Chaos and violence descend again on the streets of Hong Kong as aggressive police tactics fail to stop radical protesters
https://www.scmp.com/print/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3036069/chaos-and-violence-descend-again-streets-hong-kong
Published: 12:02am, 3 Nov, 2019
SCMP Reporters
Office of Xinhua News Agency in Wan Chai attacked for the first time, with its glass doors and windows smashed.
More than 200 arrested as MTR stations and businesses with mainland connections again face vandalism and arson.
The first half of the weekend since the government’s controversial decision to disqualify [1] populist candidate Joshua Wong Chi-fung [2] from running in the district council elections ended in chaos and violence [3].
A change of tactics by police and the government failed to break the stalemate as Hong Kong’s festering social unrest [4] entered its 22nd week with no solution in sight.
Once again, police battled protesters on the bustling streets of Hong Kong. The clashes took place mainly in the densely populated commercial districts of Causeway Bay, Wan Chai, Central, Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui.
Police’s use of water cannons, tear gas, pepper spray and batons were met with flaming barricades and petrol bombs from protesters as the two sides played cat-and-mouse throughout the night.
More than 200 people were arrested on Saturday for protest-related offences including unlawful assembly and violating the mask ban, police said at 1am on Sunday.
As of 7.30am on Sunday, 54 people were injured and taken to hospital. A man in Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei was in a serious condition, 23 were stable and the remaining 30 have been discharged.
Some MTR stations and businesses with mainland connections again fell victim to vandalism and mob rampage.
The office of Xinhua News Agency in Wan Chai was attacked for the first time, with its glass doors and windows smashed.
Radicals also tried to torch the building by throwing petrol bombs into the lobby – when some Xinhua staff were still working inside. Fortunately the fire was contained and did not cause any extensive damage.
The Hong Kong News Executives’ Association and the Hong Kong Journalists Association both issued statements condemning the attack and demanding police look into it.
A few blocks away, a first-aider was directly hit by a tear-gas canister and suffered burns on his back, according to a video by City Broadcasting Channel, run by City University’s student union, that captured the moment.
Police arrested several protesters. Eleven people were injured and sent to hospitals, including a man in serious condition.
This came in a week that saw the government stepping up pressure on the opposition camp, first banning candidate Joshua Wong from taking part in the elections later this month and then obtaining an interim court injunction banning online messages [7] deemed to be instigating violence.
In Beijing, the central government sent a strong signal to Hong Kong after a top Communist Party meeting, pledging to tighten control on the city, particularly over issues concerning national security. It also vowed to step up the screening and supervision of principal officials here.
Police also continued their aggressive tactics first adopted last week. They would now take quick action to disperse the crowd instead of forming a defence line first.
Earlier this week, police rejected the application by protesters to hold a rally in Victoria Park. Undaunted, thousands showed up on the pretext of holding “election hustings” for the coming district council elections. This, alongside three authorised rallies in Central and Tsim Sha Tsui, all kick-started in the afternoon.
A clerk, who joined the protest at Victoria Park and identified herself as Fan, spoke with despair when she gave her take on the disqualification of Joshua Wong.
“This is so obvious that someone is trying to control the polls,” she said, speculating that Beijing was upset Wong had been meeting overseas leaders.
The woman, in her 40s, said apart from the political censorship, Hongkongers were seeing a decline in freedom of speech and assembly, reflected in recent court injunctions and police’s refusal to grant approvals for public processions.
“There is little we can do we do except coming here to march,” she said.
Causeway Bay
Under a huge police presence, the crowds began to gather in Causeway Bay and tensions mounted quickly. Riot police soon moved in to disperse the crowd, first pepper-spraying those who refused to back down and also making a number of arrests.
At 3.55pm, the first round of tear gas was fired in Causeway Bay. Unlike in previous weekends, police did not wait until they were attacked before going on the offensive.
The protesters, by now well-equipped and well-drilled for such an occasion, dispersed into the side streets but quickly regrouped to hassle officers.
As the two sides engaged in a tense contest in one of the world’s busiest and most expensive commercial districts, it attracted many tourists or passers-by, who paid no heed to the officers’ warning to leave.
Wan Chai and on Wyndham Street in Central
The clashes soon spread from Causeway Bay, with tear gas fired near Southorn Playground in Wan Chai and on Wyndham Street in Central. Many bars and restaurants in the area were forced to shut doors and close businesses early. Some radicals set fires on streets to stop officers from advancing.
Once again, businesses thought to have mainland ties or holding pro-government views were subject to wanton vandalism. Two Best Mart 360 stores in Causeway Bay were trashed by rampaging mobs. A Starbucks branch in Sheung Wan was also targeted.
Some entrances of subway stations, including Causeway Bay and Mong Kok, were also trashed and burned.
Across the harbour on Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, riot police clashed with people taking part in an unauthorised gathering. Clashes broke out outside Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station as well as at the Kowloon Mosque where police accidentally fired blue-dyed water cannon sprays last month, forcing embattled Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to publicly apologise [10] to the Muslim community.
