Hong Kong police storm subway with batons as protests rage
Source: Associated Press
By KEN MORITSUGU and RAF WOBER 2 hours ago
HONG KONG (AP) Protesters in Hong Kong threw gasoline bombs at government headquarters and set fires in the streets on Saturday, while police stormed a subway car and hit passengers with batons and pepper spray in scenes that seem certain to inflame tensions further in a city riven by nearly three months of pro-democracy demonstrations.
Police had denied permission for a march to mark the fifth anniversary of a decision by China against fully democratic elections in Hong Kong, but protesters took to the streets anyway, as they have all summer. They provoked and obstructed the police repeatedly but generally retreated once riot officers moved in, avoiding some of the direct clashes that characterized earlier protests.
Late at night, though, video from Hong Kong broadcaster TVB showed police using batons while on the platform of Prince Edward subway station and swinging batons at passengers who backed into one end of a train car behind umbrellas. The video also shows pepper spray being shot through an open door at a group seated on the floor while one man holds up his hands.
It wasnt clear if all the passengers were protesters. Police said they entered the station to arrest offenders after protesters assaulted others and damaged property inside. The TVB video was widely shared on social media as another example of police brutality during the protests. Angry crowds gathered outside Prince Edward and nearby Mongkok station, where police said they made arrests after protesters vandalized the customer service center and damaged ticket machines.
Read more: https://www.apnews.com/7e789a51a2204ce98077ab32889ab263
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The standing committee of Chinas legislature ruled on Aug. 31, 2014, that Hong Kong residents could elect their leader directly, but that the candidates would have to be approved by a nominating committee.
The decision failed to satisfy democracy advocates in Hong Kong and led to the 79-day long Occupy Central protests that fall, in which demonstrators camped out on major streets in the financial district and other parts of the city.
The participants in the religious march Saturday were peaceful and mostly older than the younger protesters who have led this summers movement and, in some cases, blocked streets and battled police with bricks, sticks and gasoline bombs
Religious meetings do not require police approval, though authorities said late Friday that organizers of a procession with more than 30 people must notify police.
Does anyone see a problem with this communist government saying this BS:
"Chinas legislature ruled on Aug. 31, 2014, that Hong Kong residents could elect their leader directly, but that the candidates would have to be approved by a nominating committee."
Sounds like gas-lighting..........................