Rally turns violent on 5th anniversary of Hong Kong's Umbrella movement

Police respond to protesters' bricks and Molotov cocktails with tear gas and water cannon in 17th weekend of unrest

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Police spraying blue dye from a water cannon truck at the sea of umbrella-shielded protesters yesterday. Protesters put up barricades in Harcourt Road, which was also carpeted with pro-democracy posters.
Police spraying blue dye from a water cannon truck at the sea of umbrella-shielded protesters yesterday. ST PHOTOS: CHONG JUN LIANG
Police spraying blue dye from a water cannon truck at the sea of umbrella-shielded protesters yesterday. Protesters put up barricades in Harcourt Road, which was also carpeted with pro-democracy posters.
Protesters put up barricades in Harcourt Road, which was also carpeted with pro-democracy posters. ST PHOTOS: CHONG JUN LIANG

Hong Kong police fired tear gas and water cannon yesterday to disperse thousands of protesters who threw bricks and Molotov cocktails, in the 17th straight weekend of unrest.

The demonstrators had gathered at Tamar Park in the government headquarters compound for the evening rally - organised by the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) - which was cut short after violence broke out.

Police used water to disperse the crowd outside the Chief Executive's Office after they said in a broadcast message that police would "deploy appropriate force to disperse the protesters".

The CHRF is the organiser behind some of the biggest protests in Hong Kong since the handover in 1997, including the two-million-strong march on June 16. The protests were triggered by the now-withdrawn extradition Bill.

The Front's convenor Jimmy Sham estimated 200,000 to 300,000 people attended the rally, but police have yet to give a turnout figure.

Police said a large group of protesters had vandalised glass panels outside the government headquarters and set up barricades in Harcourt Road.

The city is on edge as the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China draws near, and more protests and events have been planned for the weekend through to Oct 1.

Earlier yesterday, thousands had gathered peacefully at a harbourside park to mark the fifth anniversary of the Occupy movement, also known as the Umbrella movement, in which protesters occupied key thoroughfares for 79 days beginning on Sept 28, 2014, demanding free elections for Hong Kong's leaders.

Activist Joshua Wong, 22, who played a key role as a leader in the 2014 protests, said yesterday he would run for local district council elections in November. He said he was aware he could be disqualified, but warned it would just generate more support for the protests.

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Some demonstrators gathered from 4pm in several locations from Victoria Park in Causeway Bay all the way to the government headquarters in Admiralty.

They put up Post-it notes and posters in an attempt to rebuild Lennon Walls, some of which were torn down by pro-Beijing activists last weekend.

Protesters continued to demand that Chief Executive Carrie Lam and her administration give in to their five demands.

In response to calls for universal suffrage at yesterday's rally, the government said the "one person, one vote" for selecting the Chief Executive and electing all members of the Legislative Council is enshrined as an ultimate aim in the "Basic Law" of the territory.

Protesters attempting to break into a government complex in Hong Kong on Sept 28, 2018. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG

"To achieve this aim, the community needs to engage in dialogues, premised on the legal basis and under a peaceful atmosphere with mutual trust, with a view to narrowing differences and attaining a consensus agreeable to all sides.

"The Hong Kong government will assess the situation carefully and take forward constitutional development in accordance with the Basic Law and the relevant Interpretation and Decisions of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress," it said in a statement.

Besides universal suffrage, the other four key demands of protesters are the complete withdrawal of the extradition Bill; the release of all protesters arrested; removing the label of protests as "riots"; and an independent judge-led inquiry into allegations of police brutality.

On Sept 4, three months after the escalation of anti-extradition Bill protests began, Mrs Lam announced that the Bill would be withdrawn completely.

Last Thursday, she held an unprecedented dialogue with about 130 individuals. She reiterated that not all of the five demands could be met as those who broke the law have to pay the price.

The Bill would have allowed Hong Kong to hand over fugitives to various jurisdictions, such as Taiwan and, more importantly, mainland China, where protesters said suspects would face unfair trials in an opaque system.

Today, there will be a Global Anti-Totalitarianism march at 2.30pm from Sogo mall in Causeway Bay.

Tomorrow, a strike has been planned.

On Tuesday, China's National Day, some groups plan to jam up the transport network to the airport in the morning. In one of the polls conducted on chat app Telegram, more than half of the 12,000 surveyed voted to march on Tuesday afternoon in Hong Kong island before regrouping in other locations including Tsuen Wan, Sha Tin and Wong Tai Sin.

The Front's proposed Oct 1 march from Victoria Park to Chater Garden, as well as a rally, were rejected by the police on Friday due to threats of violence. The Front is appealing against the decision.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on September 29, 2019, with the headline Rally turns violent on 5th anniversary of Hong Kong's Umbrella movement. Subscribe