Hundreds take to street for lunchtime protest in business district of Hong Kong, disrupting traffic

Traffic in Hong Kong’s business district was disrupted at lunchtime on Friday as hundreds of protesters, many in masks, marched along busy roads in Central following a rally at Chater Garden.

The crowd, some in office attire, occupied one vehicle lane and a tram track, as they chanted anti-government slogans and walked along Des Voeux Road Central and Connaught Road Central.

So far there has been no police presence at the site, and some protesters have taken to directing traffic.

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Demonstrators said they were marching to protest against alleged police brutality and the case of a Chinese University student who claimed she was sexually assaulted by officers at a police station.

A 30-year-old office worker in Central, who only gave her surname as Chan, said she joined the lunchtime march because she was really angry over the recent events.

“We are just expressing our demands, but why did Hong Kong become like mainland China? I don’t see justice for the people of Hong Kong,” she said, adding that she felt the university student was very brave to have spoken up about her experience on Thursday.

“We are here protesting against police brutality, and we don’t know what the IPCC is doing,” she said, referring to police watchdog the Independent Police Complaints Council.

Some of the slogans protesters were chanting included “We come out because we have a conscience”, and “Stand with Hong Kong”.

The action follows a long weekend of unrest against the new anti-mask law that came into force on Saturday, banning people from covering their faces at illegal or authorised rallies. The clashes were part of a wider campaign against the government that has rocked the city for four months, sparked by the now-withdrawn extradition bill.

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After circling around back to Chater Garden, protesters dispersed peacefully at around 1.50pm, with most returning to their offices.

However, one protester shouted at organisers: “Why didn’t you organise this march in the morning? It will only be effective if people can’t get to work.”

Another office worker, also surnamed Chan, 24, said he was there to continue the fight for protesters’ five demands.

“I think the case of the CUHK student is just the tip of the iceberg. From videos taken by reporters and citizens we can see what police have done, yet their actions are denied by senior officers,” he said. Chan added that even if the student made a police report over the incident, she would not get answers as it was hard to identify officers since, according to him, many did not display their ID numbers.

“It’s important to set up an independent commission, that is the first step. From our perspective or the police perspective, we each may think that everything we have done is right, but that may not be the case, so a neutral third party will be able to find out the truth,” he said.