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Hong Kong Clashes Flare as Protesters Return to Camp | |
(about 7 hours later) | |
HONG KONG — Clashes between the police and protesters flared in a crowded shopping district of Hong Kong on Friday night, days after the police dismantled a pro-democracy camp there. | |
But each of the four nights since that clearance started, protesters have returned to the Mong Kok neighborhood on the north side of the city, which is crammed with shops, restaurants and bars. Many protesters said they were angry about police methods on top of their demand for the fully democratic election of Hong Kong’s leader. | But each of the four nights since that clearance started, protesters have returned to the Mong Kok neighborhood on the north side of the city, which is crammed with shops, restaurants and bars. Many protesters said they were angry about police methods on top of their demand for the fully democratic election of Hong Kong’s leader. |
“People came out because they’re angry with the police,” said Ben W. S. Lee, a 37-year-old teacher in the crowd. “I’ve lost all my trust in the police because they’ve used excessive force on Hong Kong people in the past few days.” | |
The protesters at first engaged in boisterous chanting, and many shouted that they were merely returning to shop in Mong Kok, as the head of the Hong Kong government, Leung Chun-ying, has urged people to do. But around midnight the mood turned tense, and a confrontation erupted after hundreds of demonstrators tried to burst through a police cordon on Argyle Street, which had been part of the cleared protest camp. | The protesters at first engaged in boisterous chanting, and many shouted that they were merely returning to shop in Mong Kok, as the head of the Hong Kong government, Leung Chun-ying, has urged people to do. But around midnight the mood turned tense, and a confrontation erupted after hundreds of demonstrators tried to burst through a police cordon on Argyle Street, which had been part of the cleared protest camp. |
As the number of protesters in the standoff grew, police officers warned them to disperse. When that failed, officers squirted pepper spray at the front ranks of protesters, who tried to protect themselves with umbrellas, and then pushed into the crowd with batons, tossing aside umbrellas and dragging away some protesters. Some people were taken away by ambulances. | As the number of protesters in the standoff grew, police officers warned them to disperse. When that failed, officers squirted pepper spray at the front ranks of protesters, who tried to protect themselves with umbrellas, and then pushed into the crowd with batons, tossing aside umbrellas and dragging away some protesters. Some people were taken away by ambulances. |
In the early hours of Saturday, groups of protesters scattered into nearby streets and continued testing the police by hurling insults, demanding the release of arrested people and crossing intersections with exaggerated slowness. | In the early hours of Saturday, groups of protesters scattered into nearby streets and continued testing the police by hurling insults, demanding the release of arrested people and crossing intersections with exaggerated slowness. |
Later, protesters walked through nearby neighborhoods and chanted until dawn. The police said on Saturday that they had arrested 28 people in Mong Kok over the previous night on charges that included illegal assembly and obstructing the police. | |
Eight police officers were injured in the confrontations, Radio Television Hong Kong reported on its website, citing the police. The report did not say how many protesters were hurt. Since thousands of people extended protests to major streets across Hong Kong on Sept. 28, the demonstrators have become frayed by disputes over how aggressively to confront the government and by sheer exhaustion after weeks spent in tent cities. | |
But protest supporters have voiced hope that the loss of Mong Kok and anger over heavy-handed policing will revive the demonstrators. This weekend will offer a gauge of how much support they can call out. Two other parts of the city remain held by protesters: a slice of street at Causeway Bay, a busy retail precinct; and a major roadway at Admiralty, near the government offices. | |
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