Hong Kong protesters defy police and set up barricades amid police tear gas
HONG KONG protesters flooded the streets again on Sunday, ignoring a police ban on the rally and setting up barricades amid tear gas and firebombs.
Protest leaders carried a black banner at the front of the procession with the slogan “Five main demands, not one less”, as they pressed their calls for accountability and political rights.
Black-clad and masked protesters barricaded streets at multiple locations in Kowloon, where the city’s subway operator restricted passenger access. A firebomb was thrown at one subway station. The protesters tore up paving stones from the pavement and scattered them on the road, commandeered plastic safety barriers and unscrewed metal railings to form makeshift roadblocks.
Police fired tear gas after firebombs were thrown towards one station as tens of thousands of demonstrators marched down a main road with traffic at a standstill. They sang along to the protest movement’s anthem and held up placards depicting the Chinese flag as a Nazi swastika.
Matthew Lee, a university student, said he was determined to keep protesting even after five months. “I can see some people want to give up but I don’t want to do this because Hong Kong is my home, we want to protect this place, protect Hong Kong,” he said. “You can’t give up because Hong Kong is your home.”
Police had beefed up security measures for the unauthorised rally, the latest in the five-monthold unrest rocking the semi-autonomous Chinese city.
Many of the supporters of the movement wore masks in defiance of a recently introduced ban on face coverings at public gatherings, and volunteers handed more out to the crowd.
Organisers said they wanted to use their right to protest, as guaranteed by the city’s constitution despite the risk of arrest.