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https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3020366/another-weekend-hong-kong-chaos-tear-gas-and-anger Politics
Another weekend in Hong Kong: chaos, tear gas and anger as protesters descend on Yuen Long
- Tens of thousands march through the northern town where an armed mob attacked anti-government demonstrators a week ago
- Tensions flared by late afternoon, and by nightfall a few hundred were still battling police at the train station
Riot police drive back protesters near Nam Pin Wai village in Yuen Long on Saturday. Photo: Sam Tsang
For three consecutive weekends, Hong Kong police have forcibly dispersed angry crowds as anti-government protests triggered by the now-abandoned extradition bill rage on.
In the northern town of Yuen Long on Saturday, riot police used tear gas, sponge grenades, pepper spray and batons to drive back protesters, who responded with umbrellas, sticks and projectiles.
The latest rally came after an armed mob attacked anti-government protesters and passers-by in the area last weekend, injuring at least 45 people.
Saturday’s chaotic scenes – broadcast live around the world – lasted well into the night. As of 1am on Sunday, 23 people had been injured, with two in serious condition. Police also arrested a number of people.
The government released a statement just after midnight, strongly condemning the protesters for breaching the peace and breaking the law. It added that police would take serious action against violent protesters.
“The government deeply regrets that some people still took part in the public procession, and public meeting in Yuen Long, despite the prohibition and objection by the police,” the statement read.
“After the public procession, some radical protesters violently charged the police’s cordon lines, vandalised a police vehicle and blocked roads.
“The government strongly condemns the protesters for breaching the public peace and breaking the law.”
Senior Superintendent Yolanda Yu Hoi-kwan condemned the violence, saying protesters had thrown bricks and bottles with corrosive liquid at police, and had attacked officers with metal rods and removed fences from roads.
In response, officers fired tear gas, rubber bullets and sponge grenades when dispersing the crowds, Yu said, but she did not say how many rounds were used.
As to why officers from the Special Tactical Squad had entered Yuen Long station at around 10pm and dispersed protesters with batons, Yu said: “Protesters had been throwing fire extinguishers from the bridge of the West Rail Line at police officers on the ground.
“We therefore entered the station and took the scene under control.”
Earlier in the day, tens of thousands of protesters, in clear defiance of a police ban, took to the streets of Yuen Long, where thugs in white T-shirts had chased protesters, journalists and commuters inside the MTR station and beat them with iron bars and sticks last Sunday.
The rampage shocked Hong Kong, giving momentum to the unprecedented protests since early June over the extradition bill that would allow the transfer of criminal suspects to jurisdictions including mainland China, where critics say there is no guarantee of a fair trial.
Many suspected the attackers in white were paid gangsters or local villagers from Yuen Long. Police confirmed earlier this week that suspected triad members were among the 12 people arrested in connection with the mob violence.
At least three groups had applied to hold protests in the town to condemn the assaults. Fearing an escalation of the violence, police made the rare decision to reject the applications, but the demonstration still went ahead.
Max Chung Kin-ping, one of the organisers, said 288,000 people turned out for the protest. Police did not give an estimate.
Textbook editor Firo Ng, 25, was among those marching. “I am here to say we are not afraid of the white-clad attackers,” Ng said.
She also called for an independent inquiry into police actions over the past month.
An armed mob of men in white T-shirts attacked protesters and passers-by at the Yuen Long station last Sunday. Photo: Handout
Fresh graduate Brandon Chan, 22, who joined the Yuen Long march and earlier protests against the extradition bill, said he was taking part to show that “we can’t forgo our freedom of assembly and rights” because of fears about triad members.
The protesters were also angry about the delayed response from police after the attacks were reported on Sunday evening, and criticised the lack of arrests at the scene.
Mostly dressed in black and many wearing heavy masks, the protesters started to stream into Yuen Long in the afternoon. There was no clear leader and the protest was largely peaceful when the march began at around 3.30pm.
In the crowd was Leonard Cheng Kwok-hon, president of Lingnan University, one of eight publicly funded colleges in Hong Kong. Cheng said he was there as an “observer” because he was worried about the dangers facing students and staff attending the demonstration.
“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.
“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.”
Protesters make their way along Castle Peak Road in Yuen Long. Photo: Felix Wong
One of the enduring images during the Occupy movement in 2014 was when the heads of Hong Kong’s two leading universities visited the pro-democracy protesters, urging them to avoid conflict and stay peaceful.
But Cheng’s presence did not have the same impact. The demonstrators were becoming increasingly agitated, and officers bore the brunt of their anger.
Water-filled barricades outside Yuen Long Police Station were turned into a “Lennon Wall” where anti-government and anti-police messages were posted.
The tension was most palpable outside the walled village of Nam Pin Wai, where scores of men dressed in white were seen last weekend after the attacks, leading many people to believe some of them lived there.
“Gangsters, come out and put up a fight,” protesters shouted near the village.
The protesters, dressed in black, came prepared with masks and protective gear. Photo: Sam Tsang
Within Nam Pin Wai, villagers were seen wearing helmets and masks, guarding their ancestral hall and other main properties. The two groups were kept separate by fully armed riot police.
The stand-off lasted until late afternoon. As tempers frayed on both sides, some protesters threw bricks at officers. A police van was also besieged and vandalised, but the officers inside were not injured.
Police said this prompted them to take action, because their officers were at risk. The black banner warning protesters to disperse or face the use of force was unfurled at 5.17pm, and officers fired tear gas into the crowd three minutes later.
Police began firing tear gas after a police van was besieged and vandalised. Photo: Sum Lok-kei
The now-familiar scene of police and protesters scuffling followed, as a city that until a month ago was known for its safety and order once again descended into chaos.
A small group of social workers, lawmakers and others tried to step in and put a stop to the clashes but they were unsuccessful.
When some urged police not to fire sponge grenades directly at the protesters, the officers shouted back: “They’re throwing bricks at us!”
Most of the protesters left at nightfall but a few hundred stayed and continued to battle officers near the entrances of Yuen Long station, including using fire extinguishers and water hoses to spray police.
Officers from the elite Special Tactical Squad moved into the station, making arrests and using batons on some protesters, and blood could be seen on the floor.
As the chaos continued into the night, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and the city’s senior officials were nowhere to be seen – and the summer of discontent rolled on.