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SCMP Reporters

Hong Kong has again been shaken by protests as tens of thousands of people arrived in Yuen Long, a town gripped by tension over the past week following earlier scenes of unprecedented violence at a railway station.
Protesters were continuing their calls for a full withdrawal of a now-suspended bill that would have allowed the extradition of fugitives to mainland China as well as responding to last Sunday’s attack when men – thought to include local villagers and triad members – armed with wooden sticks and metal rods ambushed protesters and passers-by, leaving at least 45 injured.
Police, who had taken the rare step of refusing permission for the march out of safety concerns, have fired tear gas and sponge grenades in a prolonged dispersal operation. Follow the events on our live blog below. Reporting by Sum Lok-kei, Alvin Lum, Kanis Leung, Phila Siu, Martin Choi, Danny Lee, Nectar Gan, Lee Jeongho, Christy Leung, Tony Cheung, Viola Zhou and Alan Wong. 


As it happened: bloody clashes and tear gas fired as Hong Kong protesters descend on Yuen Long

Protesters let off fire extinguishers inside Yuen Long MTR station. Photo: Sam Tsang

News

Hong Kong

Politics


Most demonstrators leave as police fired tear gas and sponge grenades in dispersal operation that began around 5pm 
Violence intensifies as protesters use fire extinguishers and blood seen on station floor



Most demonstrators leave as police fire tear gas and sponge grenades in dispersal operation. 


Hong Kong extradition bill

Hong Kong protests

Live

A man has been arrested by police after he allegedly slashed another man with a blade on a footbridge, next to a Lennon Wall in Yuen Long.
The young man was seen bleeding from his torso and taken away by paramedics.
Eyewitnesses said the arrested man tossed a blade from the footbridge.



Man slashed on footbridge

Mr Lam, a witness to the alleged knife attack, says: “I saw an injured young man holding his hip.
“If the crowds hadn't kept the man under control, he would have slashed others. He tried to stab and slash others with the object while being subdued.”
He also noted what he thought was a slow police response to the attack, echoing the major concerns about how quickly the force arrived at the scene of Sunday's attack.
“Police only came after 15 minutes, even though the station is only two minutes away.”


Eyewitness account of knife attack

More than 200 people have gathered near Shui Pin Tsuen Playground, despite a police ban on a march from the site to Yuen Long train station.

A 32-year-old Yuen Long local, surnamed Chong (pictured below), says he is not worried about marching without police approval. “Whether approved or not, it is important for people to come out and express their views,” he says.

Photos: Sum Lok-kei


Despite ban, protesters gather

Most of the shops in Yoho Mall II, near Yuen Long train station, are closed. Only a few stores, such as restaurants and clothes shops, are open.
Having lunch at the mall ahead of the protests, university student Elise Cheung, 20, says her family asked her not to go out but she still insists on joining the protests. “They don’t know about it,” she says.
Cheung admits she worries attackers might disrupt the march.
But she adds: “When you act cowardly, then you will lose for the rest of your life.”
She says she wants to protest against the violence in Yuen Long last Sunday and call for a full withdrawal of the extradition bill.


Preparing to march

At Hung Hom train station in Kowloon, where a line to the New Territories begins, protesters get some encouragement from a man holding a placard which reads: “Keep it up, Hongkongers. Go and return safely.”



Signs of encouragement

Police officers are filming the crowd near Shui Pin Tsuen Playground, from inside Yuen Long Police Station.
Officers are also patrolling the area.



Police presence

More than a quarter of shops in Castle Peak Road, around the Tai Tong Road light rail stop in Yuen Long, are closed.
One trader compared the scale of closures to when a typhoon hits.
There are similar scenes across the district, as pictured, of formerly busy shopping areas resembling ghost towns.

