Protesters Mark Nine Months Since Yuen Long Attack

Dozens of people held a sit-in at a Yuen Long shopping mall on Tuesday to mark nine months since a mob attack on people and passengers in and around the Yuen Long MTR station, as riot police kept a heavy presence in the area.

Some people in the area were stopped and questioned, and some accused police of unfairly giving them tickets for allegedly breaching the government’s ban on gatherings of more than four people.

A couple said officers accused them of being in the same group as some other strangers, but said police had told them to tell their story to the court, if they didn’t want to pay the HK$2,000 penalty.

Earlier in the evening, a group of mostly black-clad protesters chanted slogans accusing the police of inaction when dozens of men in white shirts rampaged through the station on July 21, using sticks and poles to beat passengers.

“Where were you on July 21?” one voice called out.

Two officers had left the station just ahead of the attack, and returned almost 40 minutes later even though police hotlines were inundated with calls for assistance.

People have staged sit-ins and protests every month since the attack – sometimes sparking clashes between police and demonstrators.

Last month, riot officers fired tear gas and made multiple arrests after protesters blocked roads and started small fires.

However, things were mostly peaceful on Tuesday night, though riot officers did brandish flags warning people they were taking part in an illegal gathering on several occasions.

Late in the evening, a group of officers pushed a group of reporters back at one point, with some pointing canisters of pepper-spray at the journalists, as they attempted to clear people from the streets.