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| Clashes and Tear Gas as Hong Kong Police Confront Protesters in Yuen Long | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| HONG KONG — After firing multiple rounds of tear gas, riot police officers on Saturday briefly clashed with protesters inside the same Hong Kong train station where an armed mob had attacked demonstrators last weekend. | HONG KONG — After firing multiple rounds of tear gas, riot police officers on Saturday briefly clashed with protesters inside the same Hong Kong train station where an armed mob had attacked demonstrators last weekend. |
| Tens of thousands of protesters had converged on the northern district of Yuen Long to show their opposition to an assault by more than 100 men, armed with sticks and metal bars, on demonstrators and others there last Sunday night that had left at least 45 people injured. | |
| What started out as a peaceful rally descended into brief clashes and chaos at the train station where last week’s attack had taken place. After getting the protesters off the streets with round after round of tear gas, the riot police stormed the train station where protesters had retreated, and brief clashes ensued before the officers backed away. | What started out as a peaceful rally descended into brief clashes and chaos at the train station where last week’s attack had taken place. After getting the protesters off the streets with round after round of tear gas, the riot police stormed the train station where protesters had retreated, and brief clashes ensued before the officers backed away. |
| The Hong Kong police had taken the rare step of formally objecting to the Saturday protest, citing concerns about possible violence in their rejection of the applications to hold it. In a statement early Sunday, the government condemned the protesters “for breaching the public peace and breaking the law deliberately.” It said the police would take serious action against protesters who had engaged in violence. | |
| The government said earlier that 17 people were hurt, including 10 who were hospitalized, with two in serious condition. In a statement early Sunday, the police said 11 men had been arrested on charges including unlawful assembly, possession of offensive weapons, assaulting a police officer and assault. They said at least four officers were injured. | |
| The wave of protests sweeping Hong Kong began in early June and has targeted draft legislation, since shelved, that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China. The demands have since grown to include broader democracy and an independent investigation into accusations that the police used excessive force against demonstrators. | The wave of protests sweeping Hong Kong began in early June and has targeted draft legislation, since shelved, that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China. The demands have since grown to include broader democracy and an independent investigation into accusations that the police used excessive force against demonstrators. |
| “Hong Kong people have to unite and stand up for Hong Kong,” said Rita Tang, a 56-year-old health consultant who joined Saturday’s protest in Yuen Long. “We have neglected our rights. We must fight for our future generation for their rights that they deserve.” | “Hong Kong people have to unite and stand up for Hong Kong,” said Rita Tang, a 56-year-old health consultant who joined Saturday’s protest in Yuen Long. “We have neglected our rights. We must fight for our future generation for their rights that they deserve.” |
| Protesters started filling the main street of Yuen Long in the afternoon and marched peacefully for about two hours. | Protesters started filling the main street of Yuen Long in the afternoon and marched peacefully for about two hours. |
| “We have come here because we still support all the actions of the people here today,” said Cary Lo, a 37-year-old compliance officer and community officer for the Democratic Party of Hong Kong. He held a yellow umbrella, a symbol of the pro-democracy protest movement. | “We have come here because we still support all the actions of the people here today,” said Cary Lo, a 37-year-old compliance officer and community officer for the Democratic Party of Hong Kong. He held a yellow umbrella, a symbol of the pro-democracy protest movement. |
| But the police began to push the back after a group occupied a road on the edge of the town center, surrounding a police van, smashing a window and covering it with graffiti. | But the police began to push the back after a group occupied a road on the edge of the town center, surrounding a police van, smashing a window and covering it with graffiti. |
| For several hours in the afternoon, as protesters tried to advance toward a police line, riot officers fired round after round of tear gas at them, forcing them back. A leading pro-democracy lawmaker, Roy Kwong, said the tear gas was being fired near a home for older people. | For several hours in the afternoon, as protesters tried to advance toward a police line, riot officers fired round after round of tear gas at them, forcing them back. A leading pro-democracy lawmaker, Roy Kwong, said the tear gas was being fired near a home for older people. |
| “It’s an elderly home,” he shouted at the police. “If an elderly person dies, you need to be responsible.” | “It’s an elderly home,” he shouted at the police. “If an elderly person dies, you need to be responsible.” |
| The protesters dragged steel barricades and pulled down metal fences to assemble makeshift roadblocks as they tried to get closer to a low-rise village where gang members were thought to have fled after last Sunday’s mob attack. Riot police officers drove them back with tear gas. | The protesters dragged steel barricades and pulled down metal fences to assemble makeshift roadblocks as they tried to get closer to a low-rise village where gang members were thought to have fled after last Sunday’s mob attack. Riot police officers drove them back with tear gas. |
| Across the masses of demonstrators, a chorus of banging could be heard as the crowd used sticks and umbrellas to strike road dividers and other metallic surfaces. The police said some demonstrators were throwing bricks and other hard objects at officers. | Across the masses of demonstrators, a chorus of banging could be heard as the crowd used sticks and umbrellas to strike road dividers and other metallic surfaces. The police said some demonstrators were throwing bricks and other hard objects at officers. |
