At least six people have been arrested in connection with yesterday’s anti-extradition protests, which culminated in police in riot gear charging a group of demonstrators that had gathered in Mong Kok after an earlier protest nearby had largely dispersed.
In a statement posted onto their Facebook page in the early hours of this morning, the Hong Kong Police Force confirmed that of the six arrested, one person was arrested at the main march for failing to produce proof of identity, while the remaining five were arrested for “assaulting a police officer and obstructing a police officer in the execution of duties.”
A police spokesperson told Coconuts HK that the suspects include two women and four men, aged 20 to 66.
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Yesterday’s march, which began at Tsim Sha Tsui and ended outside Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Station, went off without incident, and organizers encouraged protesters to leave peacefully. But as night fell, tensions began to rise as some protesters — mostly young — staying behind to heckle officers stationed outside the West Kowloon Station and at major roads in Tsim Sha Tsui.
As the night wore on, protesters blocked Canton Road, then Nathan Road, a main road that runs from Tsim Sha Tsui to Mong Kok. Mong Kok is known for being the second largest protest site during the 2014 Umbrella Movement protests, and was also the site of the “Fishball Revolution,” a 2016 riot which saw an officer fire two warning shots into the air.
“Police set up cordon line at the junction of Nathan Road and Argyle Street. Police made repeated warnings to the protestors that they were participating in an unlawful assembly and urged them to leave or Police would take actions to disperse the crowd,” the statement read.
“After repeated but futile warnings, Police took actions to disperse the protestors around 11pm.”
The aim of yesterday’s protest was for demonstrators to spread their message to mainland tourists and shoppers, whose access to information on the Hong Kong protests is severely curtailed by censors.
