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Sunday, January 19, 2020
On Sunday, police fired tear gas into an anti-Communist rally in Hong Kong’s Chater Garden after masked protesters beat plainclothes police officers with umbrellas. Agence France-Presse said at least two officers were injured. With attendees in the tens of thousands, this was reportedly the largest rally since January 1.
Protest organizers had made arrangements with the police in advance of Sunday’s rally: They had permission to demonstrate until 10:00 p.m. so long as they stayed in one place. The protest began around 3:00 p.m. local time and the police sent the plainclothes officers in to call a halt about an hour later. Officers in riot gear entered the park around 4:30. After the tear gas was dispensed, protesters fled to the Central and Admiralty public transit stations, and most were gone within half an hour.
During the event, attendees asked for the global community to issue sanctions against the Communist Party of China and for the Hong Kong police force to be disbanded. Some protesters dug up bricks or, Radio Television Hong Kong reported, set fires.
Said one organizer, “We are gathered here today to tell the world that the Chinese Communist Party is violating human rights, religion and democratic development without shame — and without fear[.]”
A government spokesperson told the press, “The [Hong Kong Special Administrative Region] Government deeply regrets that some participants of the public meeting had called on foreign governments to intervene in the affairs of Hong Kong and to impose sanctions. Foreign governments, legislatures or organizations have absolutely no role in matters relating to the constitutional development of Hong Kong and should not express any opinion or take any action in an attempt to influence or interfere in the discussions of related matters in Hong Kong[.]”
Hong Kong’s protests began in June in response to a proposed extradition bill that would allow the mainland Chinese government to remove anyone accused of a crime in Hong Kong and try them under the central Chinese system. The bill has been withdrawn, but protests have continued over objections to police misconduct, the characterization of the demonstrations as “riots,” and calls for more representative democracy in Hong Kong.