Weeks-long protests in Hong Kong over a controversial extradition bill escalated on Sunday. Protesters tried to block major tunnels as well as taking aim at public transport networks and crucial industries.
The protests continue in Hong Kong for the ninth weekend in a row. Sunday night has seen violent altercations between law enforcement and demonstrators who tried to block traffic and besiege police stations throughout the city. Over 20 people were arrested for various offenses, including assault and participation in unlawful assemblies.
Earlier Sunday was no less turbulent, as an authorized march of the anti-extradition bill protesters yet again turned into scuffles with the police. As the peaceful procession ended some of the protesters blocked roads in the town of Tseung Kwan O in the New Territories, erected barricades and pelted a local police station with stones and other objects.
Police, in turn, responded with tear gas. Law enforcement had to deal with several simultaneous unauthorized gatherings throughout the region, deploying the gas in at least one more location during a separate rally in the island's Western district.
The protesters spray painted traffic lights in an attempt to render them inoperable to disrupt the city’s traffic, as well as blocked major roads, including the Cross-Harbour Tunnel, that links Hong Kong island and Kowloon peninsula.
While the controversial extradition bill has been suspended amid the unrest, the protesters now demand the legislation to be scrapped altogether, as well as call for more “democracy” in the autonomous region. The protests are likely to spill over into Monday when a general strike – ‘advertised’ as the 8/5 Strike – is set to take place.
The city is likely to face a major disruption of traffic, commuters and other services amid the strike, since it’s likely to attract a vast number of participants. The strike is expected to heavily affect air traffic as well, and many flight departures are already shown as cancelled for Monday.
“This is a citywide strike. Judging from the 1 million turnout for the June 9 march, I reckon the number of people joining the strike might reach 500,000,” Carol Ng Man-yee, chairwoman of pro-democracy Confederation of Trade Unions (CTU), said as quoted by the South China Morning Post newspaper.
"Very Dangerous Situation": Hong Kong Government Issues Warning As Protests Become Increasingly Violent
The government of Hong Kong has warned that the ongoing protests could devolve into a "very dangerous situation" after demonstrators filled the streets, squaring off with riot police as traffic came to a complete standstill.
🇭🇰 HAPPENING NOW: Riot police fire tear gas in Hong Kong's Causeway Bay district on the 9th consecutive weekend of #HongKongProtests #香港 #反送中 pic.twitter.com/EdmeuE5hoO— Bloomberg TicToc (@tictoc) August 4, 2019
Sunday marked the third consecutive day of demonstrations out of a nine-week protest which began with outrage over a controversial bill which would have allowed suspects to face extradition to mainland China - a measure which has been paused but not taken off the table. Since then, demonstrators have demanded that arrested protesters be exonerated, along with the implementation of universal suffrage.
Protesters staged two massive rallies on opposite sides of the city, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Thousands marched in the largely residential area of Tseung Kwan O while more rallied in Kennedy Town on the west side of Hong Kong Island.In the city’s Western district, police fired tear gas to disperse protesters who deviated from the approved rally location. Later, many suddenly decided to head to Causeway Bay, a popular shopping and entertainment district, occupying a busy thoroughfare. Sirens blared across the city as a group of protesters blocked the entrance to the cross-harbor tunnel, causing a massive traffic jam. -WSJ
On Sunday night, Hong Kong authorities said that the unrest was a "blatant violation of law, wanton destruction of public peace and violent attacks on the police will harm Hong Kong's society, economy and our people's livelihood," adding "Such acts have already gone far beyond the limits of peaceful and rational protests for which the government and general public will not condone under any circumstances."
"Otherwise they will push Hong Kong into a very dangerous situation."
On Saturday, police and protesters clashed across five districts, with multiple police stations besieged and hundreds of activists confronting riot police.
The antigovernment protest movement has appeared to gain steam even as police use more aggressive tactics to bring it to heel. After tense confrontations last weekend, police arrested dozens and took what many here viewed as a hard-line step by charging them with crimes that carry prison terms of as long as 10 years. Police said they arrested more than 20 people in relation to Saturday’s protests, including for unlawful assembly and assault. -WSJ
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