Police filmed beating protesters in ongoing Hong Kong unrest
Hong Kong demonstrators clashed with police across the city Sunday, with officers again resorting to tear gas to try to disperse protesters hurling projectiles and petrol bombs in the 10th weekend of anti-China protests in the city.
Demonstrators fanned out to different neighborhoods across the city, surrounding police stations, hurling projectiles at officers and disrupting traffic. Police fired tear gas in various neighborhoods, including in a metro station in Kwai Fong. Authorities had denied permits for protests in all but Victoria Park, but demonstrators took to the streets anyway.
Riot police were filmed beating some protesters, many of whom wore yellow hard hats and gas masks. One officer was taken to the hospital after suffering burns from a petrol bomb thrown in the upmarket shopping district of Tsim Sha Tsui.
The protests, sparked in June by a bill easing extraditions to the mainland, have evolved into the biggest challenge to Chinese control since the U.K. relinquished its former colony in 1997. The social unrest is having an increasing impact on the economy and daily life in one of the world’s most densely crowded cities, raising concern that Beijing will use force to restore order.
By Sunday night a three-day sit in at Hong Kong’s international airport was winding down. Thousands of demonstrators had greeted passengers with “Free Hong Kong” chants. Only departing passengers with tickets or boarding passes and valid travel documents were being allowed to enter the check-in area at Terminal 1.
The demonstrations across the city continued despite authorities denying permission for the gatherings as city officials struggle to diffuse the protests. Pressure from China to contain the unrest is on the rise.