Source:
https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3035879/flash-mobs-break-out-hong-kong-protesters-vent-anger-police Politics
Flash mobs break out in Hong Kong as anti-government protesters vent anger at police use of force
- Groups block major thoroughfares in Central financial district as office workers take to streets
Office workers took to the streets for an anti-government protest at Chater Garden. Photo: Felix Wong.
Flash mobs appeared in two Hong Kong districts at lunchtime on Friday, as protesters occupied major thoroughfares to demonstrate against what they said was excessive use of force by police.
Thousands of office workers showed up in Chater Garden in Central – the city’s financial district – while scores of people turned up at Tsun Yip Street playground in Kowloon, with marchers in both locations.
In Central, a key part of Des Voeux Road Central outside the Landmark office complex was occupied by protesters as they marched west. In Kwun Tong, part of Tsun Yip Street was blocked by marchers at one stage.
At Chater Garden, police raised a flag to warn about 500 demonstrators they were breaking the law and could face prosecution before the march started around 1pm along Des Voeux Road Central.
The protesters turned around at the Hang Seng Bank headquarters, and dispersed after returning to Chater Garden shortly before 2pm.
Officers said the gathering was an illegal assembly and told protesters to remove their masks.
A finance worker in his 30s, who only gave his name as So, said the city was becoming a police state.
“How can they call a gathering of people in office attire illegal?” So said
Selina Eng, who also works in finance, has joined three lunchtime protests in the past.
“Hongkongers have reiterated our demands over and over again for five months now, we really don’t have an accountable government or police force any more,” she said.
SK Cheung, an accountant, sacrificed his lunch break to join the protests.
“I’ve been coming here as much as I can when there are protests during lunch, just to express my disappointment with the government,” Cheung said.
The political crisis, triggered by a now-withdrawn extradition bill, has entered its fifth month, and has snowballed into regular violent clashes between police and protesters.
On Thursday night, Halloween festivities in Hong Kong took on a darker than usual hue as police fired tear gas to disperse protesters in Mong Kok and Central, who had gathered to protest against alleged brutality by the force, and in open defiance of a ban on masks.
But demonstrators remained defiant on Friday, calling for their five demands to be met, including the creation of an independent inquiry into police use of force.
In Kwun Tong, protesters, many wearing masks, walked from Tsun Yip Street to the APM shopping centre after 1pm.
After they reached the mall, they chanted slogans and sang Glory to Hong Kong, with some secondary school students joining the crowd.
The protest ended shortly before 2pm, with demonstrators going back to work.