Despite the police issuing a ban on a protest rally at Yuen Long District, the ‘pro-democracy bunch’ went ahead anyway. They amassed on the tarmac, with helmets and umbrellas, by the hundreds on Saturday late afternoon (27 Jul).
They were marching to express their indignation against the violence of the triad gangs. 5 days ago, the supposed gang members had attacked some of the demonstrators in Yuen Long train station, leaving more than 45 injured.
Because the crowd would not disperse and some members even started throwing bricks and other objects at the police line, the police had to employ more ‘compelling’ means.
Tear gas.
What ensued was chaos — which at this point, should hardly be very surprising to Hong Kongers.
According to tweets from the Hong Kong police, the protesters were even surrounding the police building, leading to them halting Report Room services temporarily i.e. people wouldn’t be able to call in to report a crime.
As night closed in, the demonstrating crowd began to thin.
But some, the headstrong, refused to leave, building a kind of barricade between them and police using metal barriers and other makeshift equipment.
There were also those sat on the metaphorical fence, waiting for further instruction inside Yuen Long train station.
At around 10.15pm, the police started storming Yuen Long train station in a bid to disperse the protesters inside.
This meant that protesters on the streets would have no way of entering the station and taking the train home without going through the police.
2 hours past midnight, the remaining protesters eventually dispersed.
According to the CNN live report, 23 people involved in the clash suffered injuries. Among them, 2 are in a serious condition. It is not known what proportion of them are protesters and what are police.
For unlawful assembly, the protesters, if caught, may be jailed for up to 5 years.
Featured image from Hong Kong Free Press And CNN.
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