Organiser vows to push ahead with Yuen Long march after Hong Kong police refuse permission, citing safety concerns
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In a rare move, police on Thursday issued a letter of objection to the march, saying it was to ensure public order and safety, and to protect the rights and freedoms of others who would be affected, even as the organiser and scores of defiant citizens promised to go ahead regardless of the legal consequences.
“The march is triggered by the violent incidents last Sunday and protesters have showed hostility towards some Yuen Long residents,” acting New Territories North regional commander Anthony Tsang Ching-fo said on Thursday. “There is a fairly high chance for both sides to clash.”
The planned march to Yuen Long’s MTR station to condemn a mob who went on a shocking rampage there on Sunday night, and to criticise the government and police for failing to protect the victims, has raised fears of more violence because of calls for retaliation against nearby villages where the attackers were believed to have come from.
At least 45 people were injured when more than 100 men in white T-shirts, including suspected triad gangsters, attacked anyone in their path with sticks and iron rods. They were targeting people wearing black – the colour of the protest movement against the government’s now-suspended extradition bill – but beat up train passengers, passers-by and journalists at the scene, with no police around to stop them.