Ken Lam, owner of Dai Won Ton noodle shop, says the number of customers visiting his restaurant has fallen dramatically.
Asked whether he has seen this level of businesses shutting their doors before, he says: “Only when a typhoon hits the city.”
He says he would decide later on whether to close the shop early.
But another shop owner, who gave his name as Mr Lui and sells Hainanese chicken rice, appears more at ease, offering free water to passers-by.
“After the violence last Sunday, if we don’t open our shop today, then it will heighten fears further,” he says.


Business closures ‘like when typhoon hits’

A train from Hung Hom to Yuen Long is packed with protesters, some already geared up with face masks and protective gear.

Photo: Alvin Lum


Protesters en route

Mr Lai, a protester in his 30s, says he came from To Kwa Wan, Kowloon, “to help transport some water and supplies that a restaurant owner in my district donated to support the cause in Yuen Long”.
He wears a balaclava, a controversial choice on such a hot day. But he says the headgear is “quite breathable”.
“It's not as hot as it seems,” he adds.


Bringing supplies

Yuen Long railway station is packed with hundreds of people wearing black, with many masking their faces and carrying hiking poles or long umbrellas.
Some protesters call on their peers to head to MTR exit B, to join the march to Shui Pin Wai.
 

Photos: Xiaomei Chen
 
Democratic Party’s lawmaker Roy Kwong in Yuen Long to help make sure everyone there will be safe. He has been at the frontline of every protests since last month @SCMPNews pic.twitter.com/XfP1P1vhca
— Phila Siu (Bobby) (@phila_siu) July 27, 2019

 
 


Railway stations packed with protesters

Yuen Long railway station is packed with hundreds of black-clad people, many masking their faces or holding hiking poles and long umbrellas.
Some protesters call on their peers to gather to exit B, to join the march to Shui Pin Wai.

A small group of young people identifying themselves as the Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers) have their faces covered and distribute pieces of red cloth to their peers.
“Police cannot protect citizens, so we will do it,” one organiser says.

They say those with red cloth tied to their arms will protect ordinary protesters and let them leave first if chaos erupts.
Photos: Alvin Lum and Xiaomei Chen


Self-defence force

The march has set off from the starting point in Shui Pin Tsuen Playground, crowds shouting “Black police, shame!”
This is the proposed route, as well of that of another planned march. 

Despite police rejecting three march applications, sources inside the force say as many as 100,000 people are expected to push ahead with what would be an unlawful assembly. One of the sources says more than 3,000 police officers will be deployed to maintain order.


March sets off

Tempers flared at Yuen Long Police Station a little earlier.
Hundreds of protesters surrounded the compound, complaining that officers failed to help during Sunday's attack on the railway station by a white-clad mob.
Some shouted: “Where were you when we were beaten?”

Police responded by gearing up inside the station with helmets, batons and shields.
The crowd dispersed a little later, to join the march.
Photo: Sum Lok-kei


Anger at the police station

Nearby Long Ping station is also packed. Among them is Democratic Party legislator Roy Kwong Chun-yu, who has been at the front line of previous protests in the past month.
"My message to everyone here today is they must take good care of themselves. It’s important to remember we shouldn’t enter the villages and not clash with the villagers,” Kwong says.
“We are here to say no to the white-clothed attackers but we must remember to protect each other.”


Don't enter villages: lawmaker

Lingnan University president Leonard Cheng Kwok-hon joins students on the march to Yuen Long after he raised fears about young people attending.
It comes after a group of students went to his office this morning to request a meeting.

During the discussion, Cheng said he was worried about student plans to attend the unlawful march in Yuen Long, but students told him if he was concerned, he should go along with them.
Hundreds of protesters cheer as he walks out from the platform at Yuen Long to join the protest.
One of the enduring images of the Occupy movement in 2014 was of University of Hong Kong Vice Chancellor Peter Mathieson and his Chinese University counterpart Professor Joseph Sung Jao-yiu appealing to the crowd, in front of the Chief Executive’s Office, to avoid conflict and sullying the movement’s good name.

