{"id":13473,"date":"2016-10-24T19:05:26","date_gmt":"2016-10-24T10:50:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinaworker.info\/?p=13473"},"modified":"2016-11-06T20:11:45","modified_gmt":"2016-11-06T12:11:45","slug":"hong-kong-spanish-strike-solidarity-protest-attacked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2016\/10\/24\/13473\/","title":{"rendered":"Hong Kong: Spanish strike solidarity protest attacked"},"content":{"rendered":"

Protesters assaulted by Consulate official at support action for Wednesday\u2019s national school strike in Spain<\/strong><\/p>\n

Socialist Action reporters<\/p>\n

Socialist Action (CWI) members were attacked at the Spanish consulate in Hong Kong\u00a0on Monday 24 October\u00a0while protesting peacefully in solidarity with Wednesday\u2019s (26\u00a0October) nationwide school strike in Spain. The strike was called by Sindicato de Estudiantes<\/em>, with significant support from parents\u2019 and education workers\u2019 organisations. It is called to protest the elitist and undemocratic education reforms of the right-wing Spanish government.<\/p>\n

\"Hong
Hong Kong protest in support of Spanish School Strike.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Two of the Hong Kong protesters were assaulted and had their mobile phones confiscated. This seems to have been\u00a0an attempt to delete photos of the protest. Video film from the incident shows an aggressive\u00a0Santiago Martinez-Caro, Spain\u2019s Consul General, pushing protesters towards the exit. Martinez-Caro is described as Hong Kong\u2019s first \u201cbillionaire Consul General\u201d.<\/p>\n

Support the Spanish general student strike on 26 October!<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Police intervened to get back the stolen mobile phones. League of Social Democrats (LSD) legislator \u2018Long Hair\u2019 Leung Kwok-hung also arrived at the consulate to show his support for the protest. He described the action\u00a0by consulate officials as an \u201coutrageous\u201d attack on\u00a0the right to protest. One protester had to go to hospital for an arm injury suffered in the attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cClearly, the Spanish government\u2019s representatives are very uneasy about Wednesday\u2019s school strike and international attention. The violent response by the Hong Kong consulate officials is unprecedented \u2013 there are dozens of protests every day in Hong Kong and rarely anything like this happens!\u201d said Sally Tang Mei-ching of Socialist Action. \u201cWe have filed a police complaint against the consulate and are discussing to call a new protest against the violence,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Hong Kong\u2019s first Consul General \u2018billionaire\u2019 \u2013 Santiago Martinez-Caro<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\"One
One protester suffered an injury to his hand after the attack at the Spanish Consulate.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Watch: Video from protest at Spanish Consulate<\/strong><\/p>\n