HONG KONG — The Latest on protests in Hong Kong (all times local):
9 p.m.
Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong is defending the decision of Germany’s foreign minister to meet with him while he was in Berlin trying to raise European support.
Wong told the Zeit newspaper on Thursday that “democratization in Hong Kong should not only be an internal affair.”
Wong met informally with Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Monday at an event organized by another German newspaper.
The next day, China’s foreign ministry brought in German Ambassador Clemens von Goetze for a meeting, though Germany’s foreign ministry would not say if it was an official diplomatic summons.
The ministry said von Goetz reiterated the German government’s position that it’s normal to meet with representatives of civil society to get a better picture of the situation on the ground.
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6 p.m.
Thousands of people belted out a new protest song at Hong Kong’s shopping malls in an act of resistance that highlighted the creativity of demonstrators in their months-long fight for democratic freedoms in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
Activists and ordinary citizens sang “Glory to Hong Kong” at several malls for a third straight night Wednesday in a respite from recent violence clashes. More protests are expected this weekend, though on Thursday police banned one planned rally, citing safety concerns.
The protesters have adopted the song, penned anonymously, as their anthem. The lyrics reflect protesters’ vow not to surrender despite a government concession to axe a proposed extradition law that sparked the summer of unrest.
The Associated Press