Protester Mark Sze, 23, wants more university presidents to follow Cheng's lead.
“It’s a good thing that he is here. I hope more university leaders will join us,” he says.
Sze admits he is worried about his safety. But he feels that it is necessary to take to the streets today following what he called police collusion with a violent mob last Sunday, referring to the force's delayed response to the ambush of protesters and bystanders by men in white T-shirts, including suspected triad members.
“If police are not capable of protecting us, then we the citizens will come out and protect ourselves,” he says.


University chief joins march

The town in the northern New Territories has been caught up in Hong Kong's ongoing marches after it became the scene of shocking violence last Sunday, when men thought to be villagers and triad members, ambushed returning protesters and passers-by.
The town has been gripped by fear since, but underneath the anxiety lies a quaint rustic neighbourhood that holds many old traditions of Hong Kong. Find out more in our Yuen Long explainer.



All you need to know about Yuen Long

Many hundreds of protesters, mostly dressed in black, are walking down Castle Peak Road, more commonly know as “Yuen Long Main Road”, as well along its light rail tracks.
Services of several light rail and bus routes are diverted or suspended.

Photo: Martin Choi


Taking over the main road

Fresh graduate Brandon Chan, 22, who joined earlier major protests against the extradition bill, says his participation is to show “we can’t forgo our assembly freedoms and rights” because of fears about triad members.
Chan says he feels police objections to the protests gives an impression the force is also scared of the white-clad men who attacked passengers and commuters last Sunday, leaving at least 45 injured.
Police said this week that suspected triad members were among those arrested in connection with last Sunday's mob violence.
 
YL 1430 - Buddhist chanting for people who sacrificed themselves. Yep, HK protests will find a way. #antiELAB #freedomhk #yuenlong pic.twitter.com/eOVCescoOO
— Lok. (@sumlokkei) July 27, 2019
 


Triad fear ‘must not stop us’

The streets of Yuen Long are packed with protesters of all ages.
Protester Firo Ng, 25, says she took to the streets out of anger about the police’s slow response to the attack last Sunday.
“I am also here to say we are not afraid of the white-clad attackers,” the textbook editor says, calling for an independent inquiry into police actions over the past month.
Her friend, Luke Shih, a 26-year-old programmer, says: “I don’t have any expectations towards the police. My expectations for them have been at rock bottom.”
This is how packed the streets of Yuen Long are right now @SCMPNews pic.twitter.com/rYzqgpGNOd
— Phila Siu (Bobby) (@phila_siu) 27 July 2019
 


On the march

There is no visible police presence on the main road, which has been taken over by marchers (remember: the force did not sanction the protest.)
Officers are filming the procession, from the top of the police station.



No police on the main road

The march is starting to snake past Nam Pin Wai, the village thought to be home to members of the mob that attacked the railway station on Sunday.
“Gangsters, come out and put up a fight,” some shout, from about 20 metres away. But they do not enter the village. 
Some villagers wear helmets and face masks. The doors to the ancestral hall and another facility are closed.

One villager has put up a sign: “Come and go safely.”

A protester, who refused to give his personal details, was seen wearing heavy protective gear at the tail of the march.
“We will not provoke  police or villagers; we are just patrolling,” he says, adding that he objects to damaging village property.

Photos: Alvin Lum
 


March arrives at Nam Pin Wai

On Castle Peak Road, near Pok Oi Hospital, a police van (pictured) has blocked two lanes leading to downtown Yuen Long, redirecting traffic from where the march has already taken over the main road.



Traffic diverted

Leonard Cheng, president of Lingnan University, one of eight publicly funded universities in Hong Kong, says he is attending the protest only as an “observer” worried about the dangers facing students and staff.
He says the university’s board held a special meeting in response.
“Under these circumstances, the students have asked me to come to Yuen Long as an observer of today’s events,” Cheng said.
“As the president, what I care about the most is the safety of our students, teachers and alumni.
“I’ve long reminded them not to go to anywhere with danger or clashes and take care of their own safety.
“This is my bottom line. Today I’m not here to protest or march, I’m here because many of our teachers, students and alumni are here, so I’m here to understand the situation.” 
 


