Flights resume after second night of chaos at Hong Kong airport

Our live coverage of the Hong Kong airport protests has ended. Read more about the ongoing crisis here.

Liu Chung Yin, a 30-year-old who was named previously in court, is one of the two pilots terminated by Cathay Pacific Group, a source within the company told CNN on Wednesday. Liu’s legal counsel confirmed the report to CNN as well.

Liu appeared at Eastern Magistrates Court on July 31, charged with rioting on July 28. He did not enter a plea at this stage of Hong Kong’s legal process but his name, age and occupation as a pilot was disclosed in open court, as customary on first appearance.

The Magistrate charged Liu, among 44 other protesters.

A member of Liu’s legal counsel, who did not wish to be named, told CNN that he was given an exemption to allow him to leave the country, to fulfill his role as a pilot. However, two weeks after the hearing, Liu was fired by the airline, along with another unnamed pilot. 

Liu posted $128 USD bail, and must abide by a curfew — midnight to 6 a.m. local time — daily, and report to the police once a week. 

The crowd at a religious gathering in Hong Kong on Wednesday shone lasers on the police station and blocked the roads, a CNN crew on the ground witnessed.

Police got on a megaphone and told people to clear the area.

Context: According to Hong Kong law, religious gatherings — unlike protests — do not require police permissions.

This is one reason anti-government protesters have been using the name of this Buddhist festival to organize a gathering. Telegram groups that have been giving out protest information are calling on people to join this religious gathering near the Sham Shui Po police station. 

As sweeping protests persist in Hong Kong, satellite imagery purports to show Chinese military vehicles gathering in Shenzen, near Hong Kong’s border with mainland China.

Recently-arrived vehicles can be seen at the Shenzen Bay Sports Center, just across the harbor from Hong Kong. 

A CNN team on the ground in Shenzhen witnessed large numbers of uniformed members of the People’s Armed Police Force Wednesday evening, carrying riot shields and batons.

An officer told CNN the troops had arrived for a temporary assignment, staying at the sports stadium. The officer did not confirm why the troops were stationed there.

Watch for more:

The US State Department is urging China to allow Hong Kong to “exercise a high degree of autonomy.”

The statement comes after increased speculation that Chinese troops could enter Hong Kong to help stop the continuing protests in that city. 

Keep in mind: There is no indication that Chinese military is set to imminently enter Hong Kong. However, state media has repeatedly brought up that possibility.

 Read the full State Department statement:

A CNN team on the ground in Shenzhen, China, witnessed large numbers of uniformed members of the People’s Armed Police Force (also known as PAP) Wednesday, carrying riot shields and batons just miles away from Hong Kong on the mainland China side of the border. 

The PAP, which is under the command of China’s central military commission, is the 1.5 million-member paramilitary force the government regularly deploys to quell protests within its borders. 

A PAP officer told CNN the troops had just arrived for a temporary assignment, staying at the sports stadium where they were filmed. The officer did not confirm why the troops were stationed there.

Why this matters: There has been increased speculation recently that Chinese troops could enter Hong Kong to help stop the continuing protests in that city. 

President Trump tweeted Tuesday that the US had seen Chinese troop buildups near the border, though it’s unclear if these are the troops he was referring to. 

Remember: There is NO indication that Chinese military or PAP members are set to imminently enter Hong Kong. However, state media has repeatedly brought up that possibility and propaganda videos of soldiers training in makeshift riot scenes have been heavily promoted by the government in the mainland.   

Laser beams shone by protesters to light up the Shum Shui Po police station in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

Protesters and police are facing off right now in Hong Kong’s Sham Shui Po area, a residential area. The demonstrators were gathered outside a police station in the district for a religious laser vigil when the skirmish started.

Tonight’s clash comes a day after protesters and police clashed at Hong Kong’s airport.

CNN’s Paula Handcocks said that while the location of the protests has shifted, the movement is not over.

Watch more:

Police and protesters are facing off in Sham Shui Po in Hong Kong, according to CNN teams on the ground. 

A religious laser vigil was taking place when the clash started.

Cathay Pacific Airways released a press release Wednesday stating that it has terminated two pilots without disclosing the reason. However a well-placed source within the company tells CNN the pilots were fired in association with activities related to on-going Hong Kong protests.   

Cathay’s statement did not name the two pilots. 

In a memo to staff Monday, the company said it “has a zero tolerance approach to illegal activities” and that it will comply with China’s ban on company staff who participated and supported protests in Hong Kong. 