The scuffle and chaos continued late into the night and the violence spread.
In Mong Kok, a man was assaulted by a group of black-clad people and repeatedly kicked, with his clothes, including his pants, torn off. He had to be treated by first-aiders arriving at the scene.
Lam, who was on a business trip to the mainland, again appealed for a return of calm and peace.
“The huge unrest and violence in the past few months have inevitably affected people’s confidence in Hong Kong,” she said at a conference in Nanjing.
Those arrested, who numbered more than 200, were arrested on suspicion of offences of unlawful assembly, possession of offensive weapons, criminal damage, and concealing their faces.
The organised crime and triad bureau arrested four men and a woman yesterday for possession of offensive weapons. Officers seized weapons including 188 petrol bombs, several extendable batons and pepper spray.
Reporting by Lilian Cheng, Sum Lok-kei, Zoe Low, Alvin Lum, Chris Lau, Danny Lee, Albert Han, Mimi Lau, Kanis Leung and Victor Ting
Links
[1] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3035285/democracy-activist-joshua-wong-banned-running-hong-kong
[2] https://www.scmp.com/topics/joshua-wong
[3] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3036040/tear-gas-pepper-spray-and-body-searches-protesters-and
[4] https://www.scmp.com/topics/hong-kong-protests
[5] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3036040/tear-gas-pepper-spray-and-body-searches-protesters-and
[6] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3035939/hong-kong-district-council-elections-will-protests-move
[7] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3035786/hong-kong-court-grants-interim-injunction-restrain
[8] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3036066/hong-kong-protests-demonstrators-vow-take-battle-ballots
[9] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3032910/why-chanting-popular-slogan-liberate-hong-kong-revolution
[10] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3033843/hong-kong-protests-city-leader-carrie-lam-and-police-chief
Blood spilled over political differences in Hong Kong, with six hurt as knife-wielding man attacks family after argument
https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3036111/riot-police-move-hong-kong-protesters-gather-sha-tin
Published: 5:26pm, 3 Nov,
By Karen Zhang Martin Choi Linda Lew, Karen Yeung (SCMP)
Four injured by attacker – who is in turn savaged by an angry crowd – after argument over political issues. Another man hurt while protecting suspect.
Tensions flare after hundreds of Hongkongers heed online call to take to the streets on Sunday afternoon in citywide protest.
Blood was spilled in Hong Kong on Sunday 3 evening in a fight over political differences, leaving six injured including a district councillor who had part of his ear bitten off.
Outside a shopping mall in Tai Koo
Four people were injured by a knife-wielding man – who was in turn savaged by an angry crowd – after he was said to have argued over political issues with a family outside a shopping mall in Tai Koo. Another man who tried to protect the suspected attacker, who was later arrested, was also injured.
Tear gas was fired later in the evening as residents heckled police.
One of the victims, a man, was seen lying unconscious in a pool of blood in the neighbourhood on Hong Kong Island. The suspect, a Mandarin speaker, was stopped at the scene by a crowd, who then beat him up badly.
Another victim, who sustained relatively minor injuries, said she, her sister and her brother-in-law had just left the Cityplaza mall after dinner when an argument broke out with the suspect, who retrieved a knife from his bag. He had argued with her sister and her husband, who was stabbed.
A witness said she heard the suspect shouting “liberate Taiwan” before attacking people.
Democratic Party lawmaker James To Kun-sun said he met some witnesses of the attack in hospital as he, along with several colleagues, visited district councillor Andrew Chiu Ka-y.
“They heard the attacker shouting ‘liberate Taiwan’ before he waved his knife. It is believed to be a premeditated attack as he carried the knife with him,” To Kun-sun said.
He said district councillor Andrew Chiu Ka-ywas there trying to mediate.
The four men and two women were all conscious when sent to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan. As of 10pm, two men remained in a critical condition while one other man and a woman were in serious condition. One man was stable while the other woman’s condition remained unclear.
Among the injured was district councillor Andrew Chiu Ka-yin. Fellow councillor Patrick Wong Chun-sing said Chiu was sent to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan. “Part of his ear, we understand, is unfortunately ripped, but the scope of his injury is unclear,” Wong said.
A video posted online showed the suspect wrestling with district councillor Andrew Chiu Ka-y while others punched the man in a bid to force him to release the councillor. The attacker then bit o! the edge of Chiu’s ear, spitting it on the ground.
The incident came as riot police were deployed in several shopping malls – including Cityplaza – across Hong Kong after hundreds of people heeded an online call to take to the streets on Sunday afternoon in a citywide protest.
Police had also entered malls in the New Territories towns of Sha Tin and Tai Po.
The actions came after protesters damaged turnstiles at Sha Tin MTR station, threw objects at police and vandalised a restaurant in Tai Po, and formed human chains in Tai Koo.
Organisers had appealed for demonstrators to “go for a walk” in Admiralty, Mong Kok, Tsuen Wan, Wong Tai Sin, Tai Po, Sha Tin and Tuen Mun in a protest against alleged police brutality.
