Hong Kong anti-government protesters set fire to shops and hurled petrol bombs on Sunday, police said, after riot police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse thousands in the Tsim Sha Tsui harbor-front hotel district.
The protesters, many in all-black clothing and face-masks now banned under a resurrected British colonial-era law, had gathered to denounce perceived police brutality during more than four months of often-violent unrest in the Chinese-ruled city.
There was a standoff as dusk fell, with protesters, bemused tourists and passers-by gathered on the pavements of the shopping and hotel artery of Nathan Road, which police had earlier cleared in slow-moving cordons.
Riot police stood by outside the Chungking Mansions high-rise warren of South Asian restaurants and backpacker hostels, shields and batons at the ready. Protesters shouted obscenities in colorful Cantonese at “black police”, referring to their perceived over-use of force.
“Fight for Hong Kong!” protesters shouted, “five demands, not one less”, a reference to demands for universal suffrage and an independent inquiry into police actions, among other things.
Police later moved away, leaving protesters, pedestrians and tourists alike to take over the street under the neon lights. Then one water cannon moved in, firing high into the air and down side-streets.
Police said protesters later hurled petrol bombs at a police station in Sham Shui Po, northwest of Tsim Sha Tsui, and set fire to shops in Jordan, north along Nathan Road from the harbor.
