Police fire tear gas, rubber bullets at Hong Kong protesters
Police repeatedly fired tear gas and rubber bullets to drive back protesters blocking Hong Kong streets with road signs and umbrellas Sunday in another night of pitched battles as protests for democracy in the Chinese territory escalate.
It was the second night in a row that tear gas was used against protesters. Their demonstrations began early last month in opposition to an extradition bill that has since been suspended, but the move
HONG KONG —
ment has become a broader push for full democracy.
Protesters occupied two areas at opposite ends of central Hong Kong on Sunday following a midafternoon rally against police use of tear gas at a demonstration the previous weekend.
On the western end of Hong Kong Island, one group blocked areas near the Chinese government’s liaison office and began to move forward as night fell. Police issued warnings, and protesters threw eggs at them. Officers fired tear gas to halt the advance.
Police then embarked on an hourslong effort to push In Jan. 16, 2018, then-puerto Rico Justice Secretary Wanda Vazquez answers reporters’ questions, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Vazquez is to become Puerto Rico’s new Governor after Gov. Ricardo Rossello said he is resigning on Aug. 2 after weeks of protests over leaked obscene, misogynistic online chats. the protesters eastward and get them to disperse.
In repeated standoffs, spontaneous but highly organized protesters set up behind scaffolding that they built across a street. Police lined up behind clear shields about 30 meters (100 feet) down the road. Dozens of journalists in bright yellow vests stood on the sidelines between the groups.
The police would advance gradually, firing bursts of tear gas. Protesters in hard hats scurried about, rearranging makeshift barriers of pilfered road signs and other items. By the time the police reached the scaffolding, they had backed off about 6 meters (20 feet).
Another team of officers, more mobile with smaller shields, then swept in to clear the area. Local media reported some protesters were detained.
For more than seven weeks, protesters have taken to Hong Kong streets, initially to demand the scrapping of a proposed extradition law that would send suspects to mainland China to face trials. The legislation is seen as a threat to Hong Kong’s freedoms that were guaranteed for 50 years when China took back control of the former British colony in 1997. Protesters use umbrellas to shield themselves from tear gas fired by policemen as they face off on a streets in Hong Kong, on Sunday.