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| Hong Kong: thousands march in Yuen Long, scene of thug attacks | Hong Kong: thousands march in Yuen Long, scene of thug attacks |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Thousands of protesters are marching in Yuen Long where last weekend suspected gang members attacked Hong Kong commuters with poles and rods, leaving 45 hospitalised. | |
| Protesters filled the street in defiance of police, who had banned the demonstration, chanting “Go Hong Kong!” and “Nasty police!” Others said: “Hong Kong police, they know the law but they break the law!” | Protesters filled the street in defiance of police, who had banned the demonstration, chanting “Go Hong Kong!” and “Nasty police!” Others said: “Hong Kong police, they know the law but they break the law!” |
| Marchers said they had come to condemn the use of violence to intimidate people into staying silent. | |
| Tan, 25, who had come to the rally despite his parents’ request to stay away, said: “If no one stands up for those people who got hurt, in the future there may be more people who get hurt. We just want to say no to violence.” | Tan, 25, who had come to the rally despite his parents’ request to stay away, said: “If no one stands up for those people who got hurt, in the future there may be more people who get hurt. We just want to say no to violence.” |
| “If every Hongkonger chooses to stay at home then we will surely die,” said Hong, 30. “If all the people choose to stand up and we choose to support each other we will create a better society.” | “If every Hongkonger chooses to stay at home then we will surely die,” said Hong, 30. “If all the people choose to stand up and we choose to support each other we will create a better society.” |
| The march is taking place in Hong Kong’s New Territories in the north of the city, where suspected triads attacked commuters and protesters last weekend. | The march is taking place in Hong Kong’s New Territories in the north of the city, where suspected triads attacked commuters and protesters last weekend. |
| A week later, lines of protesters, many dressed head to toe in black, wearing helmets, pads and masks, filled Yuen Long station, sitting on the ground in groups. Some made their way to the rally’s starting point, a playground. Most shops along the main road where the march was taking place were closed. | A week later, lines of protesters, many dressed head to toe in black, wearing helmets, pads and masks, filled Yuen Long station, sitting on the ground in groups. Some made their way to the rally’s starting point, a playground. Most shops along the main road where the march was taking place were closed. |
| The road was turned into a sea of umbrellas as demonstrators tried to shield themselves from the sun. The mood was festive as protesters broke out into cheers and clapped. Residents crowded an overpass, watching and occasionally yelling out: “Go Hong Kong people!” Some hung banners across the bridge that said: “Police and gangsters are one.” | The road was turned into a sea of umbrellas as demonstrators tried to shield themselves from the sun. The mood was festive as protesters broke out into cheers and clapped. Residents crowded an overpass, watching and occasionally yelling out: “Go Hong Kong people!” Some hung banners across the bridge that said: “Police and gangsters are one.” |
| Riot police set up posts along the road and in Yuen Long station, where last week’s attack took place and where the march was scheduled to end on Saturday. | Riot police set up posts along the road and in Yuen Long station, where last week’s attack took place and where the march was scheduled to end on Saturday. |
| Protesters surrounded the police station, which was closed, calling on police to come out and talk. One tried to offer them desserts. Others held signs that said: “Stop the violence.” Residents in villages have secured bricks to the ground, so they cannot be used by protesters. | Protesters surrounded the police station, which was closed, calling on police to come out and talk. One tried to offer them desserts. Others held signs that said: “Stop the violence.” Residents in villages have secured bricks to the ground, so they cannot be used by protesters. |
| A queue of at least six police vans were parked outside Yuen Long station. About a dozen men in white T-shirts, the clothing favoured by last week’s attackers, could be seen in Nam Pin Wai village, just outside the station. Many were wearing masks. | |
| The head of the Yuen Long village committee told a press briefing this week that protesters should stay away from villages. | The head of the Yuen Long village committee told a press briefing this week that protesters should stay away from villages. |
| Earlier in the week, the police rejected an application by protesters to hold a rally in Yuen Long on the grounds that there could be clashes with the residents of the villages, where the triads are active. | Earlier in the week, the police rejected an application by protesters to hold a rally in Yuen Long on the grounds that there could be clashes with the residents of the villages, where the triads are active. |
| The Hong Kong government told citizens on its Facebook page on Saturday to refrain from going to the Yuen Long protest, warning them against “defying the law”. | The Hong Kong government told citizens on its Facebook page on Saturday to refrain from going to the Yuen Long protest, warning them against “defying the law”. |
