Police fire tear gas as Hong Kong protesters block roads

Police fired tear gas at protesters in Hong Kong on Sunday for the second night in a row in another escalation of pro-democracy demonstrations.

Protesters occupied two areas at opposite ends of central Hong Kong following a mid-afternoon rally against police use of tear gas the previous Sunday.

Protesters had earlier rallied at a park in Hong Kong’s financial district before marching out in several directions despite not getting police approval for a public procession. It was the second straight day that protesters had taken to the streets without official permission.

A sea of black-shirted protesters, some with bright yellow helmets and masks but many with just backpacks, streamed out of Chater Garden park.

Chanting “Add oil”, a phrase that roughly translates as “Keep up the fight”, a huge crowd marched east down a wide thoroughfare in what has become a summer of protest in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

They stopped near the Sogo department store and set up barricades to block off the area and defend it against police.

Protesters egged the office last weekend and splattered black ink on the national emblem, eliciting an angry reaction from the Chinese government.

They massed behind the barriers as night fell, with umbrellas pointed forward to shield their identities and ward off any police move to clear them.

Hong Kong has been wracked by protests for seven weeks, as opposition to an extradition bill has morphed into demands for the resignation of the city’s leader, Carrie Lam, and an investigation into whether police have used excessive force in quelling the protests.

Underlying the movement is a broader push for full democracy in the territory. The city’s leader is chosen by a committee dominated by a pro-Beijing establishment, rather than by direct elections.

“We need to have a protest to show that we are strongly against this kind of brutality and we need them to respond to our demands,” said rally organiser Ventus Lau.

Police had refused Lau’s request to march west to the Sheung Wan district, where the tear gas was used the previous weekend, citing escalating violence in clashes with protesters that have broken out after past marches and rallies.

“The police must prevent aggressive protesters from exploiting a peaceful procession to cause troubles and violent clashes,” said Superintendent Louis Lau, of the police public relations branch.

The police had also denied permission for that march in Yuen Long, where a mob apparently targeting demonstrators had beaten people brutally in a railway station the previous weekend.

Protesters and police faced off in the streets well into the night, as they have done repeatedly during the summer’s pro-democracy protests.

Officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets as demonstrators threw bricks and other objects and ducked behind makeshift shields.

Later, police wearing helmets charged into the railway station, where a few hundred protesters had taken refuge from the tear gas.

Some officers swung their batons at demonstrators, while others appeared to be urging their colleagues to hang back.

Police arrested 13 people, including march organiser Max Chung, for offenses including unlawful assembly, possession of offensive weapon and assault, according to police and Hong Kong media. At least four officers were injured.

The Hospital Authority said 24 people were taken to five hospitals. As of Sunday morning, eight remained in hospital, two in a serious condition.

“While police must be able to defend themselves, there were repeated instances today where police officers were the aggressors,” said Man-kei Tam, the director of Amnesty International Hong Kong.

Police said they had to use what they termed “appropriate force” because of the bricks and other objects thrown at them, including glass bottles with a suspected corrosive fluid inside.