New Protest Erupts as Hong Kong Charges 44 Activists With Rioting

New Protest Erupts as Hong Kong Charges 44 Activists With Rioting
Police officers shout towards protesters who surrounded a police station where detained protesters are being held during clashes in Hong Kong, China on July 30, 2019. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)
Reuters
7/30/2019
Updated:
7/30/2019

HONG KONG—Hundreds of people surrounded a police station in Hong Kong on July 30 chanting “free the martyrs” after 44 activists were charged with rioting following weekend clashes between protesters and police defending China’s representative office.

It was the first time the rioting charge has been used during protests which erupted over an extradition bill that would have allowed people in Hong Kong to be sent to mainland China for trial. Another man was charged with possession of an offensive weapon.

Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets on Sunday as they sought to defend China’s main representative office from protesters who set up road blocks and hurled bricks and sticks.

What started three months ago as rallies against the extradition bill, has evolved into a wider backlash against the city’s government and its political masters in Beijing.

The near daily protests have disrupted business, piled pressure on the city’s government and stretched its police force, which some have accused of using excessive force.

A detained anti-extradition bill protester leaves a police station on bail as his friends wait for him in Hong Kong, China on July 30, 2019. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)
A detained anti-extradition bill protester leaves a police station on bail as his friends wait for him in Hong Kong, China on July 30, 2019. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Hundreds of protesters gathered at the Kwai Chung police station where some of the activists were to be freed on bail. Clashes broke out between the protesters and police. One officer brandished a gun to ward off the crowd.

Rioting carries a maximum ten year jail term in Hong Kong. Activists say they have done nothing wrong and are only seeking justice. In the driving rain, many chanted “Liberate Hong Kong,” and “Revolution of our time.”

Besides calling for the extradition bill to be scrapped, rather than its suspension so far, protesters have also demanded the resignation of city leader Carrie Lam, an independent inquiry into the police’s handling of the crisis and the unconditional release of all those arrested.

Some of the activists are due to appear in court on July 31.

Train Services Blocked

Earlier in the day, protesters blocked train services during the morning rush hour.

“We don’t know how long we are going to stay here, we don’t have a leader, as you can see this is a mass movement now,” said Sharon, a 21-year-old masked protester who declined to give her full name.

Anti-extradition bill demonstrators block a Mass Transit Railway (MTR) train in Hong Kong, China on July 30, 2019. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)
Anti-extradition bill demonstrators block a Mass Transit Railway (MTR) train in Hong Kong, China on July 30, 2019. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

“It’s not our intention to inconvenience people, but we have to make the authorities understand why we protest. We will continue with this as long as needed.”

By mid-morning, commuters were crammed into stations across the city, waiting to board trains that were delayed, with no service on some lines.

Lam’s popularity has dropped to a record low, according to a survey by the independent Public Opinion Research Institute released on Tuesday.

The survey, conducted between July 17 and July 19, showed Lam scored a rating of 30.1, down from 33.4 at the beginning of the month. Her approval rate stands at 21 percent, while her disapproval rate is 70 percent.

Over the last few years, many people in Hong Kong have become concerned about the whittling away of the city’s freedoms, guaranteed under a “one country, two systems” formula established when it returned to China in 1997.

By Vimvam Tong and Felix Tam