Hundreds take to Hong Kong streets to protest against police shooting of school student

Traffic at the heart of Hong Kong’s business centre came to a standstill on Wednesday lunchtime, after hundreds of anti-government protesters gathered at Chater Garden in Central and marched along several main roads.

Protesters appealed for people to join the sudden rally, which started at about 12.30pm, to protest against the shooting of an 18-year-old student by police amid the National Day demonstrations a day before.

Rally-goers were mostly office workers, and they chanted slogans while marching on roads around Chater Garden, forcing buses and other vehicles to stop.

The crowd then split into two groups, some heading towards IFC Mall, and Exchange Square, while others continued down Des Voeux Road Central, where department store Chinese Arts and Crafts shut its doors in response.

Some 500 people marched as far as Millennium Plaza in Sheung Wan, before they turned around and walked to Tamar Park in Admiralty.

HSBC closed the main gates at its headquarters in Central, and a source said while the bank was not a target, the decision was taken “as a precaution” because of the protest.

An HSBC spokeswoman said: “We are providing branch services to customers as usual. Our priority is the safety of our employees and customers at our facilities.”

Kathy Chau, 26, who works for a multinational financial firm in Central, decided to join the march during her lunch break, even though her company is against the protests.

“Doing the right thing is more important to me than worrying about what my boss or colleagues think of me,” Chau said.

She said the fact that the student, Tsang Chi-kin, had been shot, with the bullet just centimetres from his heart, made her want to march.

“We are seeing an escalation in police’s abuse of power over the past few months,” she said.

A protester, surnamed Chan, said she was marching because of what happened on Tuesday, even though “everyone knew October 1 would be a huge battle”.

She added: “Protesters used so many ways to peacefully protest but still didn’t get a proper response from the government. That’s why we escalated action. I think blocking roads is a more peaceful method of demonstrating.”

Hundreds of people also gathered outside Millennium Plaza near Cosco Tower in Sheung Wan, chanting slogans and singing the protest anthem Glory to Hong Kong.

A 23 year-old banker, surnamed Poon, said he had gone on strike to join the protest.

“I’m striking because I can’t accept a police officer trying to kill a citizen,” Poon said. “I hope office workers who couldn’t come down today know that they’re not alone. They shouldn’t be afraid to join the protests.”

Organisers asked protesters to read out a statement, uploaded to LIHKG, a popular online forum where demonstrators discuss protest strategies, that accused police of using “excessive violence towards protesters”.

Video footage posted online showed a group of protesters chasing a police officer with a long shield, pinning him to the ground and beating him.

Another riot policeman rushed forward with his service revolver pointed at the protesters.

The policeman with his gun drawn was seen clashing with Tsang, who swung his metal rod at the officer, at which point he opened fire.

The victim then staggered backward and fell onto the other riot policeman who was under attack while pinned to the ground.

A police source said the officer who opened fire issued a verbal warning before pulling the trigger, while Commissioner of Police Stephen Lo Wai-chung said the use of a live round was “lawful and reasonable”.

Shooting of Hong Kong schoolboy ‘totally appropriate’, state media says

In Admiralty, the crowd gathered in front of government headquarters, and a Form Three pupil, who only gave his name as Alvin, said he skipped class for half a day with a few friends to support the fellow student who was shot in the chest.

“I really appreciate his courage to fight against this regime, even though I never went to the front lines of the protests,” he said, adding the shooting had made him angry and sad.

At 3.20pm, a crowd sang Glory to Hong Kong at Admiralty Centre, an office and shopping complex above Admiralty MTR station, and chanted slogans such as “Hong Kong police, manslaughterer”, and “stand with Hong Kong”.

They dispersed about six minutes later after abandoning the idea to gather outside the police headquarters about 1km away in Wan Chai.

A 30-year-old lawyer, surnamed Li and based in Shanghai said he flew to Hong Kong “to witness firsthand what is going on”. He noted that most mainland Chinese did not know fully what was happening in the city.

“In mainland China, we are suppressed and our media only has one voice. It is very hard to garner support for the movement in Hong Kong, but I back it.”