- Title: French 'Spiderman' scales Hong Kong building, hangs 'peace' banner
- Date: 16th August 2019
- Summary: HONG KONG, CHINA (AUGUST 16, 2019) (REUTERS) FRENCH URBAN CLIMBER ALAIN ROBERT FIXING BANNER DEPICTING HONG AND CHINA SHAKING HANDS ON CHEONG KONG CENTER ROBERT HOLDING EDGE OF BANNER WITH TEETH ROBERT FIXING BANNER TO BUILDING BANNER HANGING AMBULANCE ARRIVING, POLICE OFFICERS AT SCENE POLICE OFFICERS AT SCENE WATCH ROBERT CLIMBING CENTER VARIOUS OF ROBERT CLIMBING BUILDING VARIOUS PEOPLE WATCH AND TAKING PHOTOS EXTERIOR OF CHEUNG KONG BUILDING WITH ROBERT'S BANNER ROBERT CLIMBING VARIOUS OF FIREMEN AND FIRE TRUCKS AT SCENE ROBERT CLIMBING POLICE VAN PARKED HONG KONG, CHINA (AUGUST 15, 2019) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) FRENCH CLIMBER, ALAIN ROBERT, SAYING: "I am pretty sure that there is a way to solve the problem together with China and this is my message, my message is a message of peace, I will be displaying a banner with the Chinese flag with the Hong Kong flag and two guys shaking hands and the sun down there which means success, which means peace." HONG KONG, CHINA (AUGUST 16, 2019) (REUTERS) WOMAN LOOKING AT BANNER ON BUILDING EXTERIOR BANNER HANGING ON BUILDING
- Embargoed: 30th August 2019 04:37
- Keywords: Hong Kong China climb spiderman Alain Robert flag building
- Location: HONG KONG, CHINA
- City: HONG KONG, CHINA
- Country: Hong Kong
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Civil Unrest
- Reuters ID: LVA001ASGU3BB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: French "spiderman" climber Alain Robert on Friday (August 16) scaled up Hong Kong's Cheung Kong Center and unfurled a banner with "a message of peace", as the territory geared up for further mass pro-democracy demonstrations over the weekend.
Using his bare hands and without a harness, Robert clambered up the building located in the central business district and secured a large banner on the building's exterior. The sign positioned China's flag in the left hand corner with Hong Kong's flag on the right side. Underneath was a yellow hand shaking a red hand on a white background to signify peace.
Robert's climb up to the top of 283-metre building owned by Hong Kong's richest man Li Ka-shing quickly attracted a crowd of pedestrians. Police said they arrested him after the stunt, which took about an hour in total.
Shortly after, Li Ka-shing urged people to "love China, love Hong Kong and love yourself" in his first public comments on the protests.
Ten weeks of increasingly violent confrontations between police and protesters have plunged Hong Kong into its worst crisis since it reverted from British to Chinese rule in 1997, and have presented the biggest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jingping since he came to power in 2012.
"I am pretty sure that there is a way to solve the problem together with China and this is my message," said Robert.
It was the third time Robert climbed the Center. He was banned from climbing buildings in the former British colony for a year last August. His ban ended two weeks ago.
Robert is well-known for climbing up urban high-risers and has done so in countries including France, Indonesia and the Philippines earlier in the year, as well as London in 2018.
(Production: Xihao Jiang, James Redmayne, Aleksander Solum, Juarawee Kittisilpa) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None