Police fire tear gas, rubber bullets at Hong Kong protesters
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Sunday
June 26, 2022

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
SUNDAY, JUNE 26, 2022
Police fire tear gas, rubber bullets at Hong Kong protesters

World+Biz

UNB
29 July, 2019, 09:30 am
Last modified: 29 July, 2019, 09:34 am

Related News

  • 'Power in solidarity': Myanmar protesters inspired by Hong Kong and Thailand
  • Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai in custody after fraud charge
  • Hong Kong court rules that police complaints system breaches Bill of Rights
  • 'Five Eyes' alliance demands China end crackdown on Hong Kong legislators
  • Dozens of Hong Kong people write postcards to fugitives arrested by China

Police fire tear gas, rubber bullets at Hong Kong protesters

The protesters occupied two areas at opposite ends of central Hong Kong on Sunday.

UNB
29 July, 2019, 09:30 am
Last modified: 29 July, 2019, 09:34 am
Police fire tear gas, rubber bullets at Hong Kong protesters

Police repeatedly fired tear gas and rubber bullets to drive back protesters blocking Hong Kong streets with road signs and umbrellas Sunday in another night of pitched battles as protests for democracy in the Chinese territory escalate.

It was the second night in a row that tear gas was used against protesters. Their demonstrations began early last month in opposition to an extradition bill that has since been suspended, but the movement has become a broader push for full democracy.

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

On the western end of Hong Kong Island, one group blocked areas near the Chinese government's liaison office and began to move forward as night fell. Police issued warnings, and protesters threw eggs at them. Officers fired tear gas to halt the advance.

Police then embarked on an hourslong effort to push the protesters eastward and get them to disperse.

In repeated standoffs, spontaneous but highly organized protesters set up behind scaffolding that they built across a street. Police lined up behind clear shields about 30 meters (100 feet) down the road. Dozens of journalists in bright yellow vests stood on the sidelines between the groups.

The police would advance gradually, firing bursts of tear gas. Protesters in hard hats scurried about, rearranging makeshift barriers of pilfered road signs and other items. By the time the police reached the scaffolding, they had backed off about 6 meters (20 feet).

Another team of officers, more mobile with smaller shields, then swept in to clear the area. Local media reported some protesters were detained.

For more than seven weeks, protesters have taken to Hong Kong streets, initially to demand the scrapping of a proposed extradition law that would send suspects to mainland China to face trials. The legislation is seen as a threat to Hong Kong's freedoms that were guaranteed for 50 years when China took back control of the former British colony in 1997.

The bill was eventually suspended, but the protesters then called for the resignation of the city's leader and an investigation into whether police have used excessive force in quelling the protests.

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

Earlier Sunday, protesters rallied at a park in Hong Kong's financial district before marching out in several directions despite not winning police approval for a public procession. It was the second straight day that protesters took 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 means "Keep up the fight," a huge crowd marched east down a wide thoroughfare.

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

Another group headed west toward mainland China's liaison office. Protesters egged the office last weekend and splattered black ink on the national emblem, eliciting an angry reaction from the Chinese government.

Some stopped about two blocks short of the office and used orange and white construction barricades to build a wall spanning a major road. 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.

Some nearby stores shuttered early as police in riot gear gathered nearby ahead of the all but inevitable clearing operation.

The rally in Chater Garden was called to protest the police use of tear gas, rubber bullets, and other force to break up a protest the previous Sunday.

"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 organizer Ventus Lau.

Police had denied 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.

On Saturday, police fired tear gas and rubber bullets as demonstrators threw bricks and other objects and ducked behind makeshift shields at a march in an outlying district toward the border with mainland China.

Police had also denied permission for that protest in Yuen Long, where a mob apparently targeting demonstrators had beaten people brutally in a train station the previous weekend.

Police wearing helmets charged into the same train 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. For the second week in a row, blood was splattered on the station floor.

Police arrested 13 people, including march organizer 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 hospitalized, two in serious condition.

Amnesty International, the human rights group, called the police response heavy-handed and unacceptable.

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

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.

