Tear gas fired at marchers

Hong Kong: Second night of protests in pro-democracy demonstrations

Police fired tear gas at protesters in Hong Kong for the second night in a row in another escalation of prodemocracy demonstrations.

Protesters occupied two areas at opposite ends of central Hong Kong following a mid-afternoon rally against police use of tear gas the previous Sunday.

As night fell, one group that had blocked a road near the Chinese government’s liaison office began to move forward. The police issued warnings, and protesters were seen throwing eggs at them. Officers fired tear gas to halt the advance.

Protesters had earlier rallied at a park in Hong Kong’s financial district before marching out in several directions despite not getting police approval for a public procession. It was the second straight day protesters had taken to the streets without official permission. A sea of blackshirted protesters streamed out of Chater Garden park.

Chanting “Add oil”, a phrase that roughly translates as “Keep up the fight”, a huge crowd marched east in what has become a summer of protest in the semiautonomous Chinese territory.

They stopped near the Sogo department store and set up barricades to block off the area.

Another group headed west toward mainland China’s liaison office.

They stopped about two blocks short of the office and used construction barricades to build a wall.

Hong Kong has been wracked by protests for seven weeks, as opposition to an extradition bill has morphed into demands for the resignation of the city’s leader, Carrie Lam, and an investigation into whether police have used excessive force in quelling the protests.

CONFLICT: Protesters use umbrellas to shield themselves from tear gas fired by policemen