Hong Kong witnessed a chaotic Christmas on December 25, 2019 as police resorted to tear gas and pepper spray to dismantle protestors
The Hong Kong witnessed a chaotic Christmas on December 25, 2019 as police resorted to tear gas and pepper spray to dismantle protestors who had gathered at shopping malls and clashed with the police.
The chaos continued from a previous night of violence and vandalism. The police was present at various locations and used pepper spray on protesters inside Sha Tin’s New Town Plaza, outside Langham Place in Mong Kok and at Telford Plaza in Kowloon Bay. Earlier around 200 protesters had gathered at Telford Plaza and sang their anthem, ‘Glory to Hong Kong.’
In Mong Kok’s Shanghai Street, the police retreated to their vans and fired 2 rounds of tear gas at around 6:30 p.m. local time, without raising any warning flag, as hundreds of protesters advanced towards them.
The Chief Executive of Hing Kong – Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, expressed her frustration at the behaviour of protestors and said that tourists coming to Hong Kong are disappointed.
She said in a Facebook post, “Such illegal acts have not only dampened the festive mood but also adversely affected local businesses.”
She further added, “The government will try its utmost to uphold law and order and restore peace in Hong Kong.”
An official statement from the Government of Hong Kong read, “Only minimum force was deployed in response to the blatant unlawful activities of the violent protesters on Christmas Eve.”
The statement added, “These violent activities included arson, recklessly vandalising shops and the Mong Kok branch of HSBC, blockading roads, destroying 21 sets of traffic lights in the Mong Kok area, brutally assaulting innocent members of the public, attacking police officers by petrol bombs and charging police cordon lines and unlawful assembly.”
On Christmas Eve, protestors raised slogans at shopping malls, “Disband police now”, “five demands, not one less” and “Hong Kong independence”.
Inside Langham Place, a Maxim’s restaurant and a Starbucks cafe, which have been regularly targeted by protestors as mainland Chinese-linked businesses, were closed for the day. The mall authorities asked the shopkeepers to vacate the premises when about 50 protesters stormed the food court on the 4th floor.
Speaking on the occasion, one of the shoppers said, “I’m not scared. I support the protesters.”
Sie Florrie, a 14-year-old student, who was not with the protestors initially, changed her mind on hearing the slogans and joined the protestors. She said, “I’m one of them. When I see them, I feel like I should join them. We need to keep fighting till we reach our purpose.”
The protesters had also launched online calls for lunchtime marches on Christmas Day and Boxing Day in 6 Districts – Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok, Sha Tin, and Central – to press their demands, which include launching an independent investigation into police conduct and starting a political reform process for universal suffering.
The protesters at New Town Plaza chanted slogans and cheered when shops closed down. They entered a restaurant, which they regarded as pro-police at 6:35 p.m. They printed a long sheet of “waiting vouchers” of diners who were waiting for their food and told them “Don’t eat here. It is a blue restaurant.” A total of 20 riot police had to then intervene to control the situation.
Separately, in Tsim Sha Tsui, where thousands of protesters gathered at Harbour City, and on Salisbury Road and Nathan Road, police had to use water cannon, pepper spray, sponge grenades, and tear gas to disperse the protesters.
For almost 7 months now, Hong Kong is witnessing mass unrest resulting in road blockages, attack on Government buildings and Chinese Embassy, graffiti on Government buildings, violent rallies, disruption in Metro trains, closure of colleges and shopping malls, etc. To counter the protestors, police has resorted to rubber bullets, tea gas and blue-coloured water canon.
For the records, the protests have been triggered by the controversial extradition bill which if implemented, would have allowed China, Taiwan and Macau to place extradition request for suspects accused of criminal wrongdoings. The requests would have then been decided on a case-by-case basis. The Hong Kong Courts would have the right to make the final decision. However, owing to mass unrest, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong – Carrie Lam later announced that the Government has suspended the controversial Extradition Bill.
