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Police fire tear-gas as showdown over Hong Kong's democracy heats up
Sydney Morning Herald - September 29, 2014
Canisters of tear-gas were fired repeatedly to push back the largely peaceful protesters, filling the air with thick plumes of smoke that burnt the eyes and singed the skin, and transformed the thriving financial hub into a heaving night battleground.
While the tear-gas momentarily scattered crowds, it seemed only to galvanise protesters, who returned in droves, drawing further participants who decided to join the protests in solidarity, angered by what they considered to be a heavy-handed response by authorities.
"Before dinner, I never would have imagined that I would join [the protests]," Candy Lam, a 32-year-old bank employee, said.
"I thought it was unhelpful to confront the Communist Party in this way, and that we could find other ways to negotiate, but tonight is too much. I saw the 6pm news and so many of us cried in front of the television."
A 57-year-old construction worker, who only wanted to be identified by his last name, Ng, said he saw the tear-gas on television and decided to join the protest then and there.
Protesters also moved to occupy many major intersections across the city as police blocked access to the city's government offices, while authorities were forced to close a central subway station for security reasons.
Waves of protesters marched towards police blockades with their hands in the air, many holding umbrellas to guard against volleys of tear-gas. Organisers also handed out masks and cling wrap, which protesters used to protect their eyes.
"Open the road!" and "Shame!" they chanted, as they called for Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying's resignation and implored police to shed their riot gear and join them in protest.
The electric atmosphere moved some to tears. As chanting in the crowd reached fever pitch, Leung Hei began to weep. "It's very sad," the 30-year-old postgraduate history student said. "The police are meant to protect us, not to step on us."
The Hong Kong government said the police warned demonstrators to "leave peacefully and in an orderly manner, otherwise officers would use a higher level of force".
"The central government adamantly opposes the various illegal acts that have occurred in Hong Kong, damaging rule of law and social order," the mainland's official news agency, Xinhua, said.
Hong Kong police said they had arrested 78 people aged between 16 and 58 in connection with the protests. Joshua Wong, the high-profile 17-year-old student protest leader, was released late on Sunday after more than 40 hours in detention without charge.
Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests have been sparked by a decision by China's legislature to reject calls for its people to freely elect their next leader. For the first time, the 2017 chief executive vote will be carried out by a public vote, but a nomination committee will, effectively, be able to vet the candidates on the ballot, which protest organisers say, essentially, gives Beijing the ability to screen out any dissenting voices.
Mr Leung said on Sunday that the Hong Kong government was "resolute in opposing the unlawful actions by Occupy Central" and that the central government's decision on Hong Kong political reform was "legally binding".
Benny Tai, an associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong who co-founded Occupy Central, said he and other protesters were prepared to stay and peacefully resist any effort to clear the area.
He said the Hong Kong government's response would probably be guided by advice and signals from Beijing, which exercises sovereignty over the city.
"It's hard for me to guess what the Chinese government thinks," he told the New York Times. "A responsible government that loves its people would be moved and touched, but I'm not sure they love their own people."
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