MONDAY 5 AUGUST 2019

Hong Kong demonstrators call

strike to paralyse city

Activists throws umbrellas onto a fire (Reuters)

JANE DALTON

Democracy activists in Hong Kong have called a general strike aimed at bringing the city to a halt today as
angry protests against Chinese influence escalate.

In the ninth successive weekend of unrest, hundreds of masked demonstrators started fires, blocked key
roads, spray-painted traffic lights and hurled objects including bricks at a police station.

Riot police fired tear gas to dispel protesters in a popular shopping area, forcing stores and malls, including
Times Square, to close early. Many flight departures were shown as being cancelled today, reportedly
because aviation workers were planning to strike.

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