HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong police fired blue-colored water from water
cannons and tear gas on Saturday in a standoff with protesters outside
government headquarters.
While
other protesters marched back and forth elsewhere in the city, a large
crowd wearing helmets and gas masks gathered outside the city government
building. Some approached barriers that had been set up to keep
protesters away and appeared to throw objects at the police on the other
side. Others shone laser lights at the officers.
Police fired
tear gas from the other side of the barriers, then brought out a water
cannon truck that fired regular water and then colored water at the
protesters, staining them and nearby journalists and leaving blue
puddles in the street.
Earlier, large crowds of protesters
gathered in central Hong Kong as police readied for possible
confrontations near the Chinese government’s main office and elsewhere
in the semiautonomous territory.
A march to mark the fifth
anniversary of China’s decision against fully democratic elections in
Hong Kong was not permitted by police, but protesters took to the
streets anyway in the 13th straight weekend of demonstrations.
The
mostly young, black-shirted protesters took over roads and major
intersections in shopping districts as they rallied and marched. Police
erected additional barriers and brought out two water cannon trucks near
the Chinese government office and deployed at various locations in riot
gear.
Democratic
Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting said Hong Kong citizens would keep
fighting for their rights and freedoms despite the arrests of several
prominent activists and lawmakers in the past two days, including
activist Joshua Wong.
The protests were sparked by a now-shelved
extradition bill. Protesters are demanding its full withdrawal,
democratic elections and an investigation into alleged police brutality
in what have been pitched battles with hard-line demonstrators.
“I
do believe the government deliberately arrested several leaders of the
democratic camp to try to threaten Hong Kong people not to come out to
fight against the evil law,” Lam said at what was advertised as a
Christian march earlier in the day.
About 1,000 people marched to a
Methodist church and police headquarters. They alternated between
singing hymns and chanting the slogans of the pro-democracy movement. An
online flyer for the demonstration called it a “prayer for sinners” and
featured images of a Christian cross and embattled Hong Kong leader
Carrie Lam, who had proposed the extradition bill.
Authorities
rejected an application from the Civil Human Rights Front, the organizer
of pro-democracy marches that have drawn upward of a million people
this summer, for a march to the Chinese government office. Police said
that while previous marches have started peacefully, they have
increasingly degenerated into violence in the end.
The standing
committee of China’s legislature ruled on Aug. 31, 2014, that Hong Kong
residents could elect their leader directly, but that the candidates
would have to be approved by a nominating committee.
The decision
failed to satisfy democracy advocates in the city and led to the 79-day
long Occupy Central protests that fall, in which demonstrators camped
out on major streets in the financial district and other parts of Hong
Kong.
The participants in the religious march Saturday were peaceful and
mostly older than the younger protesters who have led this summer’s
movement and, in some cases, blocked streets and battled police with
bricks, sticks and gasoline bombs
Religious meetings do not
require police approval, though authorities said late Friday that
organizers of a procession with more than 30 people must notify police.
The
government shut down streets and subway service near the Chinese
government’s office, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) west of the religious
march.
“A public event is expected on Hong Kong Island this
afternoon which may cause severe disruptions,” police said. “Text
messages have been sent to alert members of the public to mind their
personal safety.”
___
Associated Press videojournalists Alice Fung and Johnson Lai contributed to this report.