Hong Kong protesters admit some went too far at rally against cross-border traders
But they claim the government's failure to tackle disruption from cross-border traders makes ugly scenes like Sunday's inevitable
Some of those who joined Sunday's protest against cross-border traders lost their cool and went too far, other participants in the demonstration admit.
But they put the blame not only on their fellow protesters but also on the government, for failing to tackle problems brought by so-called parallel traders, who buy goods in Hong Kong for resale across the border.
Ugly scenes caught on camera - including protesters yelling at and hectoring a mother even after her young daughter started crying - sparked a chorus of criticism from politicians of different camps and the security minister, who condemned them "in the strongest terms".
"Some protesters were very irrational, scolding passers-by who were not even parallel traders," said 18-year-old Figo Chan Ho-wun, whose film of the clash with the mother went viral online.
In Chan's video, several protesters are seen shouting abuse at the mother, who was carrying a suitcase through Tuen Mun. The mother, speaking Cantonese, is seen opening her case to show that she is carrying only children's books. She accuses the protesters of bullying, but they continue to hector her as her daughter cries loudly.