Protests in Hong Kong again turned violent following more than a week of peace and no tear gas being fired by police.
After Saturday and Sunday marches ended in two neighborhoods, clashes between police and protesters grew violent during the night.
On Sunday, several police officers drew their pistols and pointed them at a crowd of protesters and journalists. One reportedly fired a warning shot in the air.
Another Large-Scale Protest
Roughly a month ago, local pro-democracy organizers applied for a march to be held in the Tsuen Wan district on Aug. 25, to call for the government to respond to protesters’ five demands. Protests that initially ignited over a since-suspended extradition bill has since broadened to include an independent inquiry into police use of force toward protesters and universal suffrage.Police rejected the application on Aug. 23. The organizers then filed an appeal, and finally reached an agreement with the police on Aug. 24 after changing the march route.
At 3 p.m. local time, the march began. People flooded the streets despite that the Hong Kong metro system, the MTR, temporarily closed three nearby stations in advance. The nearest operating station was about a mile away from the march site.
Both organizers and police did not provide an estimate for how many participated in the protest.
At around 4:10 p.m., event organizers said that police had abruptly called for the demonstration to disband ahead of schedule. Many refused to leave.
Soon after 5 p.m., riot police started to confront the crowd at some street corners, in an attempt to clear the area. Tensions rose as the two sides clashed. At about 5:30 p.m., police began to fire tear gas. Then, two water-cannon vehicles arrived at Tsuen Wan and shot water at barricades that protesters set up.
After 6 p.m., police began to arrest protesters, including a 12-year-old boy. Armored vehicles later arrived.
The city’s Hospital Authority said that as of 11:30 p.m. local time on Aug. 25, 22 people had been transported to hospitals; one man was said to be in serious condition, while 12 are stable and nine others had been discharged.
First Shot Fired
Just after 8 p.m., outside of the Tai Hung Fai shopping center, witnesses heard a shot fired.The two officers then fall back to join a group of five officers who are on a nearby street.
As more protesters surround and throw more objects at the officers, six of the police in the group take out their service weapons. One is said to have fired it into the air.
Saturday March
Since June, Hongkongers have protested on the streets almost every weekend.Thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Kwun Tong in the eastern part of Kowloon Peninsula on Saturday, with some also voicing their opposition to the government’s installation of “smart lamp posts,” which they suspect could be used for surveillance or facial recognition.
Demonstrators clashed with police outside the Ngau Tau Kok police station, where protesters were reportedly throwing petrol bombs and bricks at police who responded with tear gas and bean bag rounds to disperse the crowds.
In the neighboring district of Wong Tai Sin, police also fired tear gas to clear protesters. And in nearby Kowloon Bay, a protester’s left eye was hit by a rubber pellet during the clashes.
Tam, a protester who was at the scene in Kwun Tong, told The Epoch Times that he witnessed a fellow protester with blood all over his face being dragged away by police.
Amid the tear gas smoke, Tam said he would not back down. “I couldn’t leave my people behind.”