Hong Kong police yesterday fired tear gas to disperse protesters in the upmarket Causeway Bay shopping district, after demonstrators had rallied at the US Consulate calling for help in bringing democracy to the Chinese-ruled city. Police moved on protesters from the Central business district who dispersed to nearby Admiralty, the bar district of Wan Chai and on to Causeway Bay in a now familiar pattern of cat-and-mouse clashes over three months of unrest.
Activists set barricades, smashed windows, started street fires and vandalised the MTR metro station in Central, the smartest district of the former British colony.
Central district, home to banks, jewellery shops and top-brand shopping arcades, was awash in graffiti, broken glass and bricks torn up from pathways. Protesters set fires from cardboard boxes, building barricades with metal fencing. We are heading to North Point. They waved the Stars and Stripes and placards demanding democracy. Esper made his call in Paris as police in Hong Kong prevented protesters from blocking access to the airport but fired tear gas for a second night running in the densely populated district of Mong Kok.
Pockets of protest broke out in Kowloon over the harbour from the main island of Hong Kong last night, including in Prince Edward, close to Mong Kok. The vandalism started in the evening. Police have responded to violence over 14 weeks with water cannon, rubber bullets and tear gas.
Many Hong Kong residents fear Beijing is eroding that autonomy. China denies the accusation of meddling and says Hong Kong is an internal affair. It has denounced the protests, accusing the United States and Britain of fomenting unrest, and warned of the damage to the economy. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced concessions this week aimed at ending the protests, including formally scrapping a hugely unpopular extradition bill, which ignited the unrest in June. Many protesters said it was too little, too late.
