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Hong Kong police were criticized on Monday for their apparent failure to protect protesters and anti-government pbadersby from suspected attacks by suspected gang members at a train station this weekend.
Sunday 's attack took place during a night of escalating violence that opened new fronts in the worsening crisis in Hong Kong following a bill on terrorism. extradition allowing persons from this semi-autonomous territory to be brought to justice.
Earlier on Sunday, protesters had surrounded China's main representative office in the Asian financial center and disfigured walls, road signs and clashes with the police.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, supported by Beijing, condemned the attack on the central government liaison office, saying it was a "challenge" to the national sovereignty.
She condemned any type of violent behavior and said she was shocked by the clashes at the station, adding that the police would conduct a thorough investigation. "The violence will only spawn more violence," Lam said while he was accompanied by senior city officials.
Some politicians and activists have linked the dark network of triad gangs in Hong Kong with acts of intimidation and political violence in recent years, sometimes against pro-democracy activists and Beijing critics.
In Washington, US President Donald Trump said he believes that Chinese President Xi Jinping acted "very responsibly" with the protests, which is the biggest popular challenge of the Chinese leader since he came to power in 2012.
"One country, two systems"
Hong Kong has been hit by a series of sometimes violent protests for more than two months – its most serious crisis since the city was surrendered to China by Britain in 1997, but with democratic freedoms governed by a formula "one country, two systems".
On Sunday night, dozens of men in white T-shirts, some armed with clubs, invaded Yuen Long Rural Station and stormed a train, attacking pbadengers with pipes, poles and other objects, according to the video recording.
Witnesses, including Democratic legislator Lam Cheuk-ting, said the men appeared to be targeting black-robed pbadengers who had attended an anti-government protest.
Lawmaker Lam, who was wounded in the face and hospitalized, said the police had ignored his calls to intervene to prevent bloodshed.
"They deliberately turned a blind eye to these triad attacks on ordinary citizens," he told Reuters, pointing out that the floors of the chain were covered in bloodstains.
"I will not speculate on why they did not help immediately."
Later Monday night, a police spokeswoman confirmed the arrest of two men aged 45 and 48 linked to an illegal meeting in Yuen Long. They did not provide any other details.
Forty-five people were injured in the violence at the station, including one in critical condition, according to hospital authorities.
Hong Kong Police Chief Stephen Lo said it was necessary to "redeploy the work force from other districts".
Police stations nearby were closed, given the risks of unrest, and a patrol on the scene was to wait for reinforcements, he said.
"We will continue at all costs to bring the culprits to justice," he told reporters, while pledging to restore public confidence in the police force.
"Triad gang"
When asked if the police had collaborated with triads at the station, Mr. Lo said the police had no connection with the triads.
In 2014, Hong Kong police investigated triad attacks by gangs of protesters during pro-democracy protests that blocked parts of the city for 79 days.
On Sunday, witnesses saw groups of men in white with poles and bamboo sticks in a nearby village, but the police later found no weapons and let the men leave without having made arrests.
"We can not say that you have a problem because you are dressed in white and we have to stop you," said Yau Nai-keung, badistant commander of the police. "We will treat them fairly, no matter what side they are in."
Some banks, shops and government facilities in the area closed early Monday, fearing further trouble, and few people ventured into the street, witnesses said.
Hong Kong enjoys broad freedoms, including an independent judiciary and the right to protest.
Many residents of the city fear that the extradition bill, which would allow people to be extradited to mainland China to be tried, would undermine Hong Kong's judicial independence.
The city government, backed by Beijing, reacting to the scale of protests, deferred the bill and later declared that it was "dead". But the protesters demand his official withdrawal and urged the city leader, Lam, to resign, which she refuses to do.
They also demand independent investigations into the police handling of protesters. Some also demand a complete democracy – anathema to the party leadership in Beijing.
In rare cases, the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, in favor of establishment, has reinforced previous criticisms of the extradition bill and called for its full withdrawal.
He also supported calls for an independent inquiry, acknowledging the "frustrations" with the perception that public demands were being ignored.
On Sunday, police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse activists after thousands of people surrounded the Beijing Liaison Office.
The Chinese government, including the director of the bureau, Wang Zhimin, condemned the unrest, including the spray painting and launching of eggs on the walls and a national emblem at the Liaison Office, claiming that this behavior put into practice cause "the authority and dignity" of the Chinese government.
A spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said such acts were testing the limits of Beijing. "Some radical protesters' behavior has violated our bottom line of" one country, two systems. "We can not tolerate that," spokesman Geng Shuang said.
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