Hundreds of protesters marched and waved indicators and flags and sometimes scuffled Wednesday throughout San Francisco the place President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are attending an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit after holding talks down the highway from the town at a Woodside property.
More than 1,000 demonstrators waving Tibetan flags marched mid-day down Market Street chanting “Free Tibet” and criticizing the Chinese Communist Party and its chief Xi. There have been stories of remoted pushing and shoving between teams of critics and supporters of China within the metropolis.
“The United States is a country that believes in human rights,” mentioned demonstrator Penpa Dhundup, 50, of Berkeley, who was draped in a gold, crimson and blue Tibetan flag and wore a “Save Tibet” headband. “How can they welcome a Communist Party who takes away everything which the United States is based on?”
Earlier within the morning, police in riot gear pushed up in opposition to a crowd of demonstrators representing staff’ rights, environmental and different causes gathered at Fifth and Mission streets attempting to stop attendees from getting into the convention at close by Moscone Center.
“The goal is to try to shut down meetings,” mentioned Donna Denina of Seattle, one of many No to APEC protest organizers. “They’re going to talk about trade deals that are not good for people or the planet. What they’re doing impacts billions of people around the world. There’s a lot of collusion between government and corporate interests, not in line with working people. We don’t have a seat at the table, they shouldn’t either.”
It didn’t seem any have been prevented from attending or any conferences disrupted. San Francisco’s Joint Information Center reported Wednesday that as of mid-afternoon there was only one arrest round 10:30 a.m. for an aggravated assault within the space of Jessie West and fifth streets, for which no additional particulars have been out there. Police additionally evacuated a mall throughout the lunch hour over an individual with a suspicious machine that turned out to be a lighter.
“The SFPD and our law enforcement partners have responded to a number of 1st amendment activities throughout the city today,” the JIC mentioned in an announcement. “These activities have been mostly peaceful, and we continue to monitor marches and protests that are in progress as well as anticipated events throughout the day.”
The APEC Economic Leaders’ Week, which runs by Friday, is the biggest gathering of world leaders within the metropolis since 1945. Along with heads of state from member international locations, together with President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, about 1,200 CEOs and practically 30,000 delegates from governments and organizations are anticipated for the occasion working by Thursday.
Bay Area firms interact in substantial commerce with APEC members: The San Jose metropolitan space exported $15 billion in items to APEC international locations final yr, and the San Francisco metropolitan space exported $21 billion, in accordance with the U.S. Department of Commerce.
It is the second main protest of the occasion organized by Bay Area group No to APEC, an umbrella for dozens of activist organizations, largely from the area.
On Sunday, greater than 3,000 protesters rallied with indicators and flags at Embarcadero Plaza downtown and up Market Street, demanding the whole lot from rights for Indigenous folks, ladies’s empowerment and LGBTQ equality to a ceasefire in Gaza and air pollution controls to reduce the specter of local weather change. At one level Sunday, protesters blocked the intersection of Howard and fifth streets close to the Moscone Center. But San Francisco police mentioned there had been no arrests associated to the protest by Sunday afternoon.
APEC had no speedy touch upon the demonstrations.
Activists focusing on the CEO Summit on Wednesday had indicated plans to disrupt conferences between company leaders and authorities representatives, as cloudy skies threatened downpours on the demonstrations.
Biden met with China’s President Xi at 11:15 a.m. down the Peninsula from the town on the Filoli property and gardens in Woodside. Police on Wednesday morning shut off entry to Cañada Road resulting in the property. Xi, whose motorcade from San Francisco International Airport was met Tuesday afternoon by some 2,000 protesters and well-wishers with indicators that learn “End CCP,” “Free Hong Kong” and “Warmly Welcome President Xi Jinping,” had needed a non-public assembly with Biden away from the principle summit venue. Similar demonstrations lined San Francisco streets and roads to Filoli as Xi headed out for Wednesday’s assembly with Biden. It is Xi’s first U.S. go to since April 2017, and solely his second in-person assembly with Biden.
Biden on Tuesday night attended a San Francisco fundraiser hosted by actual property magnate and political strategist Clint Reilly the place he was joined by Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Gavin Newsom. The president, knocked by unfavorable polling and options that at 80 he’s too previous for an additional time period, bragged to some 250 donors who paid as much as $250,000 to attend about Democrats’ successes nationally throughout this month’s elections and the troubles of his presumed Republican opponent.
“The press and pundits can keep being surprised as much as they want,” Biden instructed the group, which included former Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg. “But since I came off the sidelines to go toe to toe with Donald Trump, we haven’t stopped winning and he hasn’t stopped losing.”
Biden was anticipated to carry a information convention Wednesday afternoon following his assembly with Xi, and to attend a welcome reception for APEC leaders with Harris at San Francisco’s Exploratorium, and different occasions Thursday and Friday earlier than leaving California.
Newsom was scheduled to take part in an APEC CEO Summit occasion Wednesday morning.
On the streets outdoors the occasion Wednesday morning, protesters with indicators denouncing firms together with Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, local weather air pollution and Israel’s assaults on Gaza chanted “Fascist CEOs, we don’t need ’em, need ’em, back off, back off, we want freedom freedom.”
“APEC is completely inconsiderate of the people who make their profits and that is the workers,” mentioned Yusen Yun of San Francisco, a nonprofit administration advisor, who known as it “double-insulting” APEC is in California, “one of the richest states,” the place many work for $17 an hour, barely above minimal wage.”
“Who can live on those wages?” Yun requested.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”