Hong Kong Extradition Protests: Tear Gas Fired at Demonstrators Gathered in Mong Kok
Tear gas has been fired by Hong Kong riot police at protesters who are demonstrating for the ninth weekend in a row.
On August 3, groups rallied in the Mong Kok district before starting their march. They called on others to join a city-wide strike planned for August 5.
Beijing and the Chinese army have issued stern warnings about the unrest.
Two months of Hong Kong demonstrations sparked by a controversial extradition bill show no signs of abating, with both sides hardening their stance.
Although the government has now suspended the controversial bill, which would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, demonstrators want the bill fully withdrawn.
Their demands have broadened to include calls for more democracy and for Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam to resign.
Hong Kong – a former British colony – is part of China but enjoys unique freedoms not seen on the mainland.
Hong Kong Protests: Tear Gas Fired at Unauthorized Yuen Long Rally
Hong Kong Protests: Hundreds of Demonstrators Storm Parliament Building on Anniversary of Chinese Rule
Protesters initially gathered in Mong Kok, a Hong Kong district where violent clashes took place during pro-democracy protests in 2014.
A group of demonstrators briefly blocked access to the Cross Harbour Tunnel, causing traffic chaos, while others set up make-shift barricades on shopping streets.
As the demonstrations dragged into the night, protesters gathered outside the police station in Tsim Sha Tsui district. Officers then fired tear gas at the activists.
The South China Morning Post published a police statement saying the “radical” group had set fires nearby and had thrown bricks into the building.
The march comes after a group of civil servants – ordered to be politically neutral – joined demonstrations in their thousands on August 2.
The rally followed the publication of an anonymous letter on Facebook complaining about “extreme oppression” and listing five key demands – the complete withdrawal of the extradition bill; waiving charges against those arrested; an end to descriptions of protests as “rioting”; an independent inquiry into the unrest; and resuming political reforms.
Supporters of Hong Kong’s police force also gathered earlier for a rally in Victoria Park.
Some unions and organizations have reportedly already agreed to take part in the strike planned for August 5. There are also further demonstrations planned for August 4.