Hong Kong protesters clash with riot police at metro station
A peaceful rally at a metro station in Hong Kong descended into a clash between protesters and police as the city entered the 11th week of anti-government demonstrations.
Hundreds of people took part in a sit-in at the out-of-town Yuen Long metro station earlier on Wednesday in protest at a violent and indiscriminate attack on commuters and protesters there a month ago.
Dozens of men clad in white Tshirts rushed into the station late at night on 21 July and beat people both inside the station and on trains with canes and wooden sticks. Police were widely criticised for being absent during the attack.
The rally on Wednesday night passed without incident for about three hours until shortly before 10pm local time (1500 BST), when dozens of protesters confronted riot police standing guard outside the station and nearby villages.
Protesters shone laser pointers at about 100 riot police armed with shields and guns, before the officers started charging towards them. Demonstrators placed bins and plastic traffic barriers on the road as barricades but the police swiftly removed them. As the police charged, protesters shouted: “Triads! Triads!”
Demonstrators then retreated to the metro station, pursued by large numbers of riot police. The police stopped outside the station as protesters used a fire hose to spray water and left oil and detergent on the floor in an apparent attempt to prevent the police from entering.
Makeshift barricades were then set up by protesters inside the station using bins, magazine stands and other objects, while walls, ceilings and ticket machines were hit rhythmically with umbrellas and other items.
At one point the atmosphere turned tense as police raised a blue flag to warn protesters that they were engaged in an illegal meeting and the officers could use force.
The standoff continued for nearly an hour, with protesters throwing objects at the police including bottles, umbrellas and even yellow rubber ducks.
The black-clad demonstrators squirted fire extinguishers to create smoke as they retreated. Many shouted slogans frequently used in the recent anti-extradition protests, including “reclaim Hong Kong, revolution of our time!”. The police backed off shortly after 11pm and protesters began to leave.
Police did not use teargas, rubber bullets and beanbag rounds to disperse the crowds, which marks a departure from the usual pattern of tactics over the past two months.
Resentment against police violence has grown in recent weeks after an increasing use of force to disperse protesters, with innocent bystanders and local residents also affected.
Earlier on Wednesday evening, during a five-minute silence to mark the 21 July attack, some protesters covered one eye in a gesture of solidarity with a young woman who was badly injured in one of the August protests.
And at a press conference protesters wearing black T-shirts, hard hats and dark glasses, with scarves covering their faces, condemned police tactics. They also accused the government of condoning violent attacks by rural clans and gangsters. They noted that although dozens of attackers in Yuen Long had been arrested, none had been prosecuted so far.
The wave of protests in Hong Kong, which started in early June to oppose a controversial extradition bill under which individuals could be sent to China for trial, has grown into a broader movement with five demands: the complete withdrawal of the now-suspended extradition bill; the setting up of an independent body to investigate police violence; a halt to the characterisation of protests as “riots”; an amnesty for those arrested; and a resumption of political reform to allow the free election of Hong Kong’s leader and legislature and the resignation of Carrie Lam, the current leader.