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Thousands of angry Hong Kong braved on Sunday the ban on demonstrations to protest after the attacks this week on two activists from the pro-democracy camp.
The protest was officially banned for security reasons. But that did not stop tens of thousands of people from gathering under umbrellas Sunday at midday in Tsim Sha Tsui, a district of Hong Kong made of luxury shops and other shopping centers.
After starting off quietly, the protest escalated when small groups attacked subway stations and banks. The police fired tear gas to try to disperse the crowd.
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This is the twentieth consecutive weekend of a protest that has lasted since June in this semi-autonomous region. And while the extradition bill to mainland China that had lit the wick has been abandoned, the tension does not seem to fall back into the former British colony. From now on, the demands have extended, the demonstrators denouncing also a decline of freedoms and the interferences of Beijing.
Assaulted with a hammer
In early October, the ban on the wearing of the mask by the authorities during the demonstrations has put water on the fire. Companies accused of supporting the pro-Beijing government have been targeted by numerous acts of vandalism.
This week is the aggression of two pro-democracy activists who have crystallized anger. On Wednesday, Jimmy Sham, the main spokesman for the Civilian Human Rights Front (FCHR), an organization that advocates non-violence and has been behind the biggest peaceful protests in recent months, must have been hospitalized after being violently attacked with a hammer by strangers. And Saturday night, it was a young man who was pulling to call to demonstrate who was stabbed.
(with AFP and Reuters)