Hong Kong descended into pandemonium on Sunday as
police fired volleys of tear gas at groups of pro-democracy
protesters holding an unsanctioned march, as clashes in the city become increasingly violent.
Police did not approve Sunday’s original plans that would have moved demonstrators from the main business district west toward a harbourfront park. Instead, an assembly was approved for a public square in the central business hub for the afternoon. But tens of thousands of people spilled into the streets, clogging subway exits and nearby shopping centres, with groups marching through and occupying several neighbourhoods both east and west halting traffic on wide avenues. Demonstrators, including young children with their parents, targeted different locations, including the police headquarters and the Chinese government’s liaison office, to express their frustration at the city’s leaders over a proposed extradition bill.
“If we don’t keep coming out, we won’t have Hong Kong anymore,” said Catie, 19. “Our freedoms might not be the same as before.” Protesters stopped by late afternoon in Causeway Bay, a shopping district popular with tourists, pulling up metal gates from the pavement, dragging bus poles with heavy cement bases, and pushing trash bins to erect metal barriers. Protesters carry US flags and placards during a march on Sunday Credit: Vincent Yu/AP Storefronts shuttered almost immediately in the area, with attendants pulling down heavy metal grates, closing up for the day. US and
UK flags were spotted - a push from protesters to urge foreign governments to speak out in support of Hong Kong, a former
British colony that has long enjoyed freedoms unseen in mainland
China guaranteed under a 50-year agreement when the territory was returned to Beijing. Demonstrators chanted “add oil!,” a popular slogan to encourage each other, and “liberate Hong Kong!” This is the eighth consecutive weekend of
protests in Hong Kong, which has been plunged into its worst political crisis in recent history. Originally, millions of people took to the streets to protest against an extradition proposal that would have sent suspects to face trial on mainland China. Demands to scrap the bill have since evolved to call for wider democratic freedoms, the resignation of the city’s chief executive and an independent inquiry into police actions, which protesters and rights groups have condemned as inappropriately violent at largely peaceful rallies. Hong Kong protests: riot police baton charge and
fire tear gas to clear demonstrations at parliament, in pictures
Beijing has become more vocal in condemning the protests in recent weeks. While the Chinese central government has made it clear the military could be deployed if necessary in a move that would be eerily reminiscent of the bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989, it has for now largely left Hong Kong leaders to deal with the situation. Chief executive Carrie Lam has given a few press remarks, showing no signs of backing down beyond suspending the extradition proposal and stopping short of withdrawing it altogether - a decision that protesters say mean the city’s legislature could quickly revive and pass it at any time. Police have arrested 13 people this weekend, including Max Chung, the main organiser for Saturday’s banned march that ended in violent chaos late at night. Additional reporting by Yiyin Zhong