Violence Returns After Rare Day Of Peace

More violence on Monday evening brought to an end what had been a rare day of peace, with protesters again smashing up MTR stations, restaurants, and confronting police in a series of quick-strike actions after night fell.

In Mong Kok, officers fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators who had set up makeshift barriers at the intersection of Nathan Road and Prince Edward Road, blocking traffic. But that only pushed the protesters south, where they set up more barricades as they made their way down Nathan Road.

Right before police made their advance, there was a commotion as protesters accused a taxi driver of hitting a woman with his vehicle on Nathan Road close to the Mong Kok police station. It remains unclear what happened, but the driver was surrounded by protesters for a short time. He got out of this car and apologised, before driving away.

Some journalists were also hit by some sort of blue solution sprayed out from the police station earlier, after officers warned protesters to disperse. They also ordered people present to take off their masks in compliance with a newly-imposed law banning the wearing of masks at all protests.

As in many previous nights, protesters had gathered at a protest hot spot right outside the Prince Edward MTR station, to chant slogans, lay flowers, and burn offerings to protesters who they claim despite repeated government denials had died there during a police clearance operation in August.

Riot police also showed up in Yuen Long after several people in black shirts were arrested, prompting passersby to heckle the police. As the jeering continued, officers rushed up to one man, striking him in the head and drawing blood, before taking him and another man away.

Riot police later showed up in force to confront protesters who set up makeshift road blocks, firing off multiple rounds of tear gas. Protesters later attacked the Tai Tong Road station on the Light Rail, setting a fire there.

Protesters then spent several hours playing a game of cat-and-mouse with riot officers, dispersing when they advanced, but quickly returning after police pulled back.

In Shatin, masked protesters broke into the Sha Tin Wai MTR station, prying upon the metal shutters to bash ticket machines and other facilities at the station before leaving. The City One station was also smashed up, with one protester shouting out "We leave in two minutes!" as his masked colleagues used hammers and other objects to inflict as much damage as they could as quickly as possible. Multiple stations also came under attack later.

The entire MTR network had been completely shut down late on Friday and on Saturday after multiple stations were damaged by protesters. The railway offered limited services and closed down early on Sunday and Monday to allow more time for repair work to be carried out.

Protesters also set up makeshift barriers elsewhere in Shatin, and at Tai Koo on Hong Kong Island. Television footage showed protesters breaking into a restaurant at the Popcorn mall in Tseung Kwan O, smashing windows and breaking things. There were similar scenes in Shatin, with people breaking windows at a sushi restaurant at the City One mall.

At Ma On Shan, a large group of people gathered opposite the police station after residents took issue with police who forced their way into the MOSTown mall over the objections of security guards to arrest a man inside. A reporter was pushed over in the chaos, sending her glasses flying.

A group of people then went over to the police station to demand they release the detained man, with some jeering at officers inside. Some of the protesters hid behind opened umbrellas and styrofoam boxes as makeshift shields, but quickly dispersed after police fired tear gas shortly after 11pm in the residential neighbourhood.

Police were seen making a number of arrests elsewhere, in Mong Kok, Tseung Kwan O, Wong Tai Sin and Tai Koo.

Further attempts to block off major roads were reported in Wong Tai Sin and elsewhere.

Before tensions rose in the evening, much of Monday had been mostly peaceful, with protesters content to gather at shopping malls across the territory to chant anti-extradition slogans and sing songs.

There had been calls online for front-line protesters to ‘take a day off’ following days of pitched battles following the government’s imposition on Saturday of a mask ban, under a colonial-era emergency law. However, there were later appeals for protests to take place in all 18 districts at 8pm.

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