Protesters clash with police at station
Demonstrators target Hong Kong subways
HONG KONG — Protesters clashed with police again Tuesday night in Hong Kong after reports that some of their detained colleagues would face the relatively serious charge of rioting.
Several hundred protesters mobilized in the streets outside a police station after 44 people were arrested on riot charges stemming from a Sunday night demonstration.
Hong Kong police said in a statement Tuesday that the rioters set up roadblocks, broke fences, damaged street signs and attacked police officers with bricks and iron rods.
One of the accused is a 33-yearold man who also was charged with assaulting a police officer, police said.
The accused and a 24-year-old man charged with weapons possession will appear in court Wednesday.
A total of 49 people, including 32 men and 17 women between the ages of 16 and 41, had been arrested from the scene. Hong Kong police said it “will not rule out the possibility of further arrest” as it investigates the four others released temporarily or out on bail.
Live video streamed by Hong Kong media showed protesters chanting slogans and throwing eggs at the Kwai Chung police station. Police used pepper spray to try to disperse them.
The unannounced protest capped another day of unrest. During the morning rush hour, commuters argued with demonstrators who blocked subway train doors in their movement to demand greater accountability from the semiautonomous Chinese territory’s government.
The action targeted rush hour traffic at several stations. Subway operator MTR responded by providing minibuses to replace delayed trains, and normal service was restored by around noon.
Protester Ken Chan said he wanted MTR officials to explain why they failed to take action July 21 when a gang of men in white shirts beat dozens of people inside a train station as a protest was winding down. Hong Kong’s government and the central authorities in Beijing have blamed protesters for sparking the confrontation.
“How could they let the triads in white attack people on the platform randomly, including the elderly and children in the train?” said Chan, 32, using the common term for members of organized crime groups.