The company source tells CNN that one of the pilots terminated was charged with rioting in Hong Kong and had been suspended from duty since July 30.

File photograph of thousands of Hong Kong protesters during a demonstration in June. Hong Kong has faced 10 weeks of mass protests initially sparked by a controversial extradition bill.

A Hong Kong lawmaker warned that the territory could turn into a “mainland city” without the “one country, two systems” protections.

Pro-democracy Labour Party lawmaker Fernando Cheung told CNN Wednesday:

Some background: Hong Kong’s defacto constitution, the Basic Law, states that Hong Kong will co-exist with China as “one country, two systems” for 50 years after the handover of power in 1997. Due to expire in 2047, it states that the city “shall safeguard the rights and freedoms of the residents.” One of the tenets contained in the Basic Law, and reaffirmed by Lu Ping, China’s then-top official on Hong Kong, was the right to develop its own democracy. 

On Tuesday night, Cheung tried to intervene in a tense situation at Hong Kong’s airport when protesters detained a journalist from Chinese state media Global Times.

Cheung told CNN on Wednesday that the events from the night before were in opposition to what protesters have been trying to achieve the past but months but that their concerns are still valid. 

“Although we don’t agree to that situation in the campaign, the movement itself is still very valid. The threats are still there,” he said.

The government of Hong Kong has created a page on one of its tourism websites offering tourists information on “known processions, public transport and airport situation, as well as Government responses to the protest actions and public disruptions.”

Hong Kong has been seeking to reassure travelers that it is still open for business and dispel international concerns over the protest chaos that has been broadcast worldwide.

“This online portal puts the facts at your fingertips covering transportation advice in relation to protests, clarifications of fake news, government press releases, conferences and events and more. It provides useful and timely information for businesspeople, travelers and residents alike,” the page reads.

Here’s a link to the page.

Almost 1,000 flights were affected by the protests this week at Hong Kong’s airport, according to the CEO of the Hong Kong Airport Authority.

Lam Tin-fuk said a court injunction issued today, which restricts people from accessing the airport, was the only way to ensure safe operation of the airport.

The CEO refused to disclose the number of airport security members on duty last night, but said that they had tried their best and couldn’t contend with such large crowds.

Lam also acknowledged that 28 countries had issued travel advisories concerning Hong Kong.

A Hong Kong policeman falls backwards as they scuffle with pro-democracy protesters during ongoing demonstrations at Hong Kong's International Airport on August 13, 2019.

At a press conference today, pro-Beijing lawmakers in Hong Kong denounced last night’s protesters and called their actions “terrorism.”

Lawmaker Priscilla Leung said there was no justification for the levels of violence on display at the airport yesterday. “I don’t buy the protesters’ excuses,” she said.

Another Hong Kong politician, Gary Chan, called for the pan-democracy camp to condemn the violent acts.

Several of the lawmakers at the press conference specifically condemned the protesters who held a man for several hours last night, accusing him of being an undercover police officer and refusing to let paramedics through when he appeared to lose consciousness.

The Chinese central government said earlier today that the unconscious man was a mainland Chinese resident.

“Is it acceptable to be detained and treated this way because they have a certain background or identity?” said pro-Beijing lawmaker Starry Lee today.

After the chaos at the airport last night, some protesters are saying they’re sorry.

On Telegram – an encrypted messaging app popular with protesters – some are sharing images apologizing for last night. But it’s unclear how widespread these feelings are within the movement, because only a small handful of people have posted these sentiments.  

One person, who posted anonymously in a Telegram group with more than 34,000 members, explained that people had become more aggressive after police posed undercover as protesters.

“This has led to our unsuppressed anger and overly aggressive way to respond,” the person wrote.

Another post on the app was of a picture featuring a yellow hard hat – something protesters often wear to demonstrations as a safety measure – alongside this message:

Joshua Wong, who was a leader of the 2014 Umbrella Movement, also tweeted an apology, saying that: “Hong Kong is sick.”

“We thank you for your tolerance and understanding,” he said.

The Telegram channel’s admin group is anonymous, and no group or spokesperson released these messages. The protest movement does not have a centralized leadership that conveys messaging.

In addition to the apologies, a handful of other posts appear to show protesters urging their fellow demonstrators not to apologize.

“Whoever apologized means they are breaking off their relationship with front-line protesters,” wrote one user of LIGHK, an online forum that is considered Hong Kong’s answer to Reddit.