| What are the Hong Kong protests about? | What are the Hong Kong protests about? |
| The attack in Yuen Long and the response by authorities has plunged Hong Kong further into its worst political crisis in decades. Residents, activists and opposition lawmakers have accused the government and police of colluding with the triads in an attempt to suppress a protest movement that has taken over the city for the last two months, a charge vehemently denied by the Hong Kong leader, Carrie Lam. | The attack in Yuen Long and the response by authorities has plunged Hong Kong further into its worst political crisis in decades. Residents, activists and opposition lawmakers have accused the government and police of colluding with the triads in an attempt to suppress a protest movement that has taken over the city for the last two months, a charge vehemently denied by the Hong Kong leader, Carrie Lam. |
| The demonstrations, initially triggered by a bill that would allow extraditions to mainland China, have turned into a referendum on the Hong Kong government and the eroding of the city’s freedoms under Beijing’s control. China has labelled the protests riots and condemned the “extreme illegal violence”. | The demonstrations, initially triggered by a bill that would allow extraditions to mainland China, have turned into a referendum on the Hong Kong government and the eroding of the city’s freedoms under Beijing’s control. China has labelled the protests riots and condemned the “extreme illegal violence”. |
| Over the past week, dozens of groups including civil servants, teachers, and aviation workers have joined the protest movement by issuing letters of condemnation and threatening “industrial action” if the government does not respond to the public’s demands. | Over the past week, dozens of groups including civil servants, teachers, and aviation workers have joined the protest movement by issuing letters of condemnation and threatening “industrial action” if the government does not respond to the public’s demands. |
| The police rejected another application by protesters to hold a rally in Sheung Wan where police and protesters clashed last week. | The police rejected another application by protesters to hold a rally in Sheung Wan where police and protesters clashed last week. |
| The denial of permission amounts to a ban on the protests, a move the police had not taken over the past seven weeks of demonstrations. Protesters have pledged to come out despite the ban, escalating the prospect of clashes with police. | The denial of permission amounts to a ban on the protests, a move the police had not taken over the past seven weeks of demonstrations. Protesters have pledged to come out despite the ban, escalating the prospect of clashes with police. |
| To get around the ban, protesters have called on Hongkongers to come for a “full-gear shopping day” in Yuen Long, in which protesters would don their protective gear to go shopping. | To get around the ban, protesters have called on Hongkongers to come for a “full-gear shopping day” in Yuen Long, in which protesters would don their protective gear to go shopping. |
| Others have called for a mass round of Pokémon Go. Some have sarcastically said they will be holding a memorial, which does not need police permission, for the late Chinese premier Li Peng, known as the “butcher of Beijing” for his role in the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, who died this week. | Others have called for a mass round of Pokémon Go. Some have sarcastically said they will be holding a memorial, which does not need police permission, for the late Chinese premier Li Peng, known as the “butcher of Beijing” for his role in the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, who died this week. |
| [Sound on] 'Hongkongers add oil': A Cathay Pacific pilot landing in Hong Kong from Japan on Friday reassured passengers about the anti-extradition law protests at the airport: https://t.co/ZBMxDApWoh #HongKong #NoToChinaExtradition #china #antiELAB pic.twitter.com/S74wK1GPJ7 | [Sound on] 'Hongkongers add oil': A Cathay Pacific pilot landing in Hong Kong from Japan on Friday reassured passengers about the anti-extradition law protests at the airport: https://t.co/ZBMxDApWoh #HongKong #NoToChinaExtradition #china #antiELAB pic.twitter.com/S74wK1GPJ7 |
| On Friday, thousands of protesters staged an 11-hour sit in at Hong Kong airport. A pilot for Cathay Pacific, a Hong Kong carrier, alerted passengers upon landing that there was a “very peaceful and orderly demonstration” taking place in the arrival hall. | |
| The pilot said: “So don’t be scared by all these people wearing black shirts ... and feel free to talk to them and know more about Hong Kong if you want to. And last but not least, go Hong Kong!” | The pilot said: “So don’t be scared by all these people wearing black shirts ... and feel free to talk to them and know more about Hong Kong if you want to. And last but not least, go Hong Kong!” |
| Additional reporting by Verna Yu | Additional reporting by Verna Yu |
| Hong Kong | Hong Kong |
| Asia Pacific | Asia Pacific |
| China | China |
| Protest | Protest |
| news | news |
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