Police, protesters clash where mob attack occurred

HONG KONG — After firing multiple rounds of tear gas, riot police clashed Saturday with protesters inside the same Hong Kong train station where a mob had attacked demonstrators last weekend.

The protesters had converged on the northern district of Yuen Long to show their opposition to an assault by more than 100 men, armed with sticks and metal bars, on demonstrators and others there last Sunday night that had left at least 45 people injured.

What started out as a peaceful rally descended into clashes and chaos at the station. After getting the protesters off the streets with round after round of tear gas, riot police stormed the train station where protesters had retreated, and clashes ensued before the officers backed away.

The government said earlier that 17 people were hurt, including 10 who were hospitalized, with two in serious condition. The police did not immediately say whether arrests had been made, although they repeatedly threatened the protesters with arrest for taking part in an illegal gathering.

The wave of protests sweeping Hong Kong began in early June and has targeted draft legislation, since shelved, that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China. The demands have since grown to include broader democracy and an independent investigation into accusations that the police used excessive force against demonstrators.

“Hong Kong people have to unite and stand up for Hong Kong,” says Rita Tang, a 56yearold health consultant who joined Saturday’s protest in Yuen Long. “We have neglected our rights. We must fight for our future generation for their rights that they deserve.”

Protesters started filling the main street of Yuen Long in the afternoon and marched peacefully for about two hours. But police began to push the back after a group occupied a road on the edge of the town center, surrounding a police van, smashing a window and covering it with graffiti.

The Hong Kong police have been criticized for their slow response to the mob attack last Sunday, and for not detaining anyone in Yuen Long

that night. They have since arrested 12 men in connection with the attack, including some accused of having connections with the gangs known as triads.

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung, the No. 2 official in Hong Kong, apologized on Friday for the police response.

Austin Ramzy is a New York Times writer.

Eric Tsang / HK01 A protester flees from batonwielding police officers in the Yuen Long district of Hong Kong. The northern neighborhood is where 45 demonstrators were injured in an attack last weekend.