Police Go All Out To Stop March Through Wan Chai

Police fired tear gas and water cannon again and again in Wan Chai on Saturday afternoon in a determined bid to stop hundreds of marching protesters in their tracks.

The demonstrators, who had gathered outside Victoria Park, were heeding calls to head to Central.

As the protesters went down Jardine’s Crescent and back onto Hennessy Road, police fired several rounds of tear gas at them near Wan Chai Fire Station.

Even though the protesters dispersed momentarily, they quickly regrouped.

Near Southorn Playground, police fired a water cannon at the defiant crowd, scattering them into side streets.

A Western man got into an argument with protesters near the Hopewell Centre, repeatedly shouting at them to "go home" as he tried to remove the bins and other objects they had placed in the road as a barricade.

At one point, the man snatched the phone a Western journalist was using to film him. Complaining that he too lives in Hong Kong, the man continued to take objects back out of the road even after protesters had set some of them on fire.

Shortly after this incident, protesters were forced to flee as police fired water cannon and tear gas at them once again.

A number of people were subdued, most of them appearing to be suffering from the effects of the tear gas.

Others hit by the gas were being treated by first aiders inside a private building.

Meanwhile, there was a heavy police presence in Southorn Playground, where officers had reportedly cornered a number of protesters.

When the water cannon was soon fired yet again, it appeared to be aimed at the higher level of some buildings, although it wasn't clear why the police had done this.

By around 5.40pm, Johnston Road was quiet, but nearby Hennessy Road resembled a war zone, with round after round of tear gas fired at protesters.

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