Rampages have erupted in Hong Kong again after hard-line activists took to the streets for a fourth day to protest against a new law that bans them from wearing masks to hide their identity.
Demonstrators accused police of being members of triads and demanded them remove their masks after one man dressed in black was tackled by officers in the city’s Tseung Kwan O district, local media reported.
Anti-riot officers fired tear gas after activists hurled petrol bombs at police vehicles from heights, reported Apple Daily.
Riot police officers move to disperse protesters in Mong Kok during an anti-government protest in Hong Kong on Monday
People react after anti-riot police fired tear gas to disperse protesters in the Mong Kok district in Hong Kong during a clash
Anti-riot police officers detain a man during an anti-government protest in front of a police station in Mong Kok on Monday
The city has been rocked by a weekend of escalated violence after its leader Carrie Lam introduced a law to ban face masks
Footage shows police launching rounds of tear gas and crowds fled in Tseung Kwan O.
Another video from Stand News HK shows police pushing away security guards as they stormed a mall in Ma On Shan to arrest one man who was accused of vandalising the shopping centre.
A female journalist from the news outlet, who was wearing a high-vis vest with bearing the word ‘press’, was pushed and pressed to the ground by police, said the report.
Protesters also smashed and vandalised metro stations in Tai Po Market, Sheung Shui, Diamond Hill and Sha Tin Wai, among others, during fresh rallies tonight.
Police officers pour water over a protester as he is detained during an anti-government protest in front of a police station
Riot police chase protesters near a demonstration in Hong Kong on Monday after more clashes broke out across the city
Police walk on a street as protesters gathered near Mong Kok police station in Hong Kong during fresh protests on October 7
Dozens of protesters gathered outside the Prince Edward subway station to mourn those who had lost their lives during the anti-government chaos which has lasted for nearly four months.
At least three Hong Kong protesters have reportedly jumped to their deaths after slamming Chinese oppression during the pro-democracy movement.
Demonstrators then marched on Nathan Road in Mong Kok and staged a tense stand-off with police. At least five tear gas canisters were fired by police to disperse protesters, reported 01HK.com.
Clashes were also reported in Causeway Bay, Taikoo Shing, Yuen Long, Ma On Shan and Sha Tin.
A number of protesters were detained.
Riot police stand guard as they prepare to disperse demonstrators during an anti-government rally Hong Kong on Monday
Protesters react after police fired tear gas in the Mong Kok district in Hong Kong during new rampages across the city
A group of masked protesters shatter billboards in the Diamond Hill MTR station in Kowloon district of Hong Kong on Monday
A woman sits beside flowers and candles at a Chung Yeung Festival Memorial Ceremony on Monday to mourn for those who have lost their lives during the anti-government demonstrations which have lasted for nearly four months
Hong Kong was plunged into further chaos and violence after its leader Carrie Lam on Friday invoked a colonial-era emergency law to ban activists from wearing face masks.
The semi-autonomous city was paralysed by three days of protests involving thousands of masked activists, which saw the rail network and business outlets deemed pro-China badly damaged.
New footage has purported to show a group of policemen beating one unarmed protester after tackling him to the ground during the anti-mask-ban demonstrations on Sunday.
New footage has purported to show a group of policemen in Hong Kong beating one protester during demonstrations against a new ban on face masks. The incident was believed to have taken place on Prince Edward Road East in Kowloon on Sunday
Anti-riot police disperse protesters during a demonstration against a newly imposed law banning face masks on Sunday
Pro-democracy protesters are arrested by police during a clash at a demonstration in Wan Chai district on October 6
A People’s Liberation Army soldier holds a banner to warn protesters on Sunday during a demonstration against the mask ban
Chinese military gave its first-ever warning to activists last night after some protests pointed lasers at one of its barracks in Hong Kong.
Sources have claimed that the city’s government may ban access to the internet in a bid to contain months of increasingly brutal unrest.
Two teenagers, one 14 and one 18, were shot by police with live rounds last week as protesters began to hurl ‘more dangerous’ petrol bombs at police and officers were given more liberty in the use of force.
