Hong Kong extradition bill: Protesters and police clash in Mong Kok after peaceful mass rally in Kowloon
Six people have been arrested in connection with the march and the confrontations that followed
Protesters clash with police officers in Shan Tung Street in Mong Kok on Sunday night. Chaos erupted on the streets of Hong Kong’s shopping district of Mong Kok on Sunday night as hundreds of protesters fought running battles with the police.
After the first mass rally in Kowloon against the government’s now-suspended extradition bill drew an estimated 230,000 peaceful protesters, many remained behind to occupy the streets of Mong Kok and confront police late into the night.
After organisers announced the end of the protest at around 7.30pm, many protesters continued to linger outside the West Kowloon high speed rail station, while others spilled out onto Canton Road again, saying they were “going shopping”. Thousands then marched up Nathan Road all the way to Jordan, and then onto Mong Kok.
Police chased some protesters down and several were subdued by riot police armed with shields. At least two protesters were also put into police vehicles, and soon after 3am on Monday police issued a statement saying they had arrested six people in connection with the march and the running battles that followed.
By midnight, police had largely taken back the streets of Mong Kok, but dozens were still gathering in different parts of the area. Pro-democracy lawmakers Roy Kwong Chun-ya, Jeremy Tam Man-ho and Au Nok-hin were at the scene to ensure police did not use excessive force against protesters.
The march came following a series of protests that had turned violent, including a demonstration outside the Legislative Council complex on July 1 that resulted in the storming and ransacking of the legislature by hundreds of mostly young protesters. The now-suspended extradition bill would have allowed suspected criminals to be transfered to jurisdictions with which Hong Kong does not have a formal arrangement, including mainland China.