Hong Kong: 1.7m people defy police to march in pouring rain

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Hong Kong: 1.7m people defy police to march in pouring rain

An estimated quarter of the population fill downtown park and surrounding streets

Verna Yu and Lily Kuo in Hong Kong
Sun 18 Aug 2019 23.20 BST First published on Sun 18 Aug 2019 06.55 BST

An estimated 1.7 million people in Hong Kong – a quarter of the population – defied police orders to stage a peaceful march after a rally in a downtown park, after two months of increasingly violent clashes that have prompted severe warnings from Beijing and failed to win concessions from the city’s government.

Huge crowds filled Victoria Park on Sunday afternoon and spilled on to nearby streets, forcing police to block traffic in the area. Torrential rain came down an hour into the rally, turning the park into a sea of umbrellas. At the same time, protesters walked towards Central, the heart of Hong Kong’s business district, and surrounded government headquarters.

Police had turned down a plan for Sunday’s march submitted by the Civil Human Rights Front group and gave permission only for a rally in the park. Those defying the ban risked being charged with unlawful assembly, which can lead to up to five years in prison.

“Stand with Hong Kong! Fight for freedom!” protesters shouted at the rally.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/18/hong-kong-huge-rally-china-condemns-us-gross-interference

[pangaia]

1. YES !!!!!!!!!!!!!

My ONE friend in HK reports to me every couple days..... she is not a demonstrator but certainly is bright, well-educated and supports them and LOVES HK !!!

Oh and, oddly enough, she just passed the language test to translate Russian at some HK gov office. !!
LOL