Activists in Hong Kong who have been protesting for months, called off demonstrations Wednesday in remembrance of the 9/11 attacks.
The call to put the pause on the activism was also in response to a Chinese state newspaper, which conflated protesters to the terror attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, according to Reuters.
“Anti-government fanatics are planning massive terror attacks, including blowing up gas pipes, in Hong Kong on September 11,” the Hong Kong edition of China Daily said in a Facebook post alongside a photo of the terror attacks at the World Trade Center.
“In solidarity against terrorism, all forms of protest in Hong Kong will be suspended on Sept. 11, apart from potential singing and chanting,” the demonstrators said in a statement.
Protests in Hong Kong began in response to planned legislation that would allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland. Last week, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, 62, announced that she would withdraw the bill after having previously suspended it in July, although protests have expanded beyond the scope of extradition into calls for greater democracy and autonomy from Beijing.
China has blamed the U.S. and other Western countries for encouraging the unrest, which has at times become violent.
Hong Kong, which houses more than 7 million, is a former British colony but returned to China in 1997 under what is labeled a “one country, two systems” policy. It allows for greater freedoms in Hong Kong than in mainland China, such as a separate legal system, but demonstrators worry that China is attempting to erode the region’s autonomy.
