A protest aimed at raising awareness of police brutality in Hong Kong is scheduled to take place in Manchester city centre today.
The protest – which has been scheduled by Hong Kong natives living across Greater Manchester – is expected to begin today on Bank Holiday Monday in Piccadilly Gardens from 12pm to 4pm.
During the protest, it’s believed that the group will unfurl a 10-metre long piece of artwork and create a ‘Lennon Wall’ using the Piccadillly Gardens wall.
Lennon Walls have become a phenomenon in Hong Kong and can often be found buildings, walkways, sky bridges, underpasses and corner shop windows, with messages like “Hong Kongers love freedom,” “garbage government”, and “We demand real universal suffrage” written on them, and the Lennon Wall expected to be created today is said to be inspired by the 2014 Umbrella Movement protests in Hong Kong.
Demonstrators plan on covering the Piccadilly Gardens wall with handwritten Post-It notes in support of the protests.
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Anti-government protests in Hong Kong erupted in 2019 following the proposal of an extradition bill which triggered the first protest in April.
The main focus of todays demonstration will be the Prince Edward Station incident – which took place exactly a year ago – where footage was released of Hong Kong police indiscriminately attacking passengers at the station during their arrest of suspected protesters.
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A spokesperson for Manchester Hong Kong said: “Over the past year, we have witnessed our beloved city that we were born and raised in descend into unimaginable levels of chaos and division. A movement against the extradition bill has escalated into an explosion of pent-up frustration and deeply rooted dissatisfaction with the way that our city is governed.
“We are particularly alarmed by the police brutality seen since June 2019 [and] Hong Kong has seen excessive use of tear gas, shooting of rubber bullets and even live rounds at peaceful protesters.
“Reports and complaints of torture and abuse of those being arrested during detention abound. It is not only protesters who are in danger – journalists, politicians, and even first aid providers and firefighters have faced arbitrary harassment, assault, and arrest at peaceful rallies.
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They continued: “Video footage of the arrest and humiliation of humanitarian aid providers clearly demonstrated breaches of the rights of access to medical treatment. However the Hong Kong government continue to turn a blind eye to the police brutality, the selective law enforcement of the police and their double standards have caused injustice that snowballed into an unresolvable, collective mass of anger in the present.
“As a group of Hong Kongers living far away from home, we advocate for democracy and human rights in Hong Kong.”
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More than 70,000 home buyers set to pay thousands after missing stamp duty relief deadline
More than 70,000 home buyers across England are estimated to have missed the stamp duty relief deadline.
This sadly means they’ll be required to fork out thousands of pounds extra.
In case you hadn’t heard, up until yesterday (31 March 2025), anyone who was moving and had bought a home in the past was not required to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax, better-known as just stamp duty, on the portion of the property price up to £250,000.
But from today (1 April), this threshold has now fallen back to £125,000, which unfortunately means that property purchasers are facing an extra £2,500 in moving costs, on average.
While the end of the stamp duty relief will mostly affect those Greater Manchester buyers who had already previously purchased properties, first time buyers are sadly not exempt from the deadline changes too, as their current stamp duty threshold of £425,000 has now fallen back to £300,000 as of today.
Person holding the keys to a new house in their hand / Credit: Maria Ziegler (via Unsplash)
Given that the average property price for a first time buyer-type home is currently around £227,965, according to Rightmove, the new £300,000 threshold may hit those purchasing properties in more expensive areas – particularly the South East.
A third of those estimated 70,000 home buyers who have missed the deadline are thought to be first time buyers.
Leading property platform Rightmove published an analysis in February into just how much of an impact the end of the stamp duty relief would have on home buyers, all while calling on the UK Government to announce a short extension to the deadline to help people in the middle of the property purchasing process avoid potentially thousands of pounds in extra moving costs.
But despite these calls from industry leaders, there was no extension to the deadline announced in the last week’s latest Spring Statement.
“It’s extremely disappointing that the Government has not used the Spring Statement as an opportunity to extend the impending stamp duty deadline for those currently going through the home-moving process,” commented Rightmove’s property expert Colleen Babcock.
“We estimate over 70,000 people are going to miss the deadline and complete in April instead, and a third of those are first time buyers.”
Featured Image – James Feaver (via Unsplash)
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Manchester’s iconic Vimto statue to be removed for repair – with Aitch-sponsored sculpture in its place
One of the city’s most familiar landmarks will soon be leaving its spot in town, as the iconic Vimto statue is removed.
The sculpture has been in Vimto Park off Sackville Street since 1992, and consists of a giant Vimto bottle surrounded by oversized fruit.
But the art piece dedicated to Manchester’s most famous drink has weathered (it’s made of wood, after all) and will have to be dismantled in the coming months for an undisclosed period of time.
This will be the second time the Vimto statue has undergone maintenance work, having last received a colourful paint job in 2011.
Worry not, though, Manchester – a new sculpture, dedicated to another local drinks brand, is already in the works until our beloved Vimto statue returns.
Local rapper Aitch, who launched his own drinks brand SYPS last year, has decided to make good use of the space.
A gigantic statue of a SYPS can is to be installed later this year in place of the Vimto statue, created by a local artist.
I don’t know why any of you are surprised – there haven’t been many product launches or marketing opportunities that Aitch hasn’t jumped on this year.
Rave in the Super Awesome Deluxe burger takeaway? Done it.
‘Launching’ Joe & The Juice back into Manchester? Done that too.
Performing on a train to launch a limited-edition Southern Comfort called ‘Northern Comfort’? Yes, that also happened.
Aitch is funding a temporary SYPS statue in place of the Vimto statue in Manchester
He’s now announced that he’ll be funding a new statue for the city centre while our beloved Vimto statue is gone.
A spokesperson for Manchester City Council said: “While it’s a shame to see our beloved Vimto statue leave the city centre, it’s important that this landmark is preserved for the future before it’s too late.
“When Aitch kindly offered to fill the space in Vimto Park with a SYPS sculpture, how could we say no?”
Aitch said in a statement: “I couldn’t leave my Manny without a drinks statue, could I? Also happy April Fool’s day you idiots.”
The Manc -
31st August 2020 
