On Thursday, police in Hong Kong filed criminal charges against an 18-year-old protester whom an officer shot point-blank in the chest on Tuesday, accusing the high school student of rioting and attacking police. The victim, Tsang Chi-kin, is recovering in the hospital and was not in the courtroom. He was the first protester shot with live ammunition in months of persistent demonstrations that have roiled Hong Kong.
Tuesday's protests were an especial embarrassment for Beijing, which was contemporaneously celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China with a pomp-filled, heavily choreographed demonstration of might and unity. Police say the officer fired his revolver at Tsang because he feared for his life, as the student tried to hit him with a rod. The use of potentially lethal force on a protester has further enraged the protesters, thousands of whom rallied Wednesday and Thursday to demand police accountability.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
'Tariff stacking' is creating problems for businessesThe Explainer Imports from China are the most heavily affected
-
Can MAGA survive a US war on Iran?Talking Points Trump's wavering sparks debate about 'America First'
-
'The Minnesota attacks join a grim catalog of political violence'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Weinstein convicted of sex crime in retrialSpeed Read The New York jury delivered a mixed and partial verdict at the disgraced Hollywood producer's retrial
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside homespeed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confessionspeed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
-
Assailant burns Jewish pedestrians in Boulderspeed read Eight people from the Jewish group were hospitalized after a man threw Molotov cocktails in a 'targeted act of violence'
-
Driver rams van into crowd at Liverpool FC paradespeed read 27 people were hospitalized following the attack
-
2 Israel Embassy staff shot dead at DC Jewish museumspeed read The suspected gunman chanted 'free, free Palestine'
-
Bombing of fertility clinic blamed on 'antinatalist'speed read A car bombing injured four people and damaged a fertility clinic and nearby buildings in Palm Springs, California
-
Suspect charged after 11 die in Vancouver car attackSpeed Read Kai-Ji Adam Lo drove an SUV into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu Day festival
