Sunday’s clashes took place close to the Liaison Office, which represents Beijing in the semi-autonomous hub and which was pelted with eggs and paint last week.
The renewed violence comes a day after a town near the border with mainland China descended into chaos as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters holding another banned rally against suspected pro-government triad gangs who beat up democracy demonstrators there last weekend. Yet the unprecedented protests with huge turnouts – as well as frequent clashes and the sacking of parliament – have had little luck persuading Beijing or Hong Kong’s leaders.
City leader Carrie Lam has shown no sign of backing down beyond agreeing to suspend the extradition bill. “You see force being escalated on both sides but then this is a huge imbalance because the police are in possession of deadly weapons. This sums up Hong Kong today,” she told AFP.Clashes have been raging for weeks. But public anger intensified to new levels a week ago when a pro-government mob of men wearing white shirts and armed with sticks attacked protesters in Yuen Long.
In a rare move, police banned Saturday’s rally saying they feared reprisal attacks against villagers from protesters, a decision that only heightened anger towards a force already perceived to be protecting pro-government aggressors.On Saturday small groups of more hardcore protesters, many in helmets and carrying shields confronted police outside the villages and accused them of protecting triads.