The mood in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is heating up. The ongoing protests - it was the 22nd weekend in a row - have led to clashes between police and protesters. Dozens of people were arrested. The police used tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray and a water cannon.
The protests are directed against the government and the growing influence of the Communist Beijing leadership. After the police had not previously approved a demonstration originally planned in the Victoria Park, candidates for the district council election gathered there spontaneously for campaign appearances, which do not have to be specifically approved, as long as the groups remain small. Nevertheless, the police dissolved the meetings early with tear gas.
Radical activists threw incendiary bombs, built roadblocks and attacked businesses with suspected relations with China. For the first time, the demonstrators also took the building of the official Chinese news agency Xinhua as a target and hit the windows in the entrance area.
Riots until the evening
Due to further clashes in the streets in the neighborhood, two approved demonstrations have also ended at Chater Garden and Edinburgh Place. The riots lasted until the evening. The Hong Kong Central Subway Station was closed and stopped after demonstrators reportedly set fire to an entrance, according to the South China Morning Post.
The atmosphere in Hong Kong has escalated again after this week's Democracy Movement leader, Joshua Wong, was disqualified as a candidate for district council elections. He was alleged to propagate independence with the call for self-determination in Hong Kong. The Beijing Communist leadership also announced that it would adopt a tougher stance in Hong Kong.
The demonstrators are calling for free elections, an independent investigation of police brutality and impunity for the already more than 2000 detainees. The former British Crown Colony has been autonomously governed since its return to China in 1997 on the principle of "one country, two systems". Unlike the people of the Communist People's Republic, the seven million Hong Kongers enjoy freedom of expression and assembly, but increasingly fear for their freedoms.