University president explains presence

Protesters have turned the water-filled barricades outside Yuen Long Police Station into a Lennon Wall, posting anti-government messages. (To read more about the Lennon Wall phenomenon, click here.)
Some hang a banner outside the compound. It reads: “Shameless collusion between Hong Kong police and triad gangs.”
An officer nearby does not stop them.
YL 1600 - #antiELAB protesters hung a banner outside Yuen Long Police Station, saying "Shameless collusion between HK police and triad gangs". An officer standby did not try to stop the act. #FreedomHK #yuenlong pic.twitter.com/w0Z2154uOG
— Lok. (@sumlokkei) July 27, 2019
 


Police station Lennon Wall

Police vans have driven to and from Nam Pin Wai, where riot police have secured two entrances.
As the vehicles leave, protesters shout abuse, including calls of “Triads! Triads!” 
When two police vehicles pass by protesters near Nam Pin Wai, where many white-clad men were seen gathering after the Yuen Long attacks on Sunday, many of the demonstrators: “Triads! Triads!”#antiELAB pic.twitter.com/bV8501JCIw
— Kanis Leung (@kanis_leung) July 27, 2019
 


Abuse for police

Demonstrators march on through Yuen Long, hoisting umbrellas, posters and even the British colonial flag.







Scenes of protest

Protesters (seen in the left in the video below) have spray-painted the Chinese characters for “No extradition to China” on the tarmac on Castle Peak Road.
#hongkong protesters have spray-painted the words “no extradition to China” on Castle Peak Road as they reached the ending point of the anti-triad march in #yuenlong today#hongkongprotest #antielab pic.twitter.com/iKAjR9DFR6
— Jeffie Lam (@jeffielam) July 27, 2019


On the road

Among the marchers is a group of about six friends calling themselves vigilantes. They are armed with black helmets and hiking sticks.
One of them says he is concerned about his safety because of possible triad attacks, but that he feels compelled to ensure everyone is safe.
“There are other such vigilante groups here as far as I know,” he says.
This vigilante group of about six people is here to protect protesters following the suspected triad assault last Sunday @SCMPNews The paper on his backpack tells protesters not to worry about the protest because this group will protect them pic.twitter.com/iP26R1KeKu
— Phila Siu (Bobby) (@phila_siu) July 27, 2019


'Vigilante' group

Riot police gather on Long Yip Street, which runs past both Nam Pin Wai and Sai Bin Wai, villages where protesters are gathering.



Riot police on street

Hundreds of protesters are at the border of Nam Pin Wai, a village thought to be home to some of those responsible for the mob attacks at Yuen Long railway station last Sunday.
Some protesters are removing metal barricades. A heavy police presence is in the area with many armed with shields and helmets.

In a nearby village, Sai Pin Wai, pictured below, which is west of Nam Pin Wai, protesters are now in a standoff with riot police.
Protesters gathering outside the village question them angrily: “Why do you protect the triads?”



Stand-offs at village borders

About 400 protesters gather on and near Long Yat Road at Nam Pin Wai.
Tensions heighten as some remove metal barricades to build roadblocks, with many still shouting: “Triads! Triads!”


Tension at Nam Pin Wai

A police van with four officers inside is stopped in its tracks near Sai Pin Wai village.
Protesters spray names of triad groups on the vehicle and smash its lights and windows.





Police van vandalised

Police carrying shields and “less lethal” crowd control weapons have started arriving along Long Yip Street, from Kwan Lok Sun Tsuen, edging towards protesters who are outside Sai Pin Wai, one of the local villages close to Yuen Long MTR station.



Police move towards protesters

Today's unrest is affecting a wide area of Yuen Long.
A few hundred metres west of the two villages scene to the current stand-off, at the intersection of Kau Yuk Road and Ping Lok Path, more than 30 police officers form a defensive line.
At least five police vehicles arrive, and one officer uses a loudspeaker to again ask people to disperse. Dozens of protesters come over to shout back at the officers.
Police want to march eastwards along Kau Yuk Road, but a small number of protesters are shouting back: “It's safest without the police!”

