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Hong Kong riot police gather ahead of harbour-front protest

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Dozens of Hong Kong police in full riot gear gathered ahead of an unauthorized pro-democracy protest on Sunday in the harbor-front tourist district of Tsim Sha Tsui, fuelling expectations they were ready to stop the rally before it had even started.

Police detained a couple of people as hundreds gathered in the autumn sunshine, some yelling profanities at the police, under the rallying cry of “fight police brutality and stand with Muslims, citizens and journalists”.

More than 1,000 Hong Kong medical workers and other protesters gathered for an authorized rally in the Chinese-ruled city’s financial center on Saturday, angry at perceived police brutality during more than four months of sometimes violent unrest.

A police water cannon fired bursts of blue-dyed water at a small group of people outside a mosque during protests in Tsim Sha Tsui last Sunday, drawing criticism from some in the Muslim community.

Billy, 26, a salesman, who did not want to give his full name, said he turned out on Sunday because he was angry at the spraying of the mosque.

“Hong Kong people, regardless of our religion…we come here to say no to our totalitarian government,” he told Reuters, adding he wanted to protest peacefully. “I have a little bit of fear … because our police sometimes they are uncontrollable and they threaten the safety of our people.”

Pro-democracy activists have attacked police with petrol bombs and rocks and slashed one officer in the neck with a knife. Police have responded with tear gas, water cannon, rubber bullets and occasional live rounds, wounding several protesters and a few journalists.

Police deny accusations of brutality, saying they have shown restraint in life-threatening situations. There has been a week-long lull in clashes.

Protesters are angry about what they see as creeping Chinese interference in Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula intended to guarantee freedoms that are not enjoyed on the mainland.

China denies meddling. It has accused foreign governments, including the United States and Britain, of inciting the unrest.

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