Hong Kong police on Thursday banned a planned protest against suspected triad gangs who beat up pro-democracy demonstrators, ratcheting up tensions ahead of what is expected to be another weekend of anti-government rallies.

Protest organisers have vowed to go ahead with their march despite the police denying their request.

Public anger has been raging since last Sunday when a gang of men in white t-shirts, armed with poles and batons, set upon anti-government protesters in a station and on a train, sending at least 45 people to hospital.

Police have been heavily criticised for being too slow to respond to the violence, fueling accusations of collusion or turning a blind eye to the pro-government mob -- allegations the force have denied.

Activists had planned to hold a protest on Saturday in the rural town of Yuen Long where the brazen assaults took place.

But in a rare move, Hong Kong police issued a letter of objection saying they feared reprisal attacks against villagers from protesters.

"Anyone who comes out to march, they would be violating the law," acting regional police commander Tsang Ching-fo told reporters.

Protest organisers vowed to push ahead, raising the likelihood of fresh clashes between demonstrators and police.

"I personally will march," said activist Max Chung, who had applied for police permission, adding he was seeking legal advice.

Social messaging channels used to organise the largely leaderless movement quickly filled up with vows from people to join in.

Some suggested holding a "shopping spree" in Yuen Long. Others suggested, sarcastically, it could be a location to mourn the death on Wednesday of notorious Chinese communist hardliner Li Peng, noting that religious gatherings do not need police permission.

After the police announcement, an AFP reporter saw around a dozen young people in a military supplies surplus store buying protective clothing and vowing to attend.

"We will go regardless," one young man said.

The South China Morning Post said the last time police rejected a protest request was in 2014.

- Graves vandalised -

Yuen Long is in the New Territories, the rural region bordering China where many villagers are staunchly pro-Beijing.

Three days ago the Yuen Long grave of the parents of Junius Ho was vandalised. An ardent pro-Beijing lawmaker, Ho was seen shaking hands with the white-shirted men before Sunday's attack. He also threatened a pro-democracy lawmaker in an online video earlier this week.

The region also has a long reputation for hosting triads. Police on Thursday said 12 people have so far been arrested for Sunday's violence, nine of who have known triad links.

Hong Kong has been plunged into its worst crisis in recent history after millions of demonstrators took to the streets -- and sporadic violent confrontations between police and pockets of hardcore protesters.

The demonstrations were triggered by a controversial bill which would have allowed extraditions to mainland China but have evolved into a call for wider democratic reforms.

On top of Saturday's rally, activists are planning to protest inside Hong Kong's airport arrival gates on Friday and hold a series of marches on Sunday.

The international finance hub has experienced seven weekends in a row of largely peaceful mass rallies followed by violent clashes, an unprecedented challenge to Beijing's authority since its 1997 handover.

Beijing has labelled the protests as "extreme illegal violence", but has left it to the city's semi-autonomous government to deal with the situation.

City leader Carrie Lam has shown no sign of backing down beyond agreeing to suspend the extradition bill.

On Wednesday China issued a stark reminder that its army could be deployed in Hong Kong if city authorities requested support in maintaining "public order", something local authorities have said they have no intention of doing.

Fake news war divides, confuses in Hong Kong
Hong Kong (AFP) July 25, 2019 - Chinese tanks at the border? False. Photo of a protester biting off a policeman's finger? Misleading. In polarised Hong Kong, a fake news fight for public opinion has become as crucial a battleground as the city streets.

During weeks of pro-democracy protests that have involved millions of people and frequently turned violent, online rumours and conspiracy theories have sowed confusion and deepened distrust.

From 2011 footage of South Korean soldiers misrepresented as an impending Chinese "invasion" to doctored photographs exaggerating the size of rallies, Hong Kong citizens have been bombarded with conflicting claims from both sides of the political divide.

The numbers signalling the impact of the disinformation can be shocking.