| Most businesses along the protest route and in Yuen Long’s otherwise bustling malls shut down as the demonstrators marched through the area. Many protesters gathered around the town’s police station, throwing “ghost money” — a type of fake money usually meant for the dead — at the building. | Most businesses along the protest route and in Yuen Long’s otherwise bustling malls shut down as the demonstrators marched through the area. Many protesters gathered around the town’s police station, throwing “ghost money” — a type of fake money usually meant for the dead — at the building. |
| The Hong Kong police have been criticized for their slow response to the mob attack on Sunday, and for not detaining anyone in Yuen Long that night. They have since arrested 12 men in connection with the attack, including some accused of having connections with the gangs known as triads. | The Hong Kong police have been criticized for their slow response to the mob attack on Sunday, and for not detaining anyone in Yuen Long that night. They have since arrested 12 men in connection with the attack, including some accused of having connections with the gangs known as triads. |
| Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung, the No. 2 official in Hong Kong, apologized on Friday for the police response. | Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung, the No. 2 official in Hong Kong, apologized on Friday for the police response. |
| But in an unusually public sign of divisions between the police and the government, some officers posted images online late Friday saying that Mr. Cheung did not speak for them, and that his words undermined their work. A letter from the Junior Police Officers’ Association “severely condemned” Mr. Cheung’s comments. | But in an unusually public sign of divisions between the police and the government, some officers posted images online late Friday saying that Mr. Cheung did not speak for them, and that his words undermined their work. A letter from the Junior Police Officers’ Association “severely condemned” Mr. Cheung’s comments. |
| The authorities had warned that a march in Yuen Long would threaten public security and risk clashes between protesters and residents. To skirt the police ban on the event, some protesters suggested alternative reasons for going to Yuen Long: shopping, jogging, playing Pokemon Go or even, most sarcastically, holding a memorial for Li Peng, the recently deceased ex-premier of China who was loathed by many for his role in crushing the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. | |
| Among those attending the protest was Leonard Cheng, the president of Lingnan University, who said he wanted “to know and understand the situation because many students are here.” He warned students away from violence, saying, “Please run if you see danger.” | Among those attending the protest was Leonard Cheng, the president of Lingnan University, who said he wanted “to know and understand the situation because many students are here.” He warned students away from violence, saying, “Please run if you see danger.” |
| Yuen Long, which sits near fish and shrimp farms across a bay from the mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen, has both old villages and urban new towns, which were built in the 1970s and ’80s to handle Hong Kong’s population growth. For many years, dating back to when Hong Kong was a British colony, the authorities have trodden carefully with the village residents. | Yuen Long, which sits near fish and shrimp farms across a bay from the mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen, has both old villages and urban new towns, which were built in the 1970s and ’80s to handle Hong Kong’s population growth. For many years, dating back to when Hong Kong was a British colony, the authorities have trodden carefully with the village residents. |
| Descendants of people who lived in the villages in the late 19th century, when Britain took over the area, are still given special land rights and representation in elected bodies — privileges seen as unfair by many in the wider population. | Descendants of people who lived in the villages in the late 19th century, when Britain took over the area, are still given special land rights and representation in elected bodies — privileges seen as unfair by many in the wider population. |
| Eddie Chu, a pro-democracy lawmaker, warned protesters this week to avoid villages, graves and ancestral halls in the area. Any such incursion, he wrote on Facebook, would help justify the arguments of Junius Ho, a pro-establishment politician from the area. Mr. Ho was seen with men in white T-shirts on the night of the train station attack, and he later said that Yuen Long needed to be defended from protesters. Soon after the attack, the graves of Mr. Ho’s parents were vandalized. | Eddie Chu, a pro-democracy lawmaker, warned protesters this week to avoid villages, graves and ancestral halls in the area. Any such incursion, he wrote on Facebook, would help justify the arguments of Junius Ho, a pro-establishment politician from the area. Mr. Ho was seen with men in white T-shirts on the night of the train station attack, and he later said that Yuen Long needed to be defended from protesters. Soon after the attack, the graves of Mr. Ho’s parents were vandalized. |
| Earlier this past week, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of National Defense said the military, which has several thousand troops based in Hong Kong, could be called in if the police were unable to maintain order. Hong Kong officials have had the right to ask for military intervention ever since the territory was returned to Chinese rule in 1997, but they have repeatedly said that they have no plans to take such a drastic step. | Earlier this past week, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of National Defense said the military, which has several thousand troops based in Hong Kong, could be called in if the police were unable to maintain order. Hong Kong officials have had the right to ask for military intervention ever since the territory was returned to Chinese rule in 1997, but they have repeatedly said that they have no plans to take such a drastic step. |