Hong Kong – A march drawing tens of
thousands of anti-government protesters in Hong Kong on New
Year's Day spiralled into chaotic scenes as police fired several
rounds of tear gas and water cannon at crowds including families
before halting the event.
The violence broke out during the largely peaceful march as
masses of citizens pressed authorities for further concessions
in the Chinese-ruled city.
In the Wanchai bar district, some protesters had
spray-painted graffiti and smashed cash machines in an HSBC bank
branch when riot police moved in, pepper-spraying crowds in a
tense face-off. Tear gas was then fired into the crowds, making
some children cry.
The protesters, some with gas masks and clad in black,
regrouped and formed their own lines as police blocked roads to
prevent large crowds from completing the march as night fell.
Organisers estimated just over one million people took part,
but police said 60 000 protesters attended at the march's peak.
The atmosphere grew tense in several districts on Hong Kong
island, as hundreds of protesters dug in, forming road blocks,
setting fires and throwing a few petrol bombs.
Human chains
formed down roads to help ferry supplies to people on the front
lines, including umbrellas and bricks.
Protesters have directed their ire at global banking group
HSBC, alleging a link between the arrest of four members of a
group that raised funds to support the protesters and an earlier
closure of an HSBC account linked to the group. HSBC denies any
connection.
A bronze lion at the bank's headquarters was daubed with red
paint and scorched by a fire.
A bank spokesman said: "We strongly condemn the acts of
vandalism and damage directed at our premises repeatedly in the
last few days. We believe these are unjustified."
Earlier in the day, under grey clouds, citizens young and
old, many dressed in black and some masked, carried signs such
as "Freedom is not free" before setting off.
"It's hard to utter 'Happy New Year' because Hong Kong
people are not happy," said a man named Tung, who was walking
with his two-year-old son, mother and niece.
"Unless the five demands are achieved, and police are held
accountable for their brutality, then we can't have a real happy
new year," he added.
He was referring to the push for concessions from the
government including full democracy, an amnesty for the more
than 6,500 people arrested so far, and a powerful, independent
investigation into police actions.
Along the route, a number of newly elected pro-democracy
district politicians mingled with the crowds on their first day
in office, some helping collect donations to assist the
movement.
Youths also carried "Hong Kong Independence" flags and
chanted that splitting the city from Chinese rule was the "only
way out".
"The government has already started the oppression before
the New Year began… whoever is being oppressed, we will stand
with them," said Jimmy Sham, one of the leaders of the Civil
Human Rights Front that organised the march. The organisers also
condemned the police decision to cancel the rally.
Thousands of Hong Kong revellers had earlier welcomed in
2020 on neon-lit promenades along Victoria Harbour, chanting the
movement's signature slogan – "Liberate Hong Kong. Revolution of
our Time" – for the final seconds before clocks struck midnight.
China's President Xi Jinping said in a New Year's speech
that Beijing will "resolutely safeguard the prosperity and
stability" of Hong Kong under the so-called "one country, two
systems" framework.
Many people in Hong Kong are angered by Beijing's tight grip
on the city which was promised a high degree of autonomy under
this framework when the former British colony returned to
Chinese rule in 1997.
Beijing denies interference and blames the West for
fomenting the unrest.
A group of 40 parliamentarians and dignitaries from 18
countries had written an open letter to Hong Kong's leader
Carrie Lam on New Year's Eve, urging her to "seek genuine ways
forward out of this crisis by addressing the grievances of Hong
Kong people."
The protest movement is supported by 59% of the city's
residents polled in a survey conducted for Reuters by the Hong
Kong Public Opinion Research Institute.
Demonstrations have grown increasingly violent in recent
months, at times paralyzing the Asian financial centre.