Battered and bruised, Hong Kong cleans up for sensitive Chinese anniversary
HONG KONG: Hong Kong's metro stations and roads re-opened on Monday (Sep 30) after a chaotic we..
HONG KONG: Hong Kong's metro stations and roads re-opened on Monday (Sep 30) after a chaotic weekend that saw police fire water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters who set fires and threw petrol bombs outside government offices and across central districts.
The Chinese territory is on edge ahead of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic on Tuesday, with authorities eager to avoid scenes that could embarrass the central government in Beijing.
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READ: Intense Hong Kong clashes ahead of China's 70th anniversary
READ: Our coverage of the Hong Kong protests
A huge clean-up was under way after roads, shops and buildings across the financial centre were daubed in graffiti, windows in government buildings smashed and parts of pavements uprooted by protesters during the weekend's demonstrations.
Some underground stations were vandalised and streets were littered with debris from roadblocks and the charred remains of fires.
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On Sunday, a police officer fired a warning shot into the sky after protesters surrounded and attacked some police officers near Wan Chai MTR station.
Two prominent activists, actor Gregory Wong and Ventus Lau, were arrested for their involvement in protests, according to a representative for the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF), the organiser of previous rallies.
Hong Kong police did not immediately confirm the arrests.
CHRF said on Monday that authorities had rejected a permit for a march planned for Tuesday from Victoria Park in the bustling tourist district of Causeway Bay to Chater Road, next to government headquarters, based on security concerns.
Protesters are expected to proceed with demonstrations across Hong Kong regardless.
The city's leader Carrie Lam, the focus of the unrest, made a last-minute decision to mark the People's Republic anniversary in Beijing. The embattled leader had sent out invitations "requesting the pleasure of your company" at a flag-raising ceremony and reception in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
TIGHT SECURITY
Security was tight around the Convention Centre where the ceremony is due to take place, with roads closed and riot police on guard. A series of strikes are planned on Monday and multiple demonstrations are scheduled on Tuesday.
It was not clear whether Mrs Lam was summoned to Beijing due to the escalation in the violence on the weekend. The government said Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung will stand in for her at the anniversary ceremony.
A protester throws a Molotov cocktail during clashes with police following an unsanctioned protest march through Hong Kong on Sep 29, 2019. (Photo: AFP/Nicolas Asfouri)
The unrest over the weekend saw some of the worst and most widespread violence in more than three months of anti-government demonstrations in the Asian financial hub.
The weekend marked the fifth anniversary of the start of the Umbrella protests – a series of demonstrations in 2014 that failed to wrestle concessions from Beijing.
The latest clashes began mid-afternoon on Sunday and continued late into the night, as thousands of masked protesters roamed the streets, facing off against riot police amid plumes of tear gas and raging fires.
Protesters are angry about what they see as creeping interference by Beijing in their city's affairs despite a promise of autonomy when British rule ended in 1997.