Two protesters hold an apology sign in the departures hall.

Police officers patrol in the departures hall of Hong Kong's International Airport on August 14, 2019.

At a press conference today, the Hong Kong police condemned last night’s protests and said the airport was not the place for protests.

Mak said one police officer pulled out a gun in defense after “protesters pushed him to a corner to beat him up, and grabbed his pepper spray and baton.”

Five men, aged from 17 to 28, were arrested for unlawful assembly, assaulting police officers, and possession of weapons. They are still in custody.

Police warned that carrying out illegal activities at airports could incur heavier penalties up to life imprisonment.

The airport has also received a court order banning protesters from illegally protesting there again. The order also authorizes police officers to arrest those “reasonably believed” to be violating the rules set out by the court.

It’s normally a smooth ride from Hong Kong to the airport on the Airport Express train – it runs every 12 minutes, and you simply buy a ticket and hop on.

But today, the train is running at 25-minute intervals.

And once passengers get off the train at the airport, there are security measures in place – only passengers with boarding passes and passports are being let into the terminals.

Long lines are forming as passengers wait to show their documents.

Some of the new measures are in line with a court injunction, published by the airport earlier today, which bans illegal protests at the airport. Anybody who obstructs airport services or transit systems can be held in contempt of court and may be fined or imprisoned.

Britt Carroll during her trip to Hong Kong.

Britt Carroll, a 29-year-old New Zealander who lives in Australia, was set to fly to Melbourne with Qantas airlines at 10.30 p.m. local time on Monday, after a holiday in Hong Kong.

Around midday, she saw reports of a protests at the airport. Qantas sent her a message saying there might be disruption at the hub, but her flight remained scheduled on time.

As scores of flights were canceled and thousands of passengers descended on the airport, she heard nothing more from the airline. Then 90 minutes before departure, the flight was canceled. “The airline was pretty terrible at communicating with passengers,” she says.

Carroll, who hadn’t yet left for the airport, was left to organize her own hotel for Monday and Tuesday in Hong Kong. Qantas has said it will reimburse her for food and accommodation for those nights.

Despite the inconvenience, Carroll isn’t upset with the protesters.

“My frustration – and that of other travelers I’ve spoken with – lies with the airlines, airport and government … it’s frustrating that authorities were not better prepared.”

Her flight is now scheduled for Wednesday evening.

Carroll says whether she would return to Hong Kong depends on how the government handles the political situation. “If China and the Hong Kong government pursue further legislative changes that impact on the Hong Kong people, I’m not sure I would feel safe,” she says.

CNN has reached out to Qantas for comment.

A Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldier at the Hong Kong Garrison on August 1, 2019.

The idea of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on the streets of Hong Kong seemed unthinkable just a few weeks ago. Now it is being considered a possibility as violence escalates – but it would have lasting ramifications for the city’s economy, reputation and diplomatic ties.

PLA deployment would crash the economy:

Hong Kong’s stock market, the fifth-largest in the world by market capitalization, would likely drop sharply as soon as the PLA appeared. That could wipe billions of dollars off the value of companies.

Given the serious damage to the city’s reputation as a place where businesses are more or less free to operate without Beijing’s interference, the stock market might not recover. Companies could look to relocate major operations.

A mass exodus could follow, likely crashing the property market too. Hong Kong’s trade status with other countries could be negatively affected.

Diplomatic fallout:

Hong Kong is a major destination for expatriates from across the world. Hundreds of thousands of citizens of Australia, France, the UK and the US could be affected by a crackdown in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong's international airport has extra security measures in place after last night's protests.

Hong Kong International Airport has implemented a series of new measures after last night’s protests.

If you’re a traveler heading to or from the airport, here’s what you need to know:

The Cathay Pacific check-in area at Hong Kong's International Airport on August 10, 2019.

Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong’s flag carrier, has condemned the airport protests that grounded flights and left passengers stranded yesterday.

The statement said 272 flights coming in and out of Hong Kong have been canceled in the past two days, with more than 55,000 passengers affected.

The airline reiterated support for the Hong Kong government, chief executive and police.

Earlier this week, Cathay warned its staff that those who “support or participate in illegal protests” in Hong Kong could be fired in a “zero tolerance” approach. This came days after Beijing took steps to prevent Cathay workers who protested from flying to mainland China or passing through the country’s airspace.

Read Cathay’s full statement: