Doctors, nurses and health care workers gather in Chater Garden for approved protest themed ‘respect human rights, keep police powers in check’
Volunteer first-aiders have been caught in the crossfire of clashes between officers and protesters.

Thousands of medical professionals and their supporters held a peaceful rally in Hong Kong’s business district of Central, accusing police of brutalising protesters, as the city marked the second straight Saturday of anti-government demonstrations without widespread violence.
Doctors, nurses, health care workers and others gathered at Chater Garden at 6pm for the 3½-hour officially approved rally under the theme, “respect human rights, keep police powers in check”.

Organisers said 10,000 people showed up, but police said the turnout peaked at 2,300.
Participants were united in condemning the force, accusing police of inflicting “severe injuries” on protesters, but pledged to maintain their professionalism and treat all patients equally, regardless of background and political persuasions.

This was the 21^st consecutive weekend of demonstrations first sparked by the government’s now-withdrawn extradition bill, which would have allowed the transfers of criminal suspects to mainland China and other jurisdictions.
The massive public backlash against the bill has morphed into a widespread anti-government movement, with protesters now demanding action against police, as well as universal suffrage.

While volunteer first-aiders on the front lines have been caught in the crossfire during clashes between protesters and police, some have accused officers of obstructing them from helping the injured. Police in turn have arrested some of them, questioning their professionalism and accusing them of colluding with protesters.

Medical professionals at hospitals have also been frequently critical of police action.

“We can see protesters sent to hospital with various degrees of injuries caused by police, like head injuries, laceration wounds and bone fractures,” nurse Lau Hoi-man, one of the organisers, said before the rally, recalling protesters’ complaints about receiving delayed medical attention after being arrested.
At the event, Lau told participants: “Police have also entered clinical areas and even women-only patient rooms ... This is an invasion of patient privacy. This has also led to a breakdown in trust in the public health care system.”

– Organisers showed photos of injuries sustained by protesters and played a voice recording they said was from an onlooker at a protest who was too afraid to seek treatment at a public hospital after his right index finger was broken by a projectile fired by police on October 20.

“We were getting dinner at Mong Kok on Sunday ... Police were firing tear gas at the time. I had no protective gear so I ran,” the man said, claiming that he was hit while fleeing.
Fearing his case might be reported to police, the man said, he had his injury attended to at an “underground clinic”.

Opposition lawmaker Joseph Lee Kok-long, representing the health services constituency and a registered nurse himself, accused police of creating an “unsafe environment” in public hospitals where patients dared not come forward for treatment.
“The Hong Kong government has used the need to stop violence as an excuse to let police run amok, ignore the law and beat up protesters with batons. Officers have gone into hospitals, invaded patients’ privacy and made arrests in wards, as well as arrested first-aiders and therefore prevented injured people on the ground from getting the immediate medical attention they need,” Lee said. “We have to ask, is Hong Kong still a healthy and safe city?”

In recent months, the city’s doctors and nurses have held silent sit-ins at hospitals and put up “Lennon Walls” of colourful stickers carrying anti-government messages, while pro-police groups have accused them of siding with protesters and condoning violence.

Dr Arisina Ma Chung-yee, of the Hong Kong Public Doctors’ Association, said she had faced a backlash from four police officers’ associations over the group’s statement condemning the shooting of an 18-year-old boy in the chest with a live round in Tsuen Wan.
“But many doctors and nurses have got in touch to thank me for speaking out, and said they felt they couldn’t speak out themselves due to fears of recrimination,” she added.
Ma also urged her fellow medical professionals to remain impartial in their work, saying: “You can still criticise police while remaining professional. If someone smokes in my ward, I will reprimand him for doing so, but I will still treat him to the best of my ability at the end of the day.”

Another rally-goer who only gave his surname as Wu and who claimed to have worked in the medical field for 20 years, said: “Even for medical professionals, there are guidelines and protocols in hospitals. Even we cannot just look through medical records for no reason, so who are police to do so without a warrant?”
He lamented that many in the profession no longer dared to speak up against police and the government.

While the rally ended at around 9.30pm and participants left without any major incident, in the northern town of Yuen Long, a stand-off with protesters and police occurred at 10pm.
Some radicals gathered at Castle Peak Road near Tai Tong Road and damaged traffic lights while blocking roads with minibus stop signs and traffic cones. Glass bottles were hurled at officers who closed in to disperse the rowdy group.
Police warned protesters they were participating in an unlawful assembly, and they should stop their illegal acts or officers will use force. Bystanders were directed to leave the scene immediately.

Close to midnight, a crowd numbering in the dozens, some in masks, converged on a junction in the district and sat on the road, blocking traffic. They quickly scattered when officers in riot gear charged towards them.
Tensions continued to brew between both sides, leading to police eventually firing tear gas shortly after midnight as they marched down roads while a handful of protesters flee.

Links:

[1] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3034655/hong-kong-government-will-consider-commission-inquiry
[2] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3033713/about-1000-gather-central-rally-calling-humanitarian-aid
[3] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3022185/guerilla-first-aid-who-are-hong-kong-volunteers-braving