unforgettably creamy.
>>> BACK TO THAT BREAKING NEWS unforgettably creamy.
>>> BACK TO THAT BREAKING NEWS IN HONG KONG.
THESE ARE LIVE PICTURES RIGHT
NOW.
NOW. THIS IS THE HONG KONG
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. YOU’RE LOOKING AT PROTESTERS
CLASHING WITH RIOT POLICE THERE.
ALSO A NUMBER OF INTERNATIONAL
REPORTERS ON THE GROUND AS WELL.
THIS IS -- THIS IS AN AIRPORT
WHERE OPERATIONS HAVE BEEN
SUSPENDED FOR ALL FLIGHTS.
YOU’RE LOOK AT SOME OF THE
AFTERMATH OF THE CLASHES,
VIOLENT CLASHES.
VIOLENT CLASHES. THESE ARE PROTESTERS, THIS HAS
BEEN GOING ON NOW FOR ROUGHLY
TWO MONTHS THERE IN HONG KONG.
THE PROTESTERS THERE ARE
DEMANDING, AMONG OTHER THINGS,
THE RESIGNATION OF THE
TERRITORY’S LEADER.
TERRITORY’S LEADER. THEY’RE ALSO DEMANDING ELECTIONS
FOR HER SUCCESSOR AS WELL.
AND THE RELEASE OF SOME FOLKS
WHO WERE ARRESTED IN EARLIER
PROTESTS AND AN INVESTIGATION
INTO POLICE USE OF FORCE AS
WELL.
WELL. OUR CORRESPONDENT IN THAT PART
OF THE WORLD IS JANIS MACKEY.
SHE JOINS ME NOW.
SHE’S ON THE PHONE, SHE’S AT THE
AIRPORT, I’M TOLD.
WHAT ARE YOU SEEING WHERE YOU
ARE?
ARE? >> Reporter: WELL, WE’VE SEEN A
SHIFT IN THE MOOD AND IN THE
LANDSCAPE HERE IN ABOUT THE LAST
30 MINUTES.
30 MINUTES. THOUSANDS OF PROTESTERS HAVE
BEEN HERE ALL DAY, THEY’VE BEEN
OCCUPYING BOTH THE DEPARTURES
AND THE ARRIVALS LEVELS USING
TROLLEYS, SUITCASES, WHATEVER
THEY CAN TO TRY TO BLOCK THE
WAY.
WAY. THAT’S WHAT FORCED AUTHORITIES
TO CLOSE DOWN THE AIRPORT YET
AGAIN FOR A SECOND DAY.
UNPRECEDENTED IN THE IS ONE OF
THE WORLD’S BUSIEST HUBS.
WHAT WE SEE NOW IN THE LAST 30
MINUTES OR SO IS THE ARRIVAL OF
A LOT OF FLASHING LIGHTS.
THERE ARE POLICE BUSES THAT ARE
LINED UP ALL OUTSIDE.
THERE’S THE EXPECTATION THAT
THEY’RE GOING TO MOVE IN WITH A
DEGREE OF FORCE.
THERE HAD ALREADY BEEN SOME
OFFICERS THAT CAME IN AND WE SAW
THOSE CLASHES.
THOSE CLASHES. SO THERE IS AN INTENSE FA
OCCASION
OCCASION INTENSIFICATION OF WHAT HAS BEEN
GRUG
GRUG BREWING OVER SEVERAL HOURS.
FOR QUITE SOME TIME THE CROWD
WAS RILED UP BECAUSE THEY
BELIEVED THEY HAD DISCOVERED TWO
UNDERCOVERED WHO THEY CLAIM TO
BE CHINESE OFFICERS THAT WERE
DISGUISED AS PROTESTERS IN THE
CROWD.
CROWD. SO THEY BECAME, FOR LACK OF A
BETTER WORD, THESE TWO OFFICERS
AND THAT REALLY GOT THE CROWD
GOING A LOT.
SO THERE IS THE EXPECTATION NOW
FIRE DEPARTMENT IS WALKING PAST
ME AS YOU SEE.
THERE IS THE EXPECTATION THAT
HAD THE AUTHORITIES ARE MOVING
IN TO SHUT THIS DOWN.
IT WASN’T EXPECTED THAT BEIJING
WAS GOING TO LET THIS LINGER FOR
MUCH LONGER AND THERE HAVE BEEN
A LOT OF SIGNALS IN CHINESE
STATE MEDIA SUGGESTING THAT THIS
WAS GOING END.
I SEE NOW THAT SOME OF THE
PROTESTERS ARE TAKING
BARRICADES, WHATEVER THEY CAN
FIND, THEY’RE PILING THEM UP ON
THE RAMPS THAT PEOPLE USE TO
COME IN HERE.
YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER THERE ARE
STILL SOME PASSENGERS THAT ARE
HERE.
HERE. THEY’VE BEEN LINGERING AROUND
HOPING THAT THE FLIGHTS WILL BE
POSTED ON THE BOARD.
SO POSE THOSE PEOPLETHOSE PEOPLE
FIGURE OUT HOW THEY CAN GET OUT
OF THE AIRPORT AS THEY SEE THE
SCENE AROUND THEM CHANGING
DRASTICALLY.
DRASTICALLY. >> STAND BY FOR ME IF YOU CAN
AND IF YOU’RE IN SOMEPLACE
THAT’S SAFE AS WELL, DO STAND BY
FOR ME AT HONG KONG
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. I WANT TO BRING IN BILL NEELY
WHO IS WATCHING ALL OF THIS
UNFOLD.