 


The scene on Kau Yuk Road

Police say they are aware of people gathering in Nam Pin Wai.
“Given that some protesters were holding iron poles, self-made shields and even removing fences from roads, police are concerned about possible deterioration of the situation,” a spokesman says.
He urges members of the public to stay calm and leave the area as soon as possible.


Police statement

Police have fired tear gas near Nam Pin Wai.


Tear gas fired

Riot police officers advance to disperse the crowd after firing several rounds of tear gas at the protesters.



Riot police advance

Near Nam Pin Wai, police again raise the black flag, warning of tear gas if protesters do not disperse.
Protesters gear up with helmets and masks.
They also build barricades to block one exit to the village (pictured below).

 


Another black flag

Democratic Party lawmaker Roy Kwong Chun-yu demands to meet the police commander on the ground as he rages about use of the chemical agent.
"There is an elderly home here, how can you fire tear gas?" he shouted through a loudspeaker.
 


Lawmaker’s tear gas fury

Protesters try to negotiate with riot police, asking them not to block the roads to the railway station, to avoid a repeat of confrontations in Sha Tin’s New Town Plaza on July 14, when officers clashed with protesters allegedly trapped inside the mall.


Negotiations over the roads

The chaotic scenes near Nam Pin Wai in Yuen Long, as captured by Post photographer Sam Tsang.


 





Tear gas chaos 

Below is a video of what happened when police fired tear gas earlier.
HK police fired rounds of tear gas in Yuen Long @SCMPNews pic.twitter.com/3ck951TGDP
— Phila Siu (Bobby) (@phila_siu) July 27, 2019


Tear gas video

The report room service at Yuen Long police station in Castle Peak Road, for those who want to speak to police in person, is suspended until further notice.
The force urges members of the public to call 999 in emergencies.
In a statement, police say they have to close the report room service “as a large group of people surrounded Yuen Long police station and police is conducting dispersal operation currently”.
“Police’s provision of emergency service to members of the public has been severely affected by protesters. Police appeal to people at scene to leave as soon as possible.”


Police: 'severe' impact on 999 service

Police on Castle Peak Road tell protesters to leave, warning them they are gathering illegally.
But protesters stand their ground. Police wave another black flag.

Photo: Nectar Gan
 


Police warn of illegal gathering

Democrat lawmaker Andrew Wan Siu-kin is on the scene and talks to a senior police officer.
He tells Wan if protesters disperse and leave Yuen Long, officers will stop firing tear gas at them.
But Wan says many main roads are blocked by police and the protesters cannot leave.



Lawmaker told to ask protesters to leave

Police retreat down Long Yip Street after rounds of tear gas are fired, as protesters march forward.
Protesters allow an ambulance to pass.



Police retreat

Police find themselves sandwiched between two oncoming crowds of protesters on Long Yip Street. The marchers hit the officers with umbrellas. Officers respond with pepper spray and tear gas.
Another video on the ground @SCMPNews pic.twitter.com/csRygEk8sq
— Phila Siu (Bobby) (@phila_siu) July 27, 2019


Protesters advance on police

Police say officers' lives are in danger after protesters surround and vandalise a force van.
In face of the deteriorating situation, police will soon embark on a dispersal operation from west to east, a spokesman says.
"Police appeal to members of the public to mind their own safety, leave the area in the direction of Yuen Long MTR station and avoid travelling to the Yuen Long area," he says.



Dispersal operation to begin soon

There are currently at least four different stand-offs between police and protesters, all within less than a kilometre of each other:
1. On Lok Road near Tai Cheung Street




2. Kau Hui Road near Long Yat Road (next to Nam Pin Wai)




3. Po Yip St near Long Yip St




4. Castle Peak Road near Hi Lee Path and Yuen Fai Path






Multiple stand-offs

Pro-democracy legislators Jeremy Tam Man-ho (second right) and Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu (right) try to negotiate with police officers.

