Tear gas and petrol bombs have reignited anger and fear on the streets of Hong Kong as a massive pro-democracy march descended into chaos and violence.
It’s been a relatively calm in the region for the past two weeks following four months of unrest.
But on Sunday night, violence erupted between protesters and police, suggesting both authorities and hardcore rally participants are prepared to escalate their tactics.
Hundreds of businesses were trashed and metro train stations torched by masked demonstrators who lobbed petrol bombs at banks and other businesses linked to the Chinese mainland.
At least one police station was set alight in retaliation to police using tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds.
With demonstrators defying a ban on facial coverings brought in under emergency law, authorities appeared to have found a new tactic to identify march participants; spraying jets of blue dye that would stain clothes and skin.
It was the heaviest use of water cannons by police since the protests began. Many people hit with the water developed coughs, suggesting an irritant may have been mixed with the water.
Protesters remained defiant, vowing to continue the fight.
“You can see Hong Kongers won’t easily give up their right to demonstrate … today’s turnout is more than I expected,” protester Daniel Yeung said on Sunday.
“You can see that as long as people keep coming out in large numbers we are safe and can keep fighting.”
Protesters threw petrol bombs at the Tsim Sha Tsui police station on Kowloon peninsula after police inside fired volleys of tear gas to disperse demonstrators on the street.
Some erected fiery barriers on Nathan Rd, a major retail strip in the Kowloon district, as riot police, shields in front, marched towards them, while others fired tear gas.
As riot police advanced protesters fell back to their next barricade, unlike past rallies when they stood and clashed with police, throwing petrol bombs and bricks.
Along the march route, protesters torched and trashed metro stations and hundreds of shops, throwing goods onto the streets. Several Chinese banks were targeted.
Protesters have in the past targeted Chinese banks and shops with links to mainland China, leaving mainland Chinese living in Hong Kong worried about their safety.
The unrest was sparked four months ago by a bill that would have allowed extradition to mainland China for trial in Communist Party-controlled courts.
It has since widened into a pro-democracy movement.
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