The Washington Post - 21.10.2019

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21 , 2019. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A

BY SHIBANI MAHTANI,

RYAN KILPATRICK HO

AND TIMOTHY MCLAUGHLIN

hong kong — Hundreds of thou-
sands of pro-democracy protesters
returned to the streets of Hong
Kong on Sunday, defying a ban on
assembly before being violently dis-
persed by police tear gas and a
water cannon.
A police water cannon filled with
stinging blue dye blasted protesters
along a major thoroughfare in Kow-
loon. It also hit a small group stand-
ing guard outside a mosque — an
important spiritual nexus for the
city’s largely South Asian Muslim
community — leaving bystanders
choking and vomiting.
Protesters vandalized business-
es viewed as supporting Beijing,
threw molotov cocktails at police
stations, set barricades on fire and
smashed up subway stations in cha-
otic scenes that have become famil-
iar to the city after five months of
sustained protest.
The huge turnout, estimated by
organizers at around 350,000 and
including families, children and the
elderly, showed that the movement
maintains widespread support in
the face of the increasingly violent
tactics of protesters and the escalat-
ing use of force by police.
Marchers made a sea of colored
umbrellas through the narrow
streets of the city’s Kowloon area,
which are lined with malls and in-
ternational hotels. Some waved
Catalonian flags in solidarity with
the independence protests in that
region of Spain.
In contrast to previous demon-
strations, tensions escalated quick-
ly, with clashes erupting long before
sunset. By late afternoon, protest-
ers were throwing molotov cock-
tails and bricks at police stations.
In a show of their increasing so-
phistication, protesters also pro-
duced power tools to drill metal
railings into road surfaces for stur-
dier barricades to hold back police.
Hong Kong authorities said pro-
tester violence has been escalating.
In a statement released just after
midnight, the government said po-
lice had intercepted a vehicle “with
a large number of petrol bombs,”
and “suspected explosive items”
were found around the city. There
were no reports that any explosives
were detonated.
“Members of the public should
not fall foul of the law by participat-
ing in unauthorised processions

and assemblies in order not to give

rioters the chance to commit

crimes,” the government said.

The months of protests began in

opposition to a bill that would have

allowed extraditions to mainland

China. The Hong Kong govern-

ment said the legislation, since

withdrawn, was in response to a

brutal murder of a young Hong

Kong woman by her boyfriend in

Taiwan. He has since voluntarily

surrendered to Taiwanese authori-

ties, despite the lack of the extradi-

tion treaty.

Protests have swelled into a com-

prehensive rejection of Hong

Kong’s leaders, who many say act

only in Beijing’s interest, and re-

vived a demand for direct elections

in the semiautonomous territory.

“We don’t care whether they will

approve the march or not. Our fight

for justice in the face of tyranny

goes on anyway,” said Victor, 24,

who returned to his home city from

New Zealand to participate in the

protest. “The movement is spread-

ing everywhere, all around the

world.”

Sunday’s protest came days after

the leader of the Civil Human

Rights Front, Jimmy Sham, was at-

tacked by a group of men wielding

hammers in the Mong Kok neigh-

borhood.

The beating left Sham, who is

contesting a seat in next month’s

local elections, splayed on the street

and covered in blood. It was the

second time in recent months that

he had been targeted. He was re-

leased from the hospital on Sunday

but will continue to need medical

treatment and physical therapy.

“The message was clear that

someone or some forces behind the

scenes are trying to threaten protest

organizers and democracy activ-

ists,” said Eric Lai, vice convener of

the Civil Human Rights Front. “We

cannot identify who was behind the

attacks, but the objective is to create

a chilling effect on those who are

making demands for justice.”

The CHRF, founded in Septem-

ber 2002 in opposition to proposed

national security legislation, is an

umbrella organization made up of

several civil society groups. While

the protest movement has re-

mained leaderless and largely de-

centralized, the group has played a

major role in organizing the largest

marches.

Online rumors that Sham’s at-

tackers appeared to be South Asian

prompted fears that ethnic minori-

ties could be targeted for reprisal. In

response, protesters called for

greater outreach to non-Chinese

Hong Kongers and to remain vigi-

lant against attempts to incite vio-

lence against them.

Volunteers, minorities, protest-

ers and others stood at the gate to

the Kowloon Mosque during the

protest, holding signs pleading for

people not to attack any ethnic mi-

nority people or buildings. While

some handed out supplies, others

led chants, and passing marchers

loudly cheered them on.

But only a few hours later, a po-

lice truck unleashed a cascade of

blue water at the mosque, hitting

the people who had been guarding

it. The blue dye is used to identify

demonstrators.

Passersby were left choking and

vomiting, and the steps of the

mosque were stained blue. Phillip

Khan, a prominent businessman in

the Muslim community standing

outside the mosque, called the act

an “insult to Islam.”

“It is ridiculous. The police just

went mad,” said Jeremy Tam, a pro-

democracy lawmaker, his pants

and shoes soaked blue and his eyes

bloodshot. “We came here to pro-

tect the mosque against protesters,

but it was the police that did this.

“Why make such a scene when it

was just peaceful?”

Nawaz, a 36-year-old Pakistani

man who has lived in Hong Kong

for 25 years, emerged to see the

blue-stained road after the cannon

had sped past.

“I have such a bad feeling seeing

this,” he said. “This is our religion.

How can they do this? Only the

police are giving us pressure, not

the protesters.” Like others, he de-

clined to give his family name for

fear of backlash from authorities.

Police said in a statement later

that the mosque was “accidentally

affected” and they had “immedi-

ately contacted” the chief imam

and Muslim community leaders

to “clarify the situation and to

show” concern.

Tense scenes unfolded outside

the Tsim Sha Tsui police station by

early afternoon, as protesters

marching past shouted chants call-

ing the police gangsters and de-

manding the force be dissolved. Po-

lice use of force has emerged as a

key complaint for many in Hong

Kong, who say officers are acting

with impunity to suppress the

movement.

A protester urinated on the sta-

tion’s gates, and police fired tear gas

to disperse the crowd. Tear gas

streamed down the Ladies Market,

a popular tourist attraction, send-

ing unprotected stall-holders and

shoppers scurrying for cover. Some

were assisted by protesters and vol-

unteer medics.

Many demonstrators, facing the

possibility of being penned in by

police, found sanctuary in little

businesses that support the pro-

tests or huddled in overflowing res-

taurants, cafes and bars where they

could change their clothes and wait

for reports on Telegram indicating

how they could get safely away

while avoiding the police.

Sunday’s protest, planned ini-

tially to show opposition to a re-

cently enacted law banning the use

of face masks at public gatherings,

continued for hours from a starting

point in the Tsim Sha Tsui neigh-

borhood. April, 27, and her boy-

friend, William, 29, stood near a

park where protesters first gath-

ered. The couple said they had held

off getting married or having kids

out of concern over the direction of

Hong Kong and the possibility of

raising children in a city where Bei-

jing’s grip is tightening.

“The situation for future genera-

tions is turning worse very quickly.

We are really worried,” April said.

“If we don’t fight today, there won’t

be a future generation.”

As night fell around the Kowloon

Mosque, a group of volunteers be-

gan clearing the pools of caustic

blue dye, using cloths to remove it

from the mosque’s metal gates and

brooms to sweep it into drains.

Some gagged as they worked, but

the crowd of volunteers grew by the

hour.

[email protected]

During protest, Hong Kong police blast mosque with blue dye

KIM KYUNG-HOON/REUTERS

A journalist reacts as police spray water during an anti-government protest in Hong Kong. Hundreds of thousands of people marched.

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