Police fired tear gas and water cannon to break up rallies as activists blocked roads and trashed shopping malls across Hong Kong’s New Territories and Kowloon peninsula on Sunday during the 24th straight weekend of anti-government unrest.
Protesters shouted abuse at “black police” in Cantonese wherever officers appeared, referring to perceived brutality against demonstrations in the Chinese-ruled city that show no sign of let-up after more than five months.
Pro-democracy protesters vandalised a train station in the central new town of Sha Tin and a restaurant seen as being pro-Beijing, overturning banqueting tables and smashing glass panels, two weeks before district council elections.
Violence spilled out onto the streets of Tuen Mun outside the “V city” mall, with running battles between riot police and protesters.
Authorities in Hong Kong have closed a subway station after protesters broke windows and damaged ticket machines. Source: AAP
Now TV showed pictures of a circular, red welt and bruise on the upper arm of one of its reporters who said she had been hit by a tear gas canister in Tsuen Wan, to the west of the New Territories, where police fired tear gas late into the evening to clear the streets.
The rail station was closed in Sha Tin, amid scuffles between police and protesters young and old, on a day of planned shopping mall protests throughout the territory. Shopping districts across the harbour on the main island were quiet.
Protesters daubed graffiti and damaged shops at Festival Walk in Kowloon Tong and “stormed” stores in Tsuen Wan, police said.
The violence spread to the Kowloon district of Mong Kok, one of the world’s most densely populated areas. Police used water cannon and volley after volley of tear gas to try to clear the main artery of Nathan Road, which was littered with loose bricks under the bright, neon lights.
Police also fired tear gas late at night in the New Territories district of Tai Po, north of Sha Tin.
Protesters are angry about what they see as police brutality and meddling by Beijing in the former British colony’s freedoms, guaranteed by the “one country, two systems” formula in place since the territory returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
People in Hong Kong pray for a university student who fell from a multistory car park during anti-government protests. Source: AAP
The rail station was closed in Sha Tin, amid scuffles between police and protesters young and old, on a day of planned shopping mall protests throughout the territory. Shopping districts across the harbour on the main island were quiet.
Protesters daubed graffiti and damaged shops at Festival Walk in Kowloon Tong and “stormed” stores in Tsuen Wan, police said.
They have also demanded an independent inquiry into police tactics, something Ms Lam has refused.
A five-member international panel said an analysis of the Hong Kong police watchdog, the Independent Police Complaints Council, indicated a shortfall in its “independent investigative capability” to look into policing during the protests.