Protestors set fire on the street in Causeway Bay during a demonstration against a ban on face masks in public on October 6
Anti-government protesters wear the Guy Fawkes masks in defiance during a demonstration at Causeway Bay on October 6
Riot police detain protesters during an anti-government demonstration as violence and chaos quickly escalate in the city
An anti-riot police officer clashes with a protester during an anti-government rally in central Hong Kong on October 6
An emergency law banning face masks aimed at quelling anti-government protests in Hong Kong has instead triggered chaos
Two protesters were charged on Monday with violating Hong Kong’s new ban on wearing masks at rallies.
An 18-year-old student and a 38-year-old woman were the first to be prosecuted under the ban, which came into force Saturday under sweeping emergency powers aimed at quashing violence in the protests for more democratic freedoms.
At least five anti-riot officers were filmed attacking one activist, who had already been brought to the ground, in a trending video posted on Facebook by singer Tommy Yuen, who urged the public to ‘share it as soon as possible’.
The 40-second clip shows the policemen punching and kicking one man dressed in black. The team stopped the assault when one passer-by threw a cup of coffee towards them.
The incident was believed to have taken place on Prince Edward Road East in Kowloon, reported local news outlet 01HK.com.
The report said a group of demonstrators had fled from a shopping mall and a number of police officers were tasked to capture them.
Onlookers can be heard shouting at the officers ‘stop’ and ‘he is going to die’.
Another clip released by Frontal Media shows a group of police officers beating one protester on the head and trying to stop a woman, believed to be a paramedic worker, from saving the demonstrator.
The incident was captured on Sunday when police tried to disperse protesters in Wan Chai, reported Apple Daily.
China’s Hong Kong military garrison warned protesters last night they could be arrested for targeting its barracks with lasers – the first direct interaction between the People’s Liberation Army and protesters.
The garrison raised a yellow flag at the top of their barracks in Kowloon Tong, warning activists: ‘You are in breach of the law. You may be prosecuted.’
A pro-democracy protester throws a Molotov cocktail during a clash With police at a demonstration in Wan Chai on October 6
Members of the media run after being hit by flames during clashes between protesters and police in Wan Chai on October 6
A protester tosses a tear gas pellet during a demonstration against a newly imposed law banning face masks on October 6
An anti-government protester throws back a tear gas canister during a demonstration in Wan Chai district on October 6
A pro-Beijing lawmaker today defended the army, claiming its warning did not count as military action, reported South China Morning Post.
Maria Tam Wai-chu was quoted saying ‘my view is, the raising of a warning flag is a normal act’ when she was interviewed by a local radio station.
The introduction of colonial-era emergency powers on Friday banning face masks has sparked some of the most violent clashes in four months of demonstrations in the Asian financial hub.
The overnight rampages brought a warning from Chris Patten, the city’s last British governor, that people could be killed.
‘Before long, unless we are very, very lucky, people are going to get killed, people are going to be shot,’ Mr Patten told Sky News.
‘The idea that with public order policing you send police forces out with live ammunition is preposterous.’
Beijing-backed leader Lam said the ban on face masks was necessary to end violence and that it was her own government’s call, not an order from Beijing. Offenders could be jailed for up to one year by the legislation.
Mr Patten said Lam would have to be ‘crazy’ to be making these decisions on her own.
He said: ‘The face mask business [is] absolutely madness which people will protest against.’
He added that the way forward would be to engage with the demonstrators, especially the peaceful ones.
Ip Kwok-him, a veteran pro-Beijing politician and member of Hong Kong’s executive council, said controls on the internet could be introduced to combat violence – remarks that are likely to spark further fury from the public.
A Filipino woman is transferred by rescue workers after she was shocked by tear gas during a demonstration in Wan Chai
The ongoing demonstrations in Hong Kong have seen pro-democracy protesters clash with police since June 9 this year. Pictured are protesters walking past defaced pictures of Chinese President Xi Jinping and other members of the government
Police fired tear gas and baton charged protesters in several locations, while some protesters threw bricks and petrol bombs
‘As long as there are possible ways to stamp down on the riots, the government will not rule out the possibility of placing a ban on the internet,’ he told AFP.
Ip said the internet has been crucial to protesters, who have no public leaders and use online forums and encrypted messaging apps to mobilise.
But he said the government recognised any online shutdown could have a knock-on effect.
