.

The city’s chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, warned protesters from returning to the area around the government offices, saying police had been tolerant but would now take “resolute action,” suggesting that patience may have finally run out.

Leung told reporters that some people have mistaken the Hong Kong police’s tolerance for weakness. Leung called for students to refrain from returning to the occupation sites Monday night.

‘Plan was a failure’

Hong Kong Federation of Students leader Alex Chow said the protesters had intended to paralyze government headquarters.

“The plan was a failure on the whole, given that even if some places were occupied, they were cleared by the police immediately,” Chow said.

Pa Sha, one of the protesters who demonstrated outside government offices late Sunday, said, “There were thousands of people breaking through police barricades and occupying the main road outside the chief executive’s office. And during that they faced huge amount of police attacks including using batons to hit the protesters.”

He said many protesters wore masks and goggles to protect themselves from the police, who used pepper spray and batons to push them away from government buildings.

Pa Sha also said the government’s response, so far, has failed to stop the demonstrations, even though there are divisions amongst protest organizers.

“There is still a lot of energy in the people and will to fight, a will to reignite the occupation, but unfortunately the organization is very weak,” he said.

Last week Hong Kong police arrested dozens of demonstrators and two leaders of the protests after clearing a popular protest site in the neighborhood of Mon Kok. Hong Kong has banned Joshua Wong, one of the most prominent student leaders, from returning to Mon Kok. http://www.voanews.com/content/hong-kong-protests-close-down-government/2540636.html

After the election results in Taiwan (see Taiwan moves for more distance from China, but…) and the other protests yesterday, I suspected that the tolerance for protesters in Hong Kong might be reduced.

Hong Kong is officially part of China, but also enjoys a special separative status a treaty guarantees until 2047.

The protesters want more separation of systems than the Chinese government currently prefers.

There remain several advantages to the Chinese government to keep Hong Kong separate, including its relations with Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as its territory, but Taiwan disagrees. China has hoped that Taiwan would decide to align more closely with it, similar to Hong Kong. This still is a hope of the Chinese government.

That being said, the Bible does tell of a coming military alliance between the powers in Asia which would include China and almost assuredly Taiwan and Hong Kong (Revelation 9:13-18; 16:12-16):

12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. 15 Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.” 16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon (Revelation 16:12-16).

The literal translation of the expression ‘the kings of the east’ in Revelation 16:12 is “the kings of the sunrise” and thus this would seem to have to include places like Taiwan, which is east of mainland China as well as a place where the sunrise happens first.

Hong Kong, because of its treaty, as well as its apparent prophetic place, will closer align with China militarily later.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

China, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 1: Genesis and Chinese Characters Where did the Chinese people come from? This article provides information showing that the Chinese peoples must have known about various accounts in the Book of Genesis up until their dispersion after the Tower of Babel. Here is a link to a version of this article in Spanish: ¿Prueban los caracteres chinos la exactitud de la Biblia?
China, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 2: The Sabbath and Some of God’s Witness in China When did Christianity first come to China? And is there early evidence that they observed the seventh day sabbath?
Asia in Prophecy What is Ahead for Asia? Who are the “Kings of the East”? What will happen to nearly all the Chinese, Russians, Indians, and others of Asia? China in prophecy, where? Who has the 200,000,000 man army related to Armageddon? A YouTube video of interest may be Is China THE Threat to the United States of America?
Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End? Was a 6000 year time allowed for humans to rule followed by a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth taught by the early Christians? Does God have 7,000 year plan? What year may the six thousand years of human rule end? When will Jesus return? 2021 or 20xx? There is also a video titled The 6000 Year Plan: Is the end of humanity’s reign almost up?
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2014, 2015, or 2016? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: ¿Puede comenzar la Gran Tribulación en 2014 o 2015? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? You can also see the English language sermon video: The Great Tribulation from the Mount of Olives.
CCOG.ASIA We in the Continuing Church of God also have the url www.ccog.asia which has a focus on Asia and has various articles in Mandarin Chinese as well as some in English, plus some items in other Asian languages. 我们在继续神的教会也提供此网址 www.ccog.asia, 关注于亚洲并且有各种各样的中英文文章，其中一些用菲律宾语翻译的文章也正在进行中，准备添加到这个网站中。 HHere is a link to our Statement of Beliefs in Mandarin Chinese 继续神的教会的信仰声明.