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Hong Kong protests: as police and protesters change tactics, is more violence inevitable?
- Woman being shot in eye in Tsim Sha Tsui was one of main incidents to spark latest backlash
- But force dismisses allegation, saying there is insufficient evidence to suggest injury was fault of police
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“An eye for an eye” read the placards after a female anti-government protester was allegedly hit by a beanbag round fired by Hong Kong police in Tsim Sha Tsui on Sunday.
It is an injury that could cost the young woman the sight in her right eye.
The force’s more aggressive clearance action on Sunday – which left at least 54 people injured – sparked a new wave of defiance among protesters, including a massive sit-in at the airport on Monday, and gave the weeks-long movement renewed momentum.
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“Police actions on Sunday made many feel the officers were not following protocol, which put safety and personal property at stake. The protesters have gained the sympathy of the middle class,” said political scientist Dr Edmund Cheng Wai of Baptist University.
“The government has recently been trying to frame the protests as detrimental to the city’s livelihood and economy but now citizens will acknowledge that police power is indeed out of control.”
On Sunday, police ramped up their actions to crack down on protesters who continued with their hit-and-run tactics across the city – including in the middle-class neighbourhood of Tai Koo – deploying tear gas, pepper balls and beanbag rounds, which reinforced accusations of excessive force among critics.
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