Canadian police go undercover as Hong Kong protest tensions rise in Richmond, the world’s most-Chinese city outside Asia
- A Hong Kong-style Lennon Wall in Richmond was torn apart on China’s National Day by counterprotesters dressed in designer clothes who threw money at opponents
- The building and destruction of the wall was monitored by a police undercover operation – apparently unseen by protesters
Outside the Aberdeen Centre mall in Richmond, near Vancouver, supporters of the Hong Kong protest movement were marking China’s National Day on Tuesday by building a Lennon Wall – and counterprotesting opponents were tearing it down.
Taunts and challenges turned into shoving. Then there were cheers and applause when uniformed police appeared on the scene and led away two of the counterprotesters, to shouts of “go back to China” and “stand with Hong Kong”, video of Tuesday’s incident shows.
But unseen by the 50 or so protesters and about a dozen opponents were undercover officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) who were already monitoring the scene for potential clashes, a police spokesman said.
The plain-clothes operation points to the rising tensions in Richmond, the Vancouver satellite that is the most Chinese city in the world outside Asia.
Fifty-four per cent of the city of roughly 200,000 is ethnically Chinese. Richmond was once a stronghold of Hong Kong immigrants, but mainland Chinese immigrants now outnumber them two to one.
RCMP officers with the Richmond detachment “were aware of the gathering at Aberdeen Station and had planned for the event”, Corporal Dennis Hwang said on Wednesday.
