Hong Kong protests against police continue in third day of unrest

Thousands of demonstrators streamed into central Hong Kong on Sunday in the third day of mass protests as public anger at the government reaches new heights.

Groups of protesters defied police orders and fanned out from a rally in a public square in central Hong Kong to condemn police behaviour towards demonstrators, occupying roads, and setting up barricades.

Some demonstrators moved west towards Beijing’s representative office in Hong Kong, which was defaced during rallies last weekend, with riot police facing off protesters. Another group marched east, erecting barricades in a shopping district and surrounding a police station. Some shops in the area closed and bus routes were suspended.

The organisers’ original plan for Sunday’s protest involved a march towards a park near China’s representative office where police had fired tear gas and rubber bullets on protesters last weekend, but officials had denied authorisation, granting permission permission to hold a rally in Chater garden, a park east of the government’s legislative complex.

In the last few days, tens of thousands of demonstrators have rallied to condemn an attack on commuters by suspected triad gangs last week, which has led to accusations of government collusion, denied by Hong Kong officials.

On Saturday, a peaceful march in the town of Yuen Long turned chaotic as police fired rounds of tear gas, rubber bullets and sponge grenades, and charged protesters in a train station.

“We want to fight against police violence,” said Eunice Chan, 55, who has attended almost every weekend protest since the demonstrations started last month. Chan, who grew up in Hong Kong before it was returned to Chinese control in 1997, said Beijing’s growing influence on the city’s media, legal system and way of life was “obvious”.

“It seems to us that this is our last chance. If we don’t do this now, we won’t be able to [do it] later,” she said. “We are so afraid they will make Hong Kong like another Chinese city.”

Robert Kwok, 55, another demonstrator, said: “If we draw back, we lose everything.”

Sunday marks the second time demonstrators have defied a police ban on protesting. Authorities declared Saturday’s rally in Yuen Long illegal and on Sunday one of the organisers, Max Chung, was arrested on suspicion of inciting an illegal assembly.

“It is very likely they are going to abolish the freedom of assembly. So we are asking people to come out because it may be the last time that we are going to have a peaceful and lawful protest in Hong Kong,” said one of the organisers on Sunday.

Protesters have now been demonstrating for more than seven weeks. Amy Yeung, 26, has been attending as many protests as she can. “I am mentally tired. Watching the news, you cry ... and we’ve waited for a long time for the government to respond to our demands,” she said. “I free all my Sundays and Saturdays for the protest. At least standing here, we are giving the message that we are not alone.”