SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Police used tear gas to break up massive pro-democracy demonstrations Sunday night in Hong Kong. (Photo: Twitter)
Hong Kong Protests Turn Chaotic as Police Fire Tear Gas
Police turn to violence to break up peaceful sit-in as tens of thousands of activists rally outside government buildings
Sep 28, 2014
Police in Hong Kong unleashed tear gas on a massive, peaceful protest outside of government headquarters on Sunday morning, where tens of thousands of activists had gathered to demand free elections and universal suffrage.
The sit-in, which started Friday night, was part of a continuing series of actions organized by Hong Kong students and activist collective Occupy Central with Peace and Love that had brought parts of the region to standstill over the weekend, particularly after some protesters climbed over police barricades and shut down traffic on a six-lane highway. Protesters screamed "Shame!" and "Remove the blockade!" at police as they used force and tear gas to break up the demonstration.
Earlier in the day, police also squirted pepper spray and wielded batons at protesters, many of whom held open umbrellas as shields. Others used gauze, surgical masks, and goggles to protect their eyes. Many protesters donned yellow ribbons to symbolize hope for change.
The Chinese government has condemned the protests. But the movement began as a response to a recent Beijing ruling which effectively ended the possibility of true democracy in Hong Kong, as officials reneged on a promise to introduce universal suffrage in their next round of elections for the region's Chief Executive, due in 2017. Per the ruling, residents will only be able to vote on a representative from a small pool of candidates who have been vetted by a pro-establishment committee.
Benny Tai, one of the leaders of the Occupy Central movement, expressed his surprise at the rapid growth of the protest and said at a rally on Sunday that their demands could no longer be ignored. "It is totally unexpected," Tai said. "It's all about our pursuit of democracy. Beijing now sees it; the world now sees it."
"C.Y. Leung, do you see it?" he added, referring to the region's current Chief Executive, who previously said that "raw emotion" would achieve nothing in the fight for democracy and that his administration was "resolute in opposing the unlawful occupation actions by Occupy Central."
Students joined the movement by boycotting classes and eventually joining the demonstrations in the city's financial hub.
Occupy Central had previously said that its planned civil disobedience actions were set to begin on October 1, but on Sunday conceded that the student movement needed their support immediately.
"Occupy Central starts right now," Tai said.
The size of the crowds grew and diminished over the course of the weekend, at one point swelling to 50,000. Organizers estimated that roughly 10,000 were still camped out in front of government headquarters on Sunday night. Residents sent donations of bottled water and other supplies.
Political analyst Sonny Lo told AFP that the protests marked a turning point in Hong Kong's campaign for democracy. "From now on there will be more confrontation, possibly violent ones between citizens and police," he said.
Jimmy Lai, a Hong Kong-based entrepreneur who has long been an outspoken critic of the Chinese government, joined the protests over the weekend and told Reuters, "The more Hong Kong citizens come, the more unlikely the police can clear up the place."
"Even if we get beaten up, we cannot fight back," Lai said. "We will win this war with love and peace."
Protesters are using #OccupyCentral to provide live updates.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Police in Hong Kong unleashed tear gas on a massive, peaceful protest outside of government headquarters on Sunday morning, where tens of thousands of activists had gathered to demand free elections and universal suffrage.
The sit-in, which started Friday night, was part of a continuing series of actions organized by Hong Kong students and activist collective Occupy Central with Peace and Love that had brought parts of the region to standstill over the weekend, particularly after some protesters climbed over police barricades and shut down traffic on a six-lane highway. Protesters screamed "Shame!" and "Remove the blockade!" at police as they used force and tear gas to break up the demonstration.
Earlier in the day, police also squirted pepper spray and wielded batons at protesters, many of whom held open umbrellas as shields. Others used gauze, surgical masks, and goggles to protect their eyes. Many protesters donned yellow ribbons to symbolize hope for change.
The Chinese government has condemned the protests. But the movement began as a response to a recent Beijing ruling which effectively ended the possibility of true democracy in Hong Kong, as officials reneged on a promise to introduce universal suffrage in their next round of elections for the region's Chief Executive, due in 2017. Per the ruling, residents will only be able to vote on a representative from a small pool of candidates who have been vetted by a pro-establishment committee.
