Hong Kong divided over China’s COVID-19 protests

By KANIS LEUNG and ZEN SOO
Associated Press

HONG KONG (AP) — The recent wave of protests against China’s anti-virus restrictions was a ray of hope among some supporters of Hong Kong’s own pro-democracy movement after local authorities stifled it using a national security law. In 2019, before the pandemic, hundreds of thousands of Hong Kongers took to the streets to protest proposed extradition legislation. The bill was eventually shelved, but it sparked months of unrest that at times led to violent clashes between police and protesters. Some, but not all, in Hong Kong sympathize with mainland protesters’ calls for greater freedoms after nearly three years of onerous pandemic restrictions.