Top News

Hong Kong Protest

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Photo: PMO Press Wing
    PM salutes people, opens Padma Bridge
  • Photo: PMO Press Wing
    Her moment of glory, our moment of pride
  • PM Hasina invites US President Joe Biden to visit Bangladesh
    PM Hasina invites US President Joe Biden to visit Bangladesh

MOST VIEWED

  • Ukrainian service members watch while a tank (not pictured) fires toward Russian troops in the industrial area of the city of Sievierodonetsk, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, Ukraine June 20, 2022. Photo: Reuters
    Ukraine confirms fall of Sievierodonetsk after weeks-long fight
  • People protest the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade abortion decision in New York City, New York, US on 24 June 2022. Photo: Reuters
    Abortion rights activists face first day of post-Roe v Wade American life
  • A Malaysia Ringgit note is seen in this illustration photo on 1 June 2017. Reuters Illustration/Files
    Malaysia plans record $18 billion subsidy spend in inflation fight
  • A view shows a damaged mosque after the recent earthquake in Wor Kali village in the Barmal district of Paktika province, Afghanistan on 25 June 2022. Photo: Reuters
    Taliban appeal for more aid after deadly Afghanistan earthquake
  • US President Joe Biden signs S. 2938: Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law from the Roosevelt Room at the White House as first lady Jill Biden stands next to him in Washington, US on 25 June 2022. Photo: Reuters
    Biden signs bipartisan gun safety bill into law; takes swipe at Supreme Court
  • Supreme Court Police line up outside the United States Supreme Court as the court rules in the Dobbs v Women's Health Organization abortion case, overturning the landmark Roe v Wade abortion decision in Washington, US on 24 June 2022. Photo: Reuters
    Supreme Court conservatives assert power with abortion, gun rulings

Related News

  • 'Power in solidarity': Myanmar protesters inspired by Hong Kong and Thailand
  • Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai in custody after fraud charge
  • Hong Kong court rules that police complaints system breaches Bill of Rights
  • 'Five Eyes' alliance demands China end crackdown on Hong Kong legislators
  • Dozens of Hong Kong people write postcards to fugitives arrested by China

Features

Photo: TBS

A dream dreamt and then delivered

5h | Panorama
In pictures: 2022 Dhaka Motor Show

In pictures: 2022 Dhaka Motor Show

17h | Wheels
Our team full of hope and mettle, before we entered the disaster zone. PHOTO: SWAMIM AHMED

How we survived 4 days in Sunamganj flood

1d | Panorama
Photo: Bipul Sarker Sunny

Immigrants or refugees: Who really are the Maldoiyas?

1d | Features

More Videos from TBS

Building Padma Bridge a perfect reply to conspirators, says PM Sheikh Hasina

Building Padma Bridge a perfect reply to conspirators, says PM Sheikh Hasina

5h | Videos
Grand opening of Padma Bridge with colorful airshow and festival

Grand opening of Padma Bridge with colorful airshow and festival

5h | Videos
Man travelling barefoot for 47 years walks on Padma Bridge

Man travelling barefoot for 47 years walks on Padma Bridge

6h | Videos
Padma Bridge inauguration draws huge crowd

Padma Bridge inauguration draws huge crowd

10h | Videos

Most Read

1
Photo: Prime Minister's Office
Bangladesh

New investment in transports as Padma Bridge set to open

2
Japan cancels financing Matarbari coal project phase 2
Bangladesh

Japan cancels financing Matarbari coal project phase 2

3
Desco wanted to make a bold statement with their new head office building, a physical entity that would be a corporate icon. Photo: Courtesy
Habitat

Desco head office: When commitment to community and environment inspires architecture

4
Photo: TBS
Infrastructure

Gains from Padma Bridge to cross $10b, hope experts

5
20 businesses get nod for $326m foreign loan for expansion
Economy

20 businesses get nod for $326m foreign loan for expansion

6
Multiple robbery incidents reported in flood stranded Sylhet and Sunamganj
Bangladesh

Multiple robbery incidents reported in flood stranded Sylhet and Sunamganj

EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2022
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab
BENEATH THE SURFACE
Cattle graze on the bank of the River Padma at Paschim Painpara near Jajira end of the Padma Bridge. Photo: Mumit M

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net