On Sunday in Hong Kong, again thousands of demonstrators marched through China, contrary to a police ban. Violence erupted again in public places, hundreds of protesters fired at a government office complex in the city center, throwing Molotov bricks and cocktails through police barriers.
Police responded by firing volleys of tear gas and rubber bullet rounds. They also used a water cannon to spray blue-dyed water, in a repeat of confrontational scenes that have marked the last few weeks of the demonstrations.
Protesters react as police fire water cannons outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong on Sunday.
Protests have roiled the semi-autonomous Chinese city for months, sparked by a controversial extradition bill that would have allowed Hong Kong residents to be sent to mainland China for trial.
The bill has since been withdrawn by Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, but the protests have continued after morphing into a broader rejection of China’s growing influence and its impact on the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong citizens.
Thirty-four-year-old banker, Jess, who did not want to provide her last name out of fear of prosecution, said the protest movement is now about “fighting for our future.”
“If Carrie Lam decided to withdraw [the bill] back in June, maybe the movement would end,” she said.
“After all the unreasonable beatings and massive arrests of protesters and citizens, we need to step up to fight against this government. A government who works against its people.”