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Five years after Occupy Central and Hong Kong is riven by conflict and chaos
- Petrol bombs, tear gas and water cannon are the norm in a city grappling with the fallout from the now-withdrawn extradition bill
- Protesters lived up to the promise that they would be back but Hong Kong is no closer to a resolution
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A rally to mark the largely peaceful Occupy Central movement in Hong Kong five years ago ended in violence and chaos in the city on Saturday, with masked protesters throwing bricks and petrol bombs at the government headquarters in Admiralty and police hitting back with water cannons and tear gas.
The clashes were small in scale and moderate in intensity compared with others in the months of unrest. Protesters quickly dispersed once police fired water cannons at them, retreating to the nearby districts of Central and Wan Chai.
But the conflicts were a reminder of how much Hong Kong has changed from five years ago, when hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Admiralty to demand unfettered direct elections.
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On September 28, 2014, police fired 87 canisters of tear gas – the only time it was used since the city’s return to China in 1997, apart from during a violent WTO demonstration in 2005 – in a botched attempt to drive away the crowds, only to spark a 79-day protest movement that became a watershed moment in Hong Kong politics.
Five years later, the protests triggered by a now-withdrawn extradition bill are into their 112th day and show no sign of ending. The use of violence has escalated to an unprecedented level. As of September 20, police had fired more than 3,100 canisters of tear gas, with some 800 used on August 5 alone. Only one of the 17 weekends since the protests began has been free of tear gas.
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