Footage of a convoy of Chinese tanks that posts claimed were being sent "to suppress Hong Kongers and cause bloodshed" quickly racked up more than 800,000 views on one Twitter account alone.

Hong Kong authorities have been forced to repeatedly deny claims circulating on social media -- most recently, that People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers had been brought in from the mainland to defend government buildings.

"There is absolutely no such thing and all these claims are totally false," Hong Kong's government said this week, responding to the allegations.

Police have also been the target of much fake news, including a video debunked by AFP that purportedly showed officers shooting a woman in the face.

"The spreading of numerous rumours about police operations will drive a wedge between the Hong Kong Police and community," the force told AFP in a statement.

- 'Deep-rooted' divide -

Videos and images of protests or violent incidents, often selectively edited or doctored to support a particular viewpoint have circulated quickly on social media platforms, but also private chat groups such as on Weibo or WhatsApp.

In these closed environments, entrenched ideas are rarely challenged by facts, according to journalism professor and fake news expert Masato Kajimoto.

"The rather simple, one-sided views expressed in such content makes it harder to reconcile the difference," between Hong Kong's warring camps, Kajimato told AFP.

While a lot of disinformation originates and spreads on social media or chat groups, the mainstream press is also guilty of fanning the flames, according to Kajimoto.

"The excuse that journalists are simply reporting about what people are sharing and discussing is a cop-out," he said, pointing to a widely reported recent conspiracy theory that claimed a policeman's watch proved a press briefing was staged.

"In this age of misinformation and disinformation, the news media should not report anything they haven't independently verified."

Journalists themselves have complained of pressure to make events fit a certain narrative.

This month, the staff union for Hong Kong's public broadcaster claimed reporters were instructed to spread misinformation about a protester using pliers to sever a police officer's fingers.

The channel has said it is investigating.

China's state-run media is a driving force behind discrediting pro-democracy events, according to lawyer Rachel Lao, who is a member of a pro-democracy legal group.

"The Chinese Communist Party is skilled at creating confusion among the public in China and shaming any such movements," Lao told AFP.

But she said the bombardment of state-sponsored disinformation may have the opposite effect from what Beijing intends.

"Because the news is so obviously fake to Hongkongers, they are now very skeptical of any news they receive," she said.

- 'Too much information' -

Jeffrey Ngo, a pro-democracy activist, said the sheer volume of conflicting and false news circulating online left people confused.

"In a world with too much information, what is real and not real is very tricky (to determine)," Ngo said, adding the this may work better for authorities and the city's pro-Beijing camp.

"It ultimately plays well for those in power, when ordinary people decide not to seek truth because they think it's so hard to figure out what is true and what isn't," he added.

Dedicated fact-checking services, run by independent or mainstream media groups, have emerged in recent years across the globe.

AFP's own Asia Fact-Check service has debunked more than a dozen false or misleading claims about the Hong Kong protests, published in English.

Some local independent media organisations have also published Chinese-language fact-check reports about the protests.

However Hong Kong has yet to see the kind of strong fact-checking culture emerge as seen in India and Indonesia over recent years.

Suspicion and doubt, in the meantime, is filling the vacuum.

"There isn't neutral, reliable media that can build a bridge between the two sides and win the trust of both," Phillis Zhu, a mainland Chinese student living in Hong Kong, told AFP.

"Actually, media is causing the conflicts."

Related Links
China News from SinoDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Hong Kong protesters egg China office at end of massive rally
Hong Kong (AFP) July 21, 2019
Masked protesters daubed the walls of China's office in Hong Kong with eggs and graffiti Sunday night following another massive rally, focusing anger towards the embodiment of Beijing's rule with no end in sight to the turmoil engulfing the finance hub. The city has been plunged into its worst crisis in recent history by weeks of marches and sporadic violent confrontations between police and pockets of hardcore protesters. The initial protests were lit by a now-suspended bill that would have all ... read more