‘I think a condition for implementing the Internet ban would be not to affect any businesses in Hong Kong,’ he said.
Police stand on a street as protesters and pedestrians gathered near the Mong Kok police station in Hong Kong on October 7
Hong Kong protesters arrested for defying a new face mask ban appeared in court on October 7 following a violent weekend of unrest which saw bloody clashes with police and widespread vandalism that crippled the city’s train network
Riot police officers patrol streets as anti-government protesters gather in Mong Kok district during a rally on October 7
A protester kicks a tear gas canister during a rally in Mongkok October 7 after the city was rocked by a weekend of violence
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Hong Kong shopping malls on Monday demanding ‘freedom’ ahead of expected new protests.
Demonstrators formed large circles inside multi-level shopping malls and chanted ‘disband Hong Kong police force’, ‘fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong’ and ‘I have the right to wear a mask’, as shoppers on a public holiday looked on.
Many protesters, police and journalists have been injured in clashes, with police using rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons against demonstrators, some of whom throw bricks and petrol bombs.
A journalist working with Hong Kong’s public broadcaster was recovering in the hospital on Monday after being hit by a petrol bomb on Sunday night.
On Monday, Hong Kong’s metro rail system, which typically carries about five million passengers a day, was only partially operating due to what authorities said was ‘serious vandalism’ on Sunday night. Some stations were torched in the protests.
Many shops and Chinese banks were also extensively damaged.
Staff from China Unicom mobile network clean outside the shop on October 7 after it was damaged during a weekend protest
People walk past a branch of US coffee chain Starbucks after it was targeted by protesters who vandalised the premises
A branch of the Bank of China is covered with graffiti after protesters smashed windows and vandalised the premises
A man pushes a cart past a wall covered in anti-government graffiti in Hong Kong on October 7 after a weekend of rallies
The city government said in a statement ‘public safety has been jeopardised and the public order of the whole city is being pushed to the verge of a very dangerous situation’.
The anti-government protests, which started in early June, have plunged the former British colony into its worst political crisis in decades and pose the biggest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.
What started as opposition to a now-withdrawn extradition bill has grown into a pro-democracy movement against what is seen as Beijing’s increasing grip on the city, which protesters say undermines a ‘one country, two systems’ status promised when Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997.
China dismisses such accusations, saying foreign governments, including Britain and the United States, have fanned anti-China sentiment.
NBA comes under fire in China after Houston Rockets manager showed support for Hong Kong protesters
Houston Rockets’ general manager, Daryl Morey, apologised on Monday for the tweet he swiftly deleted over the weekend that included an image of the activists’ rally cry: ‘Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong’
The National Basketball Association (NBA) has come under fire in China for its response to a tweet by a Houston Rockets official in support of Hong Kong protests for democracy.
The Rockets’ general manager, Daryl Morey, apologised on Monday for the tweet he swiftly deleted on the weekend.
But his support for the protests in the financial hub angered Beijing, Chinese fans and the team’s partners in a key NBA market.
‘I did not intend my tweet to cause any offence to Rockets fans and friends of mine in China,’ Morey tweeted on Monday.
‘I was merely voicing one thought, based on one interpretation, of one complicated event,’ he said, adding that he had since heard and considered other perspectives.
The Rockets are widely followed in China, partly because they drafted Chinese player Yao Ming in 2002, who became a star and helped build the NBA’s following there.
Morey’s initial tweet included an image captioned: ‘Fight For Freedom. Stand With Hong Kong.’
It prompted sportswear brand Li-Ning and sponsor Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (SPD Bank) Credit Card Center to suspend work with the Rockets, while the team’s games were dropped by China’s state broadcaster.
The post was later deleted and 47-year-old Morey, the NBA’s executive of the year in 2018, said his views did not represent the team or league.
In a separate statement, the NBA said ‘we recognise that the views expressed by Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey have deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China, which is regrettable’.
The Chinese-language version issued by the NBA appeared to go further than the English statement, saying: ‘We are extremely disappointed in the inappropriate remarks made by Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey’.
The NBA added, ‘we have great respect for the history and culture of China and hope that sports and the NBA can be used as a unifying force to bridge cultural divides and bring people together’.