A poster for the event urged people to gather in those seven districts at 1pm. It said walking on the street did not require police approval, a reference to the force’s repeated refusal to approve protest applications in recent weeks.
Sha Tin New Town Plaza
In the afternoon in Sha Tin New Town Plaza, a group of about 50 black-clad protesters took over the atrium of the shopping centre, chanting slogans. At one point, some were seen to vandalise the MTR turnstiles at the train station’s entrance in the mall. Riot police moved in quickly, only to be confronted by protesters, who shouted abuse at officers.
Police reportedly took away at least five people.
Some shops pulled down their shutters. Police guarding the mall’s upper levels used pepper spray to disperse the crowd down in the atrium while some on the ground pointed their firearms at people on floors above.
Some protesters hurled verbal abuse, daring police to fire tear gas at them.
“More than 10 police in riot gear pushed a girl on the floor and detained her but she was not doing anything. She was just dressed in black and had a black mask on in the shopping mall,” said a witness who refused to give her name. “A boy who tried to rescue her was also detained by police.”
At least three onlookers received medical treatment in the mall, after being pepper-sprayed. A middle-aged man was given an ice pack after pepper spray hit his forehead. Paramedics gave a young man an oxygen mask after he said he had asthma.
“The actions of police are despicable. They can’t just come into shopping malls and do this to young people,” said a 54-year-old woman who only gave her surname, Wong. She said she moved to Hong Kong from mainland China 10 years ago.
“I realised there was a lot that I didn’t know before I came to Hong Kong. I really like it here, but the government is now trying to control the way people act and think. The [government] is oppressing its citizens,” she said.
Earlier, a national flag was removed from a pole at Sha Tin Town Hall. The flag was later found on a road near a highway.
Tai Po Mega Mall
In Tai Po Mega Mall, a group of masked black-clad demonstrators vandalised a branch of restaurant chain Yoshinoya – a frequent target – in what they called a flash mob protest. There were no diners or employees around as the vandals broke in.
Police raised a black flag in Tai Po, warning of the use of tear gas, as people targeted them with laser pointers. Officers then raised an orange flag, telling the crowd to disperse or they would fire. Police also rushed into the mall after objects were thrown from on high.
Tuen Mun’s Trend Plaza
In the New Territories, at Tuen Mun’s Trend Plaza, locals tried to lock the doors of the shopping centre with plastic cords to stop police from entering. Previously, a group of about 50 riot police had raised the blue flag warning of an illegal assembly on the podium outside the mall, searching bags and asking young people and other residents for their identity cards. The checks were carried out after eggs and a ladder were thrown from the podium to the ground floor. No one was hurt.
There were also scuffles when a group of black-clad protesters surrounded a man in a blue shirt, claiming he had taken pictures of them. The man later left unharmed.
Police condemned the act of blocking the mall exit, calling it dangerous and irresponsible.
Trend Plaza, which is owned by developer Henderson Land, announced in a shopping mall broadcast that it was closing. At about 5.30pm, security sta! started closing the mall’s doors.
Cityplaza
More than 200 protesters had gathered in Cityplaza and were chanting slogans. Shops were open for business as usual when riot police rushed in shortly after 6pm. They pinned down at least one protester.
A photographer from Stand News was arrested in the mall while working, the online media outlet confirmed.
“[He] was wearing a reporter’s badge, and the cause and process of the arrest have not been clear,” it said, adding the employee had been covering protests professionally since June. It demanded that police state clearly why he was detained.
Angry residents surrounded security sta! at Cityplaza demanding to know why they let police into the mall. Security sta! told media they did not call police. It was the first time police had entered the mall, developed by Swire Properties. Officers left the mall around 40 minutes later. Shoppers clapped when security sta! started to lock the doors after the o"cers left.
Police said they entered the mall because protesters were vandalising a restaurant.
More than 200 people were arrested for violences on Saturday 2 including unlawful assembly, possession of an offensive weapon, criminal damage, and using a facial covering while at an unlawful assembly.
Some 54 people were sent to hospital during violent clashes between police and protesters.
It is the 22nd straight weekend of civil unrest [5], which was sparked by the now-withdrawn extradition bill [6] but has since morphed into a wider anti-government movement.
During the clashes, police launched tear gas rounds while protesters threw petrol bombs in the densely populated areas of Causeway Bay, Wan Chai, Central, Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui.
Xinhua News Agency in Wan Chai was firebombed for the first time on Saturday, leading to condemnation from the Communist Party’s mouthpiece People’s Daily.
Links
[1] https://t.co/3rE8nin3kp
[2] https://twitter.com/SCMPHongKong/status/1190976954784071681?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[3] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3036092/hong-kong-leader-carrie-lam-meet-vice-premier-han-zheng
[4] https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3036104/hong-kong-civil-servants-who-support-protests-will-burn-rioters
[5] https://www.scmp.com/topics/hong-kong-protests
[6] https://www.scmp.com/topics/hong-kong-extradition-bill