Hong Kong police arrest 36, youngest aged 12, after running battles with protesters

 

Anti-extradition bill protesters are surrounded by tear gas during clashes with police in Tsuen Wan in Hong Kong, China August 25, 2019. Picture taken August 25, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

 

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong police said on Monday they arrested 36 people, the youngest aged 12, after violence during anti-government demonstrations escalated as protesters hurled Molotov cocktails at security forces who responded with water cannon and tear gas.

 

Sunday's protests saw some of the fiercest clashes yet between police and demonstrators since violence escalated in mid-June over a now-suspended extradition bill that would have allowed Hong Kong people to be sent to mainland China for trial.

 

Police fired water cannon and volleys of tear gas in running battles with brick-throwing protesters on Sunday, the second day of violent clashes in the Chinese-ruled city.

 

Six officers drew their pistols and one officer fired a warning shot into the air, police said in a statement.

 

"The escalating illegal and violent acts of radical protesters are not only outrageous, they also push Hong Kong to the verge of a very dangerous situation," the government said in a statement.

 

Protesters once again adopted cat-and-mouse tactics late in the evening, moving swiftly to locations across the former British colony, where they set up barricades to block some roads, following a largely peaceful rally earlier in the day.

 

Police said they arrested 29 men and seven women, aged 12 to 48, for offences including unlawful assembly, possession of offensive weapons and assaulting police officers.

 

The clashes on Saturday and Sunday marked a return to unrest after days of calmer demonstrations. The protests, which escalated in June over a now-suspended extradition bill, have rocked Hong Kong for three months, occasionally causing serious disruption including forcing the closure of the airport.

The city, a major Asian financial centre, is facing its biggest political crisis since the handover of power from British rule in 1997.

 

Protesters say they are fighting the erosion of the "one country, two systems" arrangement under which Hong Kong returned to China with the promise of continued freedoms, not enjoyed on the mainland, for 50 years.

 

(Reporting By Twinnie Siu and Donny Kwok; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Darren Schuettler)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-08-26

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info

It's going to get worse, a lot worse, before this is over. 

12 hours ago, Just1Voice said:

It's going to get worse, a lot worse, before this is over. 

Do you have any evidence to back your opinion? Being in HK now I have a very low opinion about the way this is being reported.

Off-topic post removed.

 

6 hours ago, fantom said:

Do you have any evidence to back your opinion? Being in HK now I have a very low opinion about the way this is being reported.

What is it about the reporting that is an issue?

14 hours ago, fantom said:

Do you have any evidence to back your opinion? Being in HK now I have a very low opinion about the way this is being reported.

You're not the only one who has a very low opinion about the way this is being reported.

Lots of people in Hong Kong are angry at how the media is reporting this. Some people in Hong Kong are angry, they can see that the demonstrations are slowly harming Hong Kong's economy. 

3 hours ago, tonbridgebrit said:

You're not the only one who has a very low opinion about the way this is being reported.

Lots of people in Hong Kong are angry at how the media is reporting this. Some people in Hong Kong are angry, they can see that the demonstrations are slowly harming Hong Kong's economy. 

 

Pretending to speak for others again? Could you support this "lots of people" bit with anything credible? That some people are angry is practically a given, and not saying a whole lot.