Tens of thousands of Hong Kong students kick off unconventional start to school term with some in protest gear, human chains
- Secondary schools citywide become scenes of demonstrations while tertiary peers hold 30,000-strong assembly at Chinese University
- Education chief says start of academic term went smoothly, playing down police presence and claims of ‘white terror’
Tens of thousands of school and university students in Hong Kong opted for an unconventional start to the term as many donned yellow helmets, goggles and gas masks, while some formed human chains at school gates in a bid to spread their anti-government messages.
On Monday afternoon, an estimated 4,000 students, mainly from secondary schools, braved torrential rain for a rally at Edinburgh Place in Central, and attended civic education talks by teachers, social workers and health care professionals under the theme of “boycott classes but not education”.
Their peers in tertiary education held an estimated 30,000-strong assembly at Chinese University, launching a class boycott expected to last for two weeks.
The rallies followed a weekend of heightened violence in the city: anti-government protesters lobbed petrol bombs and set the streets on fire while riot police fired two gunshots and used blue dye from water cannon trucks for the first time.
Hong Kong has been rocked by months of political unrest sparked by opposition to the now-shelved extradition bill, which if passed, would have allowed the transfer of criminal suspects to mainland China, among other places, for trial.
Demonstrators’ demands also include an inquiry into police handling of the protests and electoral reforms, among other things.