Renewed clashes broke out in Hong Kong Saturday night as police used
water cannon and tear gas to disperse hardcore protesters hurling
Molotovs and bricks after tens of thousands rallied peacefully in a
nearby park.
Huge crowds had gathered to mark the fifth anniversary of the "Umbrella
Movement", the failed pro-democracy campaign that laid the groundwork
for the massive protests currently engulfing the finance hub.
Tens of thousands crammed into a park outside the city's parliament, the same site that was the epicentre of the 2014 protests.
But smaller crowds took over a main road opposite the building with
groups of hardcore activists in masks throwing bricks and petrol bombs
at the nearby Central Government Offices.
Police responded with water cannon laced with pepper solution and tear
gas volleys, though the crowds soon dispersed at the sight of riot
police.
The scenes were reminiscent of the Umbrella Movement, which exploded
when huge crowds came out after police fired tear gas at a student-led
rally which had taken over the same highway -- and was named after the
ubiquitous tool people used to defend themselves from police.
Both 2014's protests and the current demonstrations were fuelled by
fears that Beijing is eroding freedoms in the semi-autonomous Chinese
city and frustrations over the lack of direct elections. But the
character of the protests has noticeably hardened in the intervening
years.
Compared to the current strife -- where street battles have erupted for
16 consecutive weeks -- 2014's protests were famous for students
completing classwork in the camps, recycling their waste, and the police
largely avoiding direct conflict during the 79-day occupation.
This summer's pro-democracy protests have had a distinctly more
existential feel, with clashes growing in intensity and Beijing issuing
increasingly shrill warnings.
- 'Peaceful achieved nothing' -
"I think people have prepared for a long-term fight, it is not easy to
gain democracy from Chinese Communist Party," a 29-year-old engineer,
who gave her surname as Yuan, told AFP.
She said she had largely sat out the 2014 protests but felt compelled to
join the streets this summer, especially after police were accused of
responding too slowly to a gang of Beijing supporters who attacked
protesters in late July.
"Police behaviour is a major catalyst for people coming out," she said.
Many of those attending Saturday's rally defended the use of violence by
more hardcore activists and spoke wistfully about the more festive
atmosphere that characterised the Umbrella Movement.
But they said Beijing's refusal to grant democracy -- coupled with the
ongoing erosion of freedoms -- had hardened their resolve.
"If Hong Kong people could have achieved our demands with peaceful,
rational and non-violent action, then of course we would not have needed
to use more radical approaches," a 20-year-old student, who gave her
surname as Chan, told AFP.
"Looking back at the peaceful umbrella movement, there was no achievement at all."
The Umbrella Movement introduced a whole new generation of Hong Kongers to direct action.
Earlier Saturday, Joshua Wong, a prominent former student leader who
served a short jail sentence for his role in organising the 2014
protests, announced that he would stand in upcoming district council
elections.
He recently returned from the United States where he testified before a
Congressional committee about eroding freedoms in Hong Kong, infuriating
Beijing.
- China's birthday -
This summer's protests were ignited by a now-scrapped plan to allow extraditions to the authoritarian mainland.
But they have snowballed into a wider movement calling for democratic
rights and police accountability after Beijing and the city's leader
Carrie Lam took a hard line.
Activists are planning to ramp up their protests in the coming days.
Beijing is preparing a huge military parade on Tuesday to mark 70 years
since the founding of the People's Republic of China, revelling in its
transformation into a global superpower.
But democracy protesters are determined to take the shine off the
festivities, with many shouting "save your energy!" on Saturday night as
they changed clothes and dispersed.
Rallies are planned for Sunday to mark a Global Anti-Totalitarianism Day.
Students are planning a class boycott on Monday while online message
boards -- used to organise the largely leaderless protests -- have
filled with calls to disrupt celebrations of the People's Republic's
70th anniversary.
Among the demands being made by protesters is an independent inquiry
into the police, an amnesty for the 1,500 people arrested, and universal
suffrage.
But Beijing and local leader Carrie Lam have repeatedly dismissed those
demands. Earlier this week a top Chinese envoy in the city described
them as "political blackmail".
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