HK policemen fire tear gas, water cannon at protesters
● DEMONSTRATORS GATHERED in Causeway Bay district to protest the proposed legislation. They chanted slogans including “Stand with Hong Kong”, “Liberate Hong Kong” and “Revolution of our times”.
Hong Kong, May 24: Hong Kong police fired tear gas and a water cannon at protesters in a popular shopping district on Sunday, as thousands took to the streets to march against China’s proposed tough national security legislation for the city.
Pro-democracy supporters in Hong Kong have sharply criticised the proposal last week to enact a national security law that would ban secessionist and subversive activity, as well as foreign interference, in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. Critics say it goes against the “one country, two systems” framework that promises the city freedoms not found in mainland China.
Crowds of demonstrators dressed in black gathered Sunday afternoon in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay district to protest the proposed legislation. Protesters chanted slogans including “Stand with Hong Kong”, “Liberate Hong Kong” and “Revolution of our times”. The protest was a continuation of a months-long pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong that began last year and has at times descended into violence between police and protesters.
Police raised blue flags, warning protesters to disperse, before firing multiple rounds of tear gas. They later fired a water cannon at the protesters. At least 120 people were arrested, mostly on charges of unlawful assembly, police said in a Facebook post. They also said in a separate post that protesters threw bricks and splashed unidentified liquid at officers, injuring at least four members of the police’s media liaison team.