Hong Kong Police Fire Tear Gas at Pro-Democracy Protests

Pro-democracy protests occupy the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday, but after some protestors threw bricks and smoke bombs, police fired tear gas. The protest was to demand more democracy “and an investigation into the use of force to crack down on the six-month-long anti-government demonstrations.”

Fox Business reports that “in the largest of three rallies, a key thoroughfare along the waterfront on the Kowloon side of Victoria Harbour was packed with demonstrators, from hardened masked protesters in all-black outfits to families and the elderly.” The estimated attendees of the Kowloon rally are at 16,000.

Marchers shouted, “Dirty cops” and “Are you trying to kill us?” as they run away from the tear gas. Some protesters threw paving stones on the street in an attempt to slow the police down. Police fired more tear gas at night “after dozens of hardcore protesters set up roadblocks and vandalized some shops and restaurants linked to China.”

Two smaller separate rallies occurred on Hong Kong island earlier on Sunday. “One group marched to the United States Consulate-General to thank Washington for passing the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which aims to punish those considered to be suppressing freedoms in the city. Another protested against the widespread use of tear gas by the Hong Kong police.,” reported Hong Kong Free Press. Both rallies only saw minor confrontations, the report added.