New clashes erupted on Sunday, November 3 in Hong Kong. After another day of protest, a fight broke out in front of a shopping center in Tai Koo Shing, a middle-class neighborhood in Hong Kong, where pro-democracy demonstrators gathered for part of the day.
According to witnesses quoted by the local press, the author of the attack was a Mandarin speaking man (predominant language in mainland China) and shouting pro-Beijing slogans.
Television footage showed Andrew Chiu, a local figure in the pro-democracy protest, with an ear almost completely cut off. A second unconscious man lay in a pool of blood, while passers-by tried to heal his wounds.
The alleged assailant was attacked and violently beaten by the crowd, according to footage from the RTHK channel.
Six people in total, four men and two women, were injured, and three others arrested, the police told AFP, without specifying whether the perpetrator of the attack was part of it.
The man was shouting "Take Hong Kong and Taiwan back," pro-democracy lawyer James To testified, speaking to the press in front of the hospital where Andrew Chiu was transferred.
Five months of events
Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous territory, has been rocked for five months by demonstrations by pro-democracy activists denouncing the interference of Beijing, and Taiwan is an independent territory that China considers as one of its provinces and does not exclude not to take back by force.
Several unauthorized rallies were held Sunday in several locations in Hong Kong, resulting in frequent clashes with riot police.
On Saturday, police used tear gas and water cannon against thousands of protesters on the streets for another unauthorized march.
The protest shows no signs of retreating after almost five months, but the demonstrations are escalating into violence.
With AFP