Massive Hong Kong pro-democracy rally ends in police clashes as demonstrators sought to carry their movement's momentum into 2020 https://t.co/yu5r5Wadyupic.twitter.com/eJjLCBELls— AFP news agency (@AFP) January 1, 2020
A huge New Year’s Day pro-democracy rally in Hong Kong ended in mass arrests and clashes between police and hardcore protesters, as demonstrators sought to carry their movement’s momentum into 2020.
Hong Kong has been battered by nearly seven months of unrest — its biggest political crisis in decades — which has seen millions come out on the streets demanding greater democratic freedoms.
Organisers claimed more than a million people gathered for Wednesday’s rally, which had approval from the authorities, and marched across the international financial hub’s main island in an attempt to put pressure on the government to meet their demands.
But after a peaceful start, violence erupted near the march within hours, with police and masked protesters facing off in several neighbourhoods on the city’s main island. The Civil Human Rights Front, the umbrella group which organised the march, said authorities ordered them to end it after the clashes began.
“We believe the total turnout for today’s march has surpassed the 1.03 million on June 9,” the group announced, referring to the massive rally last year that kicked off the protest movement in earnest.
The police gave a far lower estimate of 60,000, a number the CHRF said was “too ridiculous”.
In now-familiar scenes, riot police used pepper spray, tear gas and water cannon, while hardcore protesters lobbed petrol bombs, built makeshift barricades and vandalised property belonging to businesses they consider pro-Beijing — including Starbucks and banking giant HSBC.
Police said around 400 people were arrested for offences including “unlawful assembly and possession of offensive weapons”.
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