Hong Kong Police Use Pepper Spray, Make Arrests in Yuen Long Protest

Hong Kong police arrested 33 people on Sunday after scuffles broke out at a protest in a border town, in the latest example of heightened tensions over the growing influx of mainland Chinese shoppers in the city.

A police officer tries to control the confrontation between activists demonstrating against mainland Chinese shoppers and local villagers at a suburban district of Yuen Long in Hong Kong, Mar. 1, 2015. AP Photo/Vincent Yu

HONG KONG—Hong Kong police arrested nearly three dozen people Sunday after scuffles broke out at a protest in a border town, in the latest example of heightened tensions over the growing influx of mainland Chinese shoppers in the city.

Police officers wielded batons and used pepper spray on the crowds after the demonstration turned unruly, as demonstrators clashed with crowds of village residents opposed to the event who taunted them along the route.

Police said 33 people were arrested, including a 13-year-old boy.

There is a lot of anger from other people on Chinese smugglers because we just don't like how they drive up all the prices, drive up everything, create a lot of chaos, and we aren't benefiting from it.

— Kelvin Lee, Hong Kong Indigenous protester