• Protests in Hong Kong over the weekend became violent after police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators who vandalized the Chinese liaison office.
• Protestors in a train station returning home were later attacked by a group of men who beat them with batons and metal pipes, leaving at least 45 injured.
• Many were outraged by the attack and claimed that it had been initiated or at least supported by pro-government authorities and the police.
• Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam condemned both the vandalism and the attacks during a press conference Monday.

Violent Attack in Train Station

A mob of men attacked antigovernment protestors in a Hong Kong train station on Sunday, after protests turned violent when police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators who had vandalized the Chinese government’s liaison office.

Pro-democracy protestors were reportedly returning from a demonstration when they were attacked by a group of men wearing white t-shirts who chased after them and beat them violently with bats and metal bars.

The protestors tried to flee, and the attackers chased some people into open train cars, where they continued to beat them. The attackers reportedly injured 45 people, leaving one in critical condition.

Those injured included pro-democracy protestors, as well as journalists and pro-democracy lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting.

“They repeatedly went into the train and were using batons to indiscriminately attack all the people in the train,” the lawmaker later told reporters. “Many journalists, even a pregnant woman, all ordinary citizens of Hong Kong, were attacked by those gangsters.”

It is not clear who the attackers were. Many believe they were members of organized crime groups known as triads. The incident angered people across the country, with critics and protestors accusing pro-government officials of hiring the men to launch the attack.

Video footage that has surfaced showed pro-China lawmaker Junius Ho, shaking hands with some men in white and giving them a thumbs-up. Ho later denied that he had any connection to the attacks and was just greeting people who approached him.

Many also accused the police of ignoring the attack and not doing enough to help. Some argued that it was hypocritical for the authorities to crack down on the pro-democracy protestors but not the men who attacked them.

Lam Cheuk-ting told reporters that the police response was slow and inadequate. He said that the men were seen gathering hours before the attack, so the police should have had time to properly assess the situation and respond.

He also said that the police did not show up until after the attack, and when they did come, it nearly an hour and a half after the first emergency call. When the police finally did show up, they initially reported that they did not find any weapons and let the attackers leave without making any arrests.

However, footage taken by photojournalists showed the riot police speaking with two men in white shirts holding metal bars or sticks, and then patting one on the shoulder before walking off.

Some have even argued that the attackers colluded with the police, but during a press conference on Monday, police officials denied that they conspired with the men, and said they later arrested some people associated with the attacks.

The police also claimed that they were slow to show up because they were busy responding to the protests.

However, pro-democracy lawmaker Ray Chan pointed out in a tweet that “Hong Kong has one of the world’s highest cop to population ratio.” 

Continued Protests

The attacks at the train station came after a long day of protests took a violent turn.

Over the last few months, Hong Kong has seen massive and ongoing protests over a bill that would let the government extradite people accused of committing specific crimes to countries or territories that Hong Kong does not have extradition agreements with.

Many oppose the bill because it would allow extraditions to China, and see the bill as Beijing attempting to extend its authority over the people of Hong Kong and their personal freedoms.

Lam suspended the bill in June, and earlier this month she said the bill was “dead,” but protesters have continued to call for a full withdrawal.

They have argued that even if Lam’s administration keeps its promise to not pursue the bill, any leader after Lam could still take up the bill and pass it unless it is withdrawn.

In addition to calling for the bill to be withdrawn, the demonstrators have also expanded their list of demands to call for Lam’s resignation, an investigation into the police’s actions against demonstrators, amnesty for arrested protestors, and universal suffrage, among other things.

As the protestors’ demands have changed, so have the nature of the protests. While the first wave of protests were largely peaceful, over the last few weeks they have become increasingly violent. 

Protestors have clashed with police, who used pepper spray and hit the demonstrators with batons and shields as well as other forceful tactics.

Sunday’s Protest

On Sunday, hundreds of thousands of protestors took to the streets for a previously planned peaceful march.

However, the demonstration escalated when thousands of protestors marched past the point where the police had said the demonstration should end. The police had tried to keep the protestors away from an area with government buildings, but the protestors went past them.

Many of the protestors went to the Chinese government’s liaison office where they reportedly covered the office with spray paint and graffiti. They also threw ink and eggs on the crest of the Chinese government that is displayed on the building.

The protestors were eventually pushed back by police who used tear gas and rubber bullets. It was also reported that the protesters threw eggs and other things at the police as well.

The Hong Kong government condemned the protests in a statement.

“The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government strongly condemns the protesters who blatantly challenged the national sovereignty by maliciously besieging and storming the CPGLO building as well as defacing the national emblem,” the statement said.

“The HKSAR Government is concerned that a small number of radicals incited the masses in an organised manner, challenged the rule of law, and even stormed the CPG’s office in Hong Kong,” it continued. “Such acts threaten the law and order in the SAR and ‘one country, two systems.’”

Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam responded on Monday, condemning both the attacks and vandalizing of the liaison office, which she said: “hurt the nation’s feelings.”

“Violence will only breed more violence,” she later added.

See what others are saying: (The New York Times) (The Washington Post) (BBC)