Photo: Nectar Gan


Legislators on the scene

More tear gas fired, this time on Po Yip Street.
Protesters had been charging police lines, throwing umbrellas and throwing what appeared to be bricks.
More rounds of tear gas fired in Yuen Long, Long Yip Street @SCMPNews pic.twitter.com/lgHWAiCr1j
— Phila Siu (Bobby) (@phila_siu) July 27, 2019




More tear gas

Protesters near Nam Pin Wai move away from a stand-off with police.
They ask fellow demonstrators without safety gear to leave immediately via West Rail line at the nearby Yuen Long station.

“Save energy. Be water!” some urge, in reference to the Bruce Lee quote.
But about 200 protesters stay in the face-off area, which is close to the junction between Kau Hui Road and Long Yat Road.
 


'Be water' and leave stand-off

A fire depart source says they have received a number of emergency calls claiming there was a fire but all have been false alarms.
"Probably many people reported a fire when they saw smoke," he says. 
The number of ambulance and fire engines deployed is not immediately available, according to the Information Services Department.



False alarms

Over at Sai Pin Wai, riot police have mostly left. They are now holding their position at the village's entrance. 

 
Nearby, officers are still firing tear gas. Some protesters throw canisters back at police while they are still emitting gas.
Police fired even more rounds of tear gas in Yuen Long, near to the Kwan Lok Sun Chuen village. This pic captured a protester who picked up the tear gas round and threw it back to police @SCMPNews pic.twitter.com/EaawqKJWZg
— Phila Siu (Bobby) (@phila_siu) July 27, 2019


Police leave Sai Pin Wai

One protester is specialised in extinguishing tear gas canisters. Armed with oven gloves and the top of a rubbish bin, he smothers the lobbed canisters before they have a chance to emit all of their noxious contents.

Photo: Sum Lok-kei


The gas man

Protesters have built a line of defence in Yuen Fat Path, featuring a large parasol, over at the flashpoint in Castle Peak Road that sits near the turning Hi Lee Path.



Barricade building

Police on Castle Peak Road retreat about five metres, after a tense 80-min stand-off with protesters.
One officer says this is the last part of their defensive line and they will pull back as long as protesters don’t charge forward.



Slight retreat

Several protesters have suffered injuries in the stand-off in Po Yip Street, near Long Yip Street.

A demonstrator, who is bleeding from the bridge of his nose, says he was hit in the face by a round of tear gas. Nearby another protester is being treated by paramedics, while a third reports being struck in the head by an exploding tear gas round.

Meanwhile, police do not take kindly to a plea from a small group of social workers not to fire rounds, including tear gas, directly at protesters, urging them to aim upwards instead. The remark agitates officers, who yell back: “They are throwing bricks at us.”
 

 



Injured protesters

Protesters on Castle Peak Road start to peacefully disperse, telling each other “let’s leave together”.

About a kilometre away, protesters at the stand-off in Po Yip Street, near Long Yip Street, are debating whether or not to leave at 7.30pm, as night falls over Yuen Long.
Protesters on Long Yip Street start to retreat slowly, mindful not to isolate those at the frontline.


Leave together

Tensions flare again as projectiles are thrown at police outside Nam Pin Wai village.



Objects hurled at police

A sponge grenade is found on the ground near Tai Cheung Street and Long Yip Street after a police clearance operation. (Pictured next to a one-dollar coin.)

 


Sponge grenade

The report room at Yuen Long Police Station has resumed normal services, police say.


Report room back to normal

As darkness falls, the stand-off is winding down on Castle Peak Road, next to Yuen Fat Path.
Ten minutes after the protesters leave, most police officers are dismissed from the scene.
One last batch of about two dozen officers remains at the scene, retreating about 20 metres backwards.



Calm on Castle Peak Road

An online picture appears to show an MTR train driving through a fog of tear gas after a canister was fired onto the overhead track.
The MTR Corporation says a driver saw some smoke on the line near Yuen Long station, but services were unaffected. 
 
