Tensions flare late at night after quieter day of protest in Hong Kong
- Bid to disrupt airport thwarted by pre-emptive police and government action, with worst violence seen in the evening at Sha Tin MTR station
- Fewer people take to the streets, days after Carrie Lam says extradition bill will be withdrawn
No tear gas was used and no petrol bombs were thrown at the start of the 14th weekend of anti-government protests, as the large-scale violence seen in previous weekends was avoided. But a handful of demonstrators were arrested.
Strong pre-emptive police and government action snuffed out the protesters’ attempt to again besiege the Hong Kong International Airport. The MTR Corporation, the city’s main railway operator, closed Kowloon, Tsing Yi and AsiaWorld-Expo stations on the Airport Express line, leaving only Hong Kong station and the airport station open, with a heavy police presence at both.
Police also set up checkpoints on approach roads to the airport, even taking the unprecedented step of searching passengers’ bags on buses and trains.
The increased security prevented the chaos seen last weekend, when protesters paralysed airport traffic and left hundreds of travellers stranded. That followed a separate demonstration in August, when protesters occupied the arrivals hall, causing the cancellation of more than 900 flights at one of the world’s busiest airports.