HONG KONG (AP) — Thousands of people took to the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday, some contents with tear gas, to demand greater democracy and investigations to use force to contain anti-government demonstrations in their sixth Month. Among the huge crowd were young men dressed in black and with their faces covered, as well as parents accompanied by their children.
Marching from the Kowloon side of Victoria Harbour, protesters tried to keep up the pressure on the city’s government leader, Carrie Lam, after pro-democracy candidates won the district election a week ago.” If we don’t go out and go, the government will say it’s just a young stern problem, but this is a Hong Kong problem that affects us all,” Lily Chau said as she pushed a stroller where her baby was going. “If we are frightened, the government will continue to trample on our rights.” Many of the dissatisfied held their hands up to indicate the movement’s five demands and shouted, “Five demands, not one less” and “Dismantle the police force.” Police riots took to the streets for the third demonstration of the day — in which the likelihood of violence was highest. Agents fired pepper spray and tear gas in some areas. Protesters threw stones at authorities to try to keep them at a distance. Hong Kong protests have been relatively peaceful during the two weeks before and after the November 24 elections, but they could turn violent again if the government does not yield to its demands. Lam said it will speed up the dialogue process but has given no further indication since the election. His government has accepted one of the demands — withdrawing the extradition proposal that could send suspects for trial in mainland China — but not the others.
