Hong Kong Rioters Wreak Havoc Across City

Date: 29 September 2019 - 22:39

News ID: ۷۱۰۷۶

HONG KONG (Dispatches) -- Hong Kong police fired water cannon, rubber bullets and round after round of tear gas at petrol bomb-throwing rioters on Sunday in some of the most widespread and violent clashes in more than three months of anti-government unrest.
Running battles in the Causeway Bay shopping district, Wan Chai bar area and the Admiralty district of central government offices followed a night of showdowns with police in the Chinese-ruled city, where street fires burned as dusk fell.
More protests are planned in the run-up to China’s Oct. 1 National Day, marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic.
Police fired tear gas from the roof of the Legislative Council building, which activists trashed and daubed with graffiti weeks ago.
Rioters built barricades with trolleys and trash cans and other debris. One threw a petrol bomb at police in the Wan Chai metro station where an entrance was set ablaze.
Others were trying to smash cameras over Bank of China ATMs but failed, spray-painting the screens instead.
At least one petrol bomb landed in the grounds of central government offices where several windows were smashed. There were street fires on the main drag of Hennessy Road.
Police, who raise placards warning of retaliation before firing tear gas or firing water cannon, a tradition dating back to British rule, made several arrests, often in swoops, grappling people to the tarmac.
There were no immediate reports of serious injuries.
The government said that the city’s leader, Carrie Lam, will be out of town for China’s National Day, despite her having sent out invitations for celebrations at home.
Some shops closed ahead of expected demonstrations, while the MTR metro service shut stations, a move that has made it a target of violence in the past.
China supporters dressed in red T-shirts gathered on top of Victoria Peak, overlooking the harbor, at around midday. They sang the Chinese national anthem and chanted "I love China”.
Angela, a housewife in her 40s, a Chinese flag sticker plastered on her cheek, said the rioters were "thugs”.
"If the government takes violent action I don’t object,” she said. "We have tolerated enough. I think I have emotional problems because of the riots. Because it’s not safe to go out.”
Lam, the focus of weeks of anti-government unrest, will leave for Beijing on Monday to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic the following day.