Weekend protests in Hong Kong expected after US hearing

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong's protesters are gearing up for another citywide weekend of rallies, days after prominent local activists - including Occupy leader Joshua Wong - testified at a hearing in Washington in support of human rights legislation.

There's momentum growing for Congress to take fast action to pressure Beijing to back off any crackdown on Hong Kong's pro-democracy demonstrators by threatening Hong Kong's special trading status with the US.

The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 has bipartisan support and would require yearly assessments of whether the Asian financial hub remains sufficiently autonomous from China to justify its unique treatment under American law.

Movement on it comes as the pro-democracy movement, which began over opposition to since-scrapped extradition legislation and has widened into a push back against Beijing's grip over the city - is in its fourth month.

Saturday will see a sit-in protest against a July attack in the Yuen Long area of the New Territories, in which protesters say police failed to protect them against unidentified white-shirted men who beat them in a subway station.

A protest to "reclaim" Tuen Mun Park will also take place in the San Wo Long area.

And lawmaker Junius Ho has called for a city-wide cleanup of the colourful so-called Lennon Walls that have sprung up around Hong Kong in support of the movement.

On Sunday, protesters will attempt another disruption of the international airport's transportation network. Previous attempts haven't gained much traction.

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