The New Year Solidarity March action ended ahead of schedule according to the requirements of law enforcement authorities. In Hong Kong, on the first day of 2020, the New Year March of Solidarity was held, in which, according to the organizers, more than a million people took part.
This was reported on January 1 by the South China Morning Post.
It is noted that during the day the police detained more than 400 violators. As indicated in the organization Front for Civil Rights, more than a million protesters took to the streets, however, it was difficult to determine the exact number of the procession due to the police demanding to turn it off.
According to law enforcement estimates, at 17.15 local time, 47 thousand people participated in the march, and about 13 thousand remained at the gathering point and the start of the demonstration.
Due to the radical actions of some demonstrators, the police demanded that the march be stopped ahead of schedule. In particular, protesters broke windows in three branches of HSBC Bank, smashed several stores, tried to block roads and threw Molotov cocktails. In general, the authorities considered the violations to be insignificant. On the night of January 1, during the riots, the police used tear gas and water cannons. For the first time in ten years, the city canceled the traditional large-scale fireworks and replaced them with a light show with elements of pyrotechnics.