Water cannons deployed in Tsim Sha Tsui as Hong Kong protesters wearing ‘V for Vendetta’ masks test new ‘flash mob’ tactic of assembling at short notice
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Sudden chaos descended on the bustling streets of Tsim Sha Tsui on Tuesday night, as riot police deployed water cannons to disperse radical anti-government protesters who barricaded roads and vandalised shops, demonstrating their new “flash mob” tactics.
Demonstrators, mainly masked and wearing black, occupied a section of Chatham Road South, after setting up barricades on several side streets in the area to halt traffic.
Some smashed shop windows and spray-painted stores they considered “pro-Beijing” as they marched down alleys in the district. A Best Mart 360 shop and Hunghom Café on Cameron Road were among those vandalised.
The protesters did not stop until they reached the junction of Cheong Wan Road and Chatham Road South, near the Hong Kong Museum of History, where police deployed a water cannon vehicle to disperse the crowds.
A brief stand-off followed as the air filled with sirens and volleys of abuse were thrown at police by protesters.