A protester throws a basket into a fire during a clash with riot police at Mongkok district in Hong Kong on Monday.
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The clashes broke out after police moved in to clear “hawkers”, or illegal vendors who sell local delicacies, trinkets and household goods from makeshift street stalls.
That 2014 movement, also known as the “Umbrella Revolution” saw tens of thousands of protesters, many of whom were students, taking to Hong Kong’s streets – including in Mong Kok – for 11 weeks in 2014 to protest what many saw as a declaration denying this semi-autonomous city’s freedoms by Beijing.
Activists angered over authorities’ attempts to crack down on the food hawkers in a crowded Kowloon neighborhood held running battles with police into Tuesday’s early morning hours. Some threw garbage cans, plastic safety barriers and wood from shipping pallets.
A man is escorted by riot police in Hong Kong’s Mong Kok district Tuesday. More than 80 officers and four reporters were hurt, he said.
He said that his officers had no choice but to retaliate, “because many rioters were attacking police with hard objects and seriously threatened their lives”.
“I believe the public can see for themselves from TV news reports the seriousness of the situation”. The [Hong Kong] government strongly condemns such violent acts.
Police said they were “forced” to fire at least two warning shots, local media reported.
One senior official said police had fired two warning shots and that 44 people, including police, were injured.
Police fired shots in the air as part of their effort to disperse protesters.
Dozens of protesters hurled bricks and bottles at police, who responded with pepper spray, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP). The arrested were as young as 17 and as old as 70.
More than 40 police officers and journalists have been injured after a riot with protesters during the Lunar New Year holiday.
The 79-day occupation protest against Beijing’s decision not to allow full democracy in the territory ended after a police crackdown in December 2014, leaving democracy development at a standstill and creating hostility between police and the more radical groups in the former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
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Riot police stand behind a damaged taxi after the clashes with protesters in Mong Kok, a popular and densely populated shopping and entertainment district.
