Citizens Turn Out To Praise Fire, Ambulance Workers

About 1,000 people gathered at Edinburgh Place in Central on Thursday night to express their support for Hong Kong's firefighters and paramedics for their work during the five-month protest movement.

Those present said fire and ambulance teams had acted in an even-handed way and had made helping injured people priority, regardless of the patient's political background. They contrasted their work with that of the police.

"The first-aiders, especially on-site work, are really sacrificing their lives. The situation could be really, really dangerous for them but they're out there, taking care of the protesters," said one of the attendees, a 40-year-old designer.

One logistics industry worker said he wanted to attend because he felt firefighters and medics had come under pressure from police. He pointed to an incident in Central earlier this month, in which a firefighter remonstrated with police after his fire engine was struck by a tear gas canister.

"Sometimes the police are not as friendly, possibly a little bit hostile or a little bit emotional when they see the medics would like to help the protesters. I think they bear quite a lot of political stress," he said.

The rally, which was authorised by police, broke up without incident at about 9pm.