HONG KONG POLICE DRAW GUNS IN LATEST PROTEST VIOLENCE
HONG KONG (AP) —
Police in Hong Kong drew their guns Sunday night after a small group of
protesters attacked officers with sticks and rods, and used tear gas to clear
pro-democracy demonstrators who had taken over a street. The confrontations
were the latest violence in a summer of protests that have shaken the city's
government and residents. Police also brought out water cannon trucks for the
first time, though they did not use them directly on protesters. The main showdown took
place on a major drag in the outlying Tsuen Wan district following a protest
march that ended in a nearby park. While a large crowd rallied in the park, a
group of hard-line protesters took over a main street, strewing bamboo poles on
the pavement and lining up orange and white traffic barriers and cones to
obstruct police.
After hoisting warning
flags, police used tear gas to try to disperse the crowd. Protesters responded
by throwing bricks and gasoline bombs toward the police. The result was a
surreal scene of small fires and scattered paving bricks on the street between
the two sides, rising clouds of tear gas and green and blue laser lights
pointed by the protesters at the police. The protesters
eventually decided to abandon their position. Two water cannon trucks and a
phalanx of police vehicles with flashing lights joined riot police on foot as
they advanced up the street. They met little resistance. Television footage
showed a water cannon being fired once, but perhaps more as a test, as it
didn't appear to reach the retreating protesters.
Some protesters said
they are resorting to violence because the government has not responded to
their peaceful demonstrations. "The escalation
you're seeing now is just a product of our government's indifference toward the
people of Hong Kong," said Rory Wong, who was at the clash after the
march. One neighborhood
resident, Dong Wong, complained about the tear gas. "I live on the
15th floor and I can even smell it at home," he said. "I have four
dogs, sneezing, sneezing all day. ... The protesters didn't do anything, they
just blocked the road to protect themselves." Officers pulled their
guns after protesters chased them down a street with sticks and rods, calling
them "gangsters." Public broadcaster RTHK said one of its reporters
saw a uniformed officer fire a shot into the sky.
Earlier Sunday, tens
of thousands of umbrella-carrying protesters marched in the rain. Many filled
Tsuen Wan Park, the endpoint of the rally, chanting, "Fight for freedom,
stand with Hong Kong," the South China Morning Post newspaper reported. The march in Hong
Kong's New Territories started near the Kwai Fong train station, which has
become a focal point for protesters after police used tear gas there earlier
this month. Police with riot gear could be seen moving into position along the
march route. Protesters have taken
to the semiautonomous Chinese territory's streets for more than two months.
Their demands include democratic elections and an investigation into police use
of force to quell the protests.
A large group clashed
with police on Saturday after a march in the Kowloon Bay neighborhood, building
barricades and setting fires in the streets. Police said they arrested 29
people for various offenses, including unlawful assembly, possession of
offensive weapons and assaulting police officers.The clashes, while not
as prolonged or violent as some earlier ones, ended a brief lull in the
violence. The protests, which began in early June, had turned largely peaceful
the previous weekend, after weeks of escalating violence.
In nearby Macao,
another Chinese territory, a pro-Beijing committee chose a businessman as the
gambling hub's next leader with little of the controversy surrounding the
government in Hong Kong.
Ho Iat-seng, running
unopposed, will succeed current leader Chui Sai-on in December. Asked about the
protests in Hong Kong, the 62-year-old Ho said they would end eventually, like
a major typhoon.
Source: Dayton – 25 August
2019
by Associated Press
by Associated Press
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