UNFOLD. HE’S BEEN WATCHING THE STORY AS
WELL.
WELL. BILL, FOR FOLKS WHO MAY NOT HAVE
BEEN FOLLOWING THE STORY AS
CLOSELY, WHAT PRECISELY ARE
THESE PROTESTERS, WHAT ARE THEY
LOOKING FOR?
LOOKING FOR? WHAT DO THEY WANT?
>> WELL, I THINK AT THE VERY
HEART OF WHAT THEY’VE BEEN
LOOKING FOR FOR THE LAST NUMBER
OF WEEKS IS THAT CHINA HONORS
HONG KONG’S SPECIAL STATUS.
IT IS ONE COUNTRY AND TWO
SYSTEMS.
SYSTEMS. AND INITIALLY THEIR PROTESTS
CAME ABOUT BECAUSE CHINA WANTED
TO BE ABLE TO EXTRADITE ANYONE
THEY LIKED FROM HONG KONG
VIRTUALLY FOR ANY REASON.
NOW, AFTER THE INITIAL RUNS OF
PROTESTS, CHINA BACKED OFF.
THEY’VE SUSPENDED THAT REQUEST
OR THAT PROPOSED LAW.
BUT THEY HAVEN’T GOT RID OF IT
ALTOGETHER.
ALTOGETHER. AND THEY HAVEN’T ADDRESSED ONE
OF THE THINGS THAT THE
PROTESTERS DISLIKE MOST, WHICH
IS THE HEAVY HANDED, AS THEY SEE
IT, THE HEAVY HANDED ACTIONS OF
THE POLICE.
THE POLICE. SO THE CHINESE, ONCE AGAIN, HAVE
NOT SET UP ANY KIND OF INQUIRY
INTO THE POLICE ACTIONS OVER THE
LAST FEW WEEKS.
SO WEEK BY WEEK THE PROTESTS ARE
BECOMING -- HAVE BECOME MORE AND
MORE VIOLENT, CERTAINLY.
WHEN THE CHINESE -- WHEN BEIJING
SAYS THAT THESE ARE RIOTS, YOU
KNOW, THEY HAVE A CASE.
AND WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING AT NOW
IS TWO THINGS.
THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT
EVENT, BUT IT’S ALSO A SYMBOLIC
EVENT.
EVENT. HONG KONG AIRPORT, ONE OF THE
WORLD’S BUSIEST AIRPORTS, THAT’S
EXACTLY WHY THE PROTESTERS WENT
THERE, TO MAKE THIS, IF YOU
LIKE, A GLOBAL EVENT.
I WAS THERE SEVERAL WEEKS AGO
WHEN THEY WERE PROTESTING
OUTSIDE THE HONG KONG MAIN
LEGISLATIVE OFFICE.
LEGISLATIVE OFFICE. THIS WILL HAVE REVERBERATED
AROUND THE WORLD, IF YOU LIKE.
AND BEIJING KNEW THAT AS WELL
AND THEY KNEW THAT AT SOME POINT
THEY WOULD HAVE TO STOP WHAT WAS
GOING ON AT THE AIRPORT BECAUSE
FLIGHTS WERE BEING CANCELED AND
IT WAS GETTING, YOU KNOW,
WORLDWIDE ATTENTION.
WORLDWIDE ATTENTION. SO THEY’VE MOVED IN.
AND I THINK ON BOTH SIDES YOU’RE
SEEING AN INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT
OF FORCE BOTH CONSIDER
ACCEPTABLE.
ACCEPTABLE. YOU KNOW, EVEN FOUR OR FIVE
WEEKS AGO WHEN I WAS THERE THE
PROTESTERS WERE NOT -- BY AND
LARGE WERE NOT THROWING BOTTLES,
THROWING MOLOTOV COCKTAILS,
THROWING STONES.
THROWING STONES. THEY ARE NOW AND THE POLICE WERE
VERY RETICENT TO USE TEARGAS AND
FIRE, RUBBER BULLETS.
THEY’RE NOT NOW.
THEY’RE DOING IT QUITE OPENLY.
YOU CAN SEE ON YOUR SCREEN THE
PICTURE TO THE RIGHT, YOU KNOW,
THE POLICE BEATING PROTESTERS.
MANY OF THEM WEARING
PLAINCLOTHES AND THEY MOVED IN.
THE PROTESTERS DIDN’T KNOW WHO
WAS ONE OF THEM AND WHO WAS IN
THE POLICE.
THE POLICE. SO I THINK WE’RE SEEING AN
ESCALATION IN THIS DISPUTE BY
BOTH SIDES.
BOTH SIDES. AND I DON’T THINK, CRAIG, IT’S
GOING TO END HERE.
I MEAN, IT DOES LOOK LIKE THEY
ARE DETERMINED TO CLEAR THIS
AIRPORT, BUT I THINK THE
PROTESTERS WILL SIMPLY MOVE ON
SOMEWHERE ELSE.
SOMEWHERE ELSE. SO WE HAVEN’T SEEN THE END OF
THIS.
THIS. >> WE ARE, AGAIN, FOR FOLKS WHO
ARE JUST JOINING US HERE, WE ARE
APPROACHING 11:30 ON THE EAST
COAST HERE IN THE UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA, BUT THESE ARE LIVE
PICTURES HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT.
AIRPORT. IT IS ROUGHLY -- NOT EXACTLY
SURE WHAT TIME IT IS THERE,
BILL.
BILL. THIS IS 11:30 P.M. THERE ON THE