Holiday protests turn ugly in Hong Kong
Hong Kong's Christmas celebrations were marred by sporadic clashes between police and pro-democracy activists Wednesday as the city's pro-Beijing leader said the festive season was being "ruined" by demonstrators. Police used pepper spray and tear gas as activists held small flash-mob protests in malls and multiple districts across the city.
In Mong Kok, an area that's seen frequent clashes over the last six months, police fired multiple rounds of tear gas to disperse crowds that were heckling officers, an AFP reporter at the scene said.
Pepper spray was also used in at least two malls as police and protesters clashed. Multiple young demonstrators were detained, some by plainclothes police who'd mixed with the crowds, according to live local TV broadcasts.
Wednesday's skirmishes were less sustained than those on Christmas Eve, when battles between pro-democracy activists and riot police swept through a major shopping district for hours.
That evening's unrest was the most serious in what has otherwise been a few weeks of comparative calm for a city upended by more than six months of often-violent protests.
Police used tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray on Christmas Eve in multiple locations while protesters responded by throwing sporadic Molotov cocktails, blocking roads and vandalizing businesses deemed to be sympathetic to the government.
Hong Kong's pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam on Wednesday condemned the Christmas Eve protesters on Facebook, describing them as "reckless and selfish rioters," adding that, "Such illegal acts have not only dampened the festive mood but also adversely affected local businesses."
The protests now seem sure to continue in the new year.
Thousands of black-clad protesters — some wearing Santa hats and reindeer antlers — took to the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui, a usually bustling tourist district on Christmas Eve.
Clashes soon erupted, with riot police firing multiple rounds of tear gas to disperse protesters throughout the evening, including outside the famous Peninsula Hotel. Rubber bullet casings were also seen on the ground.
Police said a "large group of rioters" had built barricades, damaged traffic lights and dug up bricks on the area's major thoroughfares and vandalized stores. Some threw Molotov cocktails in one district, they added.
Meanwhile, flash-mob rallies were held in multiple malls across the financial hub, with protesters chanting anti-government slogans.
In Harbour City, a luxury mall, police used pepper spray and batons when a group of plainclothes officers were discovered and surrounded, an AFP reporter at the scene said.
The plainclothes officers made multiple arrests as the crowds threw objects and heckled them. Riot police quickly arrived, with one aiming a shotgun at protesters as shops quickly shuttered.
Flash-mob rallies formed in at least four other locations on Tuesday night, with riot police trying to disperse crowds shouting chants and heckling officers.
The Reuters news service quoted one protester as saying, "Even though this is a very joyful event and holiday for us, some are in the jail, and some are arrested. They cannot enjoy this holiday. I think we should remind others that our fight has not ended yet so we should continue our fight."
Another told Reuters, "Many Hong Kong people didn't expect this Christmas to be different. Last year, many of us were very happy and did the Christmas Eve countdown. But this year, the Christmas Eve seems to become the time to fight. Not only just Christmas Eve but also New Year's Eve, and more
festivals in the future will be related to our demands until the government responds to us."
Hong Kong's many malls have become regular protest venues as protesters try to cause economic disruption in their push for greater democratic freedoms and police accountability.
Online forums have called for pop-up demonstrations over the Christmas and New Year period targeting shopping districts.
A former British colony with a sizable Christian population, Hong Kong is having a distinctly muted Christmas this year.
Swathes of the population are seething against Beijing's rule and the semi-autonomous city's local government.
The months of protest have helped tip a financial hub already battered by the trade war into recession and sparked intense political polarization.
Christmas Eve is usually a major night for Hong Kong's retailers and bars. Police said they wouldn't close roads to traffic this year, fearing protesters might use the opportunity to gather.
Hong Kong's protests were initially sparked by now-abandoned legislation that would have allowed extraditions to the authoritarian Chinese mainland. They've since morphed into a popular revolt against Beijing's rule amid spiraling fears that the city is losing some of its unique liberties.
Local leader Carrie Lam eventually scrapped the extradition bill, but both she and Beijing have refused to make any further concessions.
Among the demands being made by protesters is an inquiry into the police, amnesty for the more than 6,000 people arrested and the right to elect Hong Kong's leader.
But Beijing has thrown is weight behind Lam and dismissed the movement's grievances.
The fall-off in violence came after hundreds of hardcore protesters were arrested during a campus siege — and after the pro-democracy camp won a landslide in local elections — last month.
That has given city leaders and police some breathing room. But public anger remains palpable.
Earlier this month, a huge crowd of some 800,000 people marched peacefully.
The same group behind that rally have applied for permission to hold a similar march on New Year's Day.
