Protesters Take Message To TST Tourists

Protesters set up barricades across Salisbury Road in Tsim Sha Tsui on Saturday evening, with hundreds blocking the road and others resting next to the Space Museum.

Many of the them had marched there from Mong Kok, taking over one side of Nathan Road as they passed through Yau Ma Tei and Jordan, ignoring the approved march route to Tai Kok Tsui.

As they reached touristy Tsim Sha Tsui, their chants switched from Cantonese to Mandarin in the hope that mainlanders would take heed of their anti-government messages.

One officer worker, surnamed Law, said she had joined the crowd in Tsim Sha Tsui because she believed it is a good location for the protesters to gain the attention of overseas visitors.

"The Cultural Centre and also the museum nearby have a lot of tourists, that's why we're trying to tell the tourists what we're doing, trying to get their support," she said.

A tourist from Paris who was passing by said it was his first day in Hong Kong, but he wasn't put off at all by the protest action.

The Peninsula hotel, however, had partially closed an entrance near to the protesters.

Some of the crowd soon continued to march, first along Chatham Road South and then on towards Polytechnic University and the Cross Harbour Tunnel.

As they passed a bike equipment shop, staff came out to offer them free cycle helmets to use as protection from any future police action.