Violence grips HK following relative calm

For first time, police officer under assault by demonstrators fires service revolver

After a relatively calm week, Hong Kong devolved again into violent rioting this weekend with at one point on Sunday a police officer surrounded and being assaulted by protesters firing his service revolver.

It was the first time an officer had fired his sidearm in the violent protests, which have been a near daily occurrence since early June.

Despite heavy rain from Typhoon Bailu on Sunday afternoon, hundreds of protesters joined a procession in Tsuen Wan, in the southwestern New Territories. Because of the protest, subway operator MTR Corp temporarily closed the Kwai Fong, Tsuen Wan and Tsuen Wan West stations in the Tsuen Wan area in early afternoon.

After about 3 pm, radicals deviated from the approved route of the march and started blocking roads, paralyzing traffic. About 10 roads in the area were closed and over 70 bus routes suspended or diverted.

Rioters removed railings from roads and used water-filled barriers, bamboo sticks, traffic cones and other objects to set up barriers against the police.

They hurled gasoline bombs and bricks dug up from the pavement at police officers, also pointing laser beams at them. Police condemned the violence.

After repeated warnings, riot police used tear gas and used minimum force to disperse the protesters after 5 pm.

The police also deployed for the first time their new crowd control vehicle with a water cannon.

At about 7 pm, a China Daily photographer's camera lens was broken by a thrown brick. The crowd gradually dispersed after 7 pm. Police arrested some protesters.

As normalcy returned, with public transport service resuming in the eastern Kowloon district of Kwun Tong on Sunday, the scars of the previous day's violent clashes on the streets remained.

Railway service at various stations resumed along the Kwun Tong Line, including Kwun Tong, Ngau Tau Kok and Kowloon Bay stations, and most local stores reopened. Black, abusive graffiti scrawled on roads and walls of buildings were a grim reminder of Saturday's violence, which had shattered the previous weekend's relative calm.

In Kowloon Bay on Sunday, the scene of fierce clashes between demonstrators and police, a sea of refuse left by protesters－including broken umbrellas and dismantled barricades－had been cleared up by workers and stood piled on roadsides.

Some of the "smart" lampposts on Sheung Yuet Road vandalized on Saturday were now protected by traffic cones.

Black-clad, masked protesters had sawed off the new lampposts on Saturday. City officials said each "smart" lamppost cost about HK$140,000($17,850).

Residents were enraged. A security guard at a building on Tai Yip Street－the scene of violent rioting on Saturday－said the building and some nearby shops and garages were closed on Saturday, and some remained closed on Sunday.

"Some protesters put up roadblocks with metal barricades and bamboo poles on the streets, and we had to pull down the shutters for safety," the guard said.

In Kowloon Bay, Tso Tat-ming, a 60-year-old taxi driver, denounced radical protesters who resorted to violence to force the government to meet their demands.

He lamented that not only his business had suffered but also retail and tourism industries were badly hit. Tso said he had been earning about HK$5,000 to HK$6,000 less monthly recently.

"Some residents are scared seeing the protesters blocking main roads and tunnels with their guerilla-style tactics," he said, adding that some residents who had tried to reason with the protesters had been attacked.

"Hong Kong is my home. I hope you (radical protesters) don't put the city in jeopardy," Tso said.