Hong Kong riot police clash with protesters
Violent clashes after demonstrators vandalise Chinese office in seventh weekend of mass rallies
Riot police fired tear gas and rubber bullets as they clashed with masked protesters in downtown Hong Kong last night, after demonstrators threw eggs and vandalised China’s liaison office to the city. In a night of chaos, protesters were also bloodied by a gang of stick-wielding assailants. A journalist recording the attack – presumed to be the work of progovernment vigilantes – was assaulted. Other victims alleged that the police were slow to react.
HUNDREDS of riot police fired tear gas and rubber bullets as they clashed with masked protesters in downtown Hong Kong last night after demonstrators threw eggs and vandalised China’s liaison office to the city, in a direct challenge on Beijing’s authority.
In a night of chaos, protesters returning home from a mass rally were also left bloodied by a gang of stickwielding assailants in Yuen Long, Hong Kong’s western New Territories.
A journalist recording the attack – widely presumed to be the work of progovernment vigilantes – was assaulted. Other victims alleged police were slow to react.
Tensions had rapidly escalated after another huge anti-government march that organisers claimed was attended by 430,000 people, but police said peaked at 138,000.
It was the latest in a series of mass protests sparked by a contested extradition bill that could send suspects for trial in China.
Thousands of demonstrators ignored police orders to stop in the Wan Chai district, about a mile from the government’s Legislative Council, instead taking the authorities by surprise by besieging China’s official representation office.
Protesters blocked nearby roads with makeshift barricades and chanted “reclaim Hong Kong, revolution of our times!” while some sprayed “real democracy” and “universal suffrage” in black paint on the walls.
The act of open resistance will infuriate Beijing, which many people fear is running out of patience, and riot police moved in forcefully to clear the streets.
The efforts of a group of pensioners to placate officers with sunflowers charmed bystanders but did little to prevent the riot police armed with batons and shields from chasing demonstrators through central thoroughfares towards the financial district and firing multiple rounds of tear gas.
In a tense stand-off under a flyover in the commercial district, protesters retaliated with paint, umbrellas and a few glass bottles. Bricks and poles were uprooted from pavements and steel fences thrown onto the road to block the advance of the police.
Legislators, including Roy Kwong, 36, who is emerging as a hero for protesters in the largely leaderless movement, approached the police front line, urging them to stand down, but they were rebuked by officers who shouted aggressive orders and gestured for them to leave.
Meanwhile, the attacks by unknown masked men at a train station in the New Territories sparked concern that the city’s feared triad gangs are wading into the political conflict.
Footage showed the men attacking protesters on the platform and inside trains. Similar assaults by pro-government vigilantes took place against protesters during the 2014 “Umbrella Movement” protests.
“I just have no words for that,” Denise Ho, a singer and pro-democracy activist, told The Daily Telegraph as the news filtered through.
Yesterday’s rally was the seventh weekend in a row that that people have taken to the streets en masse. What was initially a show of opposition to the extradition bill has now turned into an outpouring of anger over Chinese rule and shrinking freedoms.
Carrie Lam, the city’s chief executive and her government, have been unable to contain rising public anger that has now erupted into calls for democratic reforms, universal suffrage and more rights and freedoms.
“The government has shown no remorse for its actions and they want to silence our voices,” said Edgar, 16. “I don’t have any hope for my future because I have lost faith in the government.”