Benny Tai, one of the leaders of the Occupy Central movement, expressed his surprise at the rapid growth of the protest and said at a rally on Sunday that their demands could no longer be ignored. "It is totally unexpected," Tai said. "It's all about our pursuit of democracy. Beijing now sees it; the world now sees it."
"C.Y. Leung, do you see it?" he added, referring to the region's current Chief Executive, who previously said that "raw emotion" would achieve nothing in the fight for democracy and that his administration was "resolute in opposing the unlawful occupation actions by Occupy Central."
Students joined the movement by boycotting classes and eventually joining the demonstrations in the city's financial hub.
Occupy Central had previously said that its planned civil disobedience actions were set to begin on October 1, but on Sunday conceded that the student movement needed their support immediately.
"Occupy Central starts right now," Tai said.
The size of the crowds grew and diminished over the course of the weekend, at one point swelling to 50,000. Organizers estimated that roughly 10,000 were still camped out in front of government headquarters on Sunday night. Residents sent donations of bottled water and other supplies.
Political analyst Sonny Lo told AFP that the protests marked a turning point in Hong Kong's campaign for democracy. "From now on there will be more confrontation, possibly violent ones between citizens and police," he said.
Jimmy Lai, a Hong Kong-based entrepreneur who has long been an outspoken critic of the Chinese government, joined the protests over the weekend and told Reuters, "The more Hong Kong citizens come, the more unlikely the police can clear up the place."
"Even if we get beaten up, we cannot fight back," Lai said. "We will win this war with love and peace."
Protesters are using #OccupyCentral to provide live updates.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Police in Hong Kong unleashed tear gas on a massive, peaceful protest outside of government headquarters on Sunday morning, where tens of thousands of activists had gathered to demand free elections and universal suffrage.
The sit-in, which started Friday night, was part of a continuing series of actions organized by Hong Kong students and activist collective Occupy Central with Peace and Love that had brought parts of the region to standstill over the weekend, particularly after some protesters climbed over police barricades and shut down traffic on a six-lane highway. Protesters screamed "Shame!" and "Remove the blockade!" at police as they used force and tear gas to break up the demonstration.
Earlier in the day, police also squirted pepper spray and wielded batons at protesters, many of whom held open umbrellas as shields. Others used gauze, surgical masks, and goggles to protect their eyes. Many protesters donned yellow ribbons to symbolize hope for change.
The Chinese government has condemned the protests. But the movement began as a response to a recent Beijing ruling which effectively ended the possibility of true democracy in Hong Kong, as officials reneged on a promise to introduce universal suffrage in their next round of elections for the region's Chief Executive, due in 2017. Per the ruling, residents will only be able to vote on a representative from a small pool of candidates who have been vetted by a pro-establishment committee.
Benny Tai, one of the leaders of the Occupy Central movement, expressed his surprise at the rapid growth of the protest and said at a rally on Sunday that their demands could no longer be ignored. "It is totally unexpected," Tai said. "It's all about our pursuit of democracy. Beijing now sees it; the world now sees it."
"C.Y. Leung, do you see it?" he added, referring to the region's current Chief Executive, who previously said that "raw emotion" would achieve nothing in the fight for democracy and that his administration was "resolute in opposing the unlawful occupation actions by Occupy Central."
Students joined the movement by boycotting classes and eventually joining the demonstrations in the city's financial hub.
Occupy Central had previously said that its planned civil disobedience actions were set to begin on October 1, but on Sunday conceded that the student movement needed their support immediately.
"Occupy Central starts right now," Tai said.
The size of the crowds grew and diminished over the course of the weekend, at one point swelling to 50,000. Organizers estimated that roughly 10,000 were still camped out in front of government headquarters on Sunday night. Residents sent donations of bottled water and other supplies.
Political analyst Sonny Lo told AFP that the protests marked a turning point in Hong Kong's campaign for democracy. "From now on there will be more confrontation, possibly violent ones between citizens and police," he said.
Jimmy Lai, a Hong Kong-based entrepreneur who has long been an outspoken critic of the Chinese government, joined the protests over the weekend and told Reuters, "The more Hong Kong citizens come, the more unlikely the police can clear up the place."
"Even if we get beaten up, we cannot fight back," Lai said. "We will win this war with love and peace."
Protesters are using #OccupyCentral to provide live updates.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.