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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Mattha Busby (now) and Kate Lyons (earlier)

Hong Kong protests: second car rams protesters as fights break out – as it happened

Closing summary

  • Police made more than 82 arrests in seven simultaneous protests, amid the first general strike in more than 50 years.
  • Teargas was deployed in at least five different locations, with police appearing to fire directly at protesters in several locations. Rubber bullets were also used.
  • Fights broke out between protesters and men armed with long sticks in North Point, just west of Causeway Bay.
  • In a press conference, police confirmed there had been more than 500 arrests since protests began in June. At least 1,000 teargas grenades were fired as well as 160 rubber bullets.
  • An official said Hong Kong’s police were fully supported by the government and there was no need to deploy the Chinese military.
  • A number of police stations temporarily closed after they were surrounded by protesters, with fires started outside and projectiles thrown at the buildings.
  • Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, addressed the media for the first time in a fortnight and refused to step down. She condemned the protesters for interfering with the ability of working class Hong Kongers to earn a living.

[The protests have] seriously undermined Hong Kong’s law and order and are pushing our city, the city we all love, and many of us helped to build, to the verge of a very dangerous situation.

  • More than 150 flights out of the city were cancelled, with many airport staff walking out to join the protests.
  • A car rammed through a barricade set up by protesters in Yuen Long, narrowly missing people trying to hold back the barrier, and injuring one person. A similar incident occurred on Harcourt Road and reportedly injured several people.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading today.

Here’s our latest report:

And video:

Updated

A journalist has been arrested, according to the South China Morning Post.

Bloomberg’s Aaron McNicholas has tweeted this video of a motorist being attacked by protesters.

Rubber bullets are being fired at protesters from the top floor of the police station in Tin Shui Wai, according to reports.

Christy Choi has the latest from North Point station, where she has spoken to a witness who said he witnessed an attack on protesters by ‘men dressed in white’.

Inside the station it’s serious business as some protesters get kitted out. Some are carrying bamboo poles, others makeshift shields made from foam bodyboards, others are handing out masks. Knowing that the authorities could potentially track their movements on the public transportation cards, a few people are standing by ticket turnstile at the ready for anyone arriving clad in black.

Outside, throngs of protesters gathered to block traffic while pointing lasers at apartment windows, saying those inside had dropped things on protesters earlier.

Nearby, 33-year-old Mr Cheung, a hotel employee who declined to give his full name, said he witnessed an earlier attack just past 8 pm local time on protesters by men dressed in white .

“Some of the residents told us, 20 of so guys in white shirts holding rods were standing at this junction. The information spread quickly over Telegram … some of the protesters headed to the police station they came back. Both of us [protesters and men in white] shouted at each other, and they rushed towards us and clung to the barricades and beat us. Then, when more of us came, they ran up that uphill road and into the building and are hiding … Residents say they’re the gangsters from Fujian and told us to leave, but as you can see the protesters are staying to defend and prevent them from coming back.”

Updated

It’s going to be a long night, reports the Guardian’s Beijing bureau chief, Lily Kuo.

Some protesters were also detained in Wong Tai Sin when police charged protesters. They pulled back to a main road they had occupied earlier and others managed to leave by the train.

At least nine were detained by police, a witness said. Protesters think the police’s latest tactics are not intended just to disperse them but to catch and arrest them.

Protesters leaving Wong Tai Sin say the ‘frontline’ is still deciding where to go, choosing from among four locations where clashes are occurring. They are going to a safe house now, a primary school, to rest and wait.

Updated

Police in several locations appear to be making a number of arrests, after protester lines were charged.

Meanwhile, demonstrators have been pushed back from North Point police station.

In a statement, Hong Kong police said:

A large group of protestors are blocking roads extensively and setting fire to miscellaneous objects, posing a serious threat to the safety of the road users at scene. The protestors are surrounding and attacking various police stations and the adjacent Disciplined Services Quarters, hurling igniting objects and hard objects, making damages to the premises.

The police strongly condemn the violent acts and warn the protestors to stop all illegal acts immediately. Police is using minimum force to disperse the protestors.

A video posted on social media appears to show protesters throwing molotov cocktails into a police station.

Updated

Meanwhile, there is a standoff between protesters and police in the Wong Tai Sin area.

Updated

The largest contingent of protesters is now moving through North Point.

The report room services at Tin Shui Wai and North Point police stations have been temporarily suspended, authorities have announced.

Elsewhere, at Tun Mun police station, protesters have thrown bricks at the building and have lit fires just outside.

Updated

Fights break out between protesters and men armed with sticks

Fights have broken out between protesters and men armed with long sticks in North Point, just west of Causeway Bay.

Earlier, a group of men were pictured nearby.

Updated

The protests are set to go on into the night, as riot police amass and protesters congregate at a number of locations – most notably Causeway Bay.

Lily Kuo has the latest from Wong Tai Sin

Hundreds of protesters have been camped outside the police dormitory since a rally this morning. Demonstrators said the police began firing on them after the crowd spilled out on to a main road.

“They keep shooting teargas at us. The whole MTR station was filled with teargas,” said Harry Tsui, 25, a local resident. He added police have been holding up black and orange flags up throughout the day, warnings they will soon fire teargas and rubber bullets.

Protesters are shining lasers at the police dorm and some are throwing bricks at the windows. The police are firing canisters of teargas at the protesters from a distance, which demonstrators are quickly putting out. One protester managed to toss one back into the police dorm, causing the crowd of onlookers and protesters to cheer.

Updated

Agence France Press has this report on the choices facing China over the unrest in Hong Kong.

China has only tough choices as it looks to end more than two months of pro-democracy protests in its semi-autonomous southern city of Hong Kong.

The protesters have shown no signs of backing down, despite increasingly violent confrontations in which Hong Kong’s police have regularly fired tear gas and rubber bullets.

The protests were triggered by opposition to a planned law that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, then evolved into a wider movement for democratic reform and a halt to eroding freedoms.

Here are the potential options for the central government as it seeks to end the crisis, and the problems associated with each:

1. More of the same

Beijing’s current approach has been to express firm public support for the Hong Kong police and the city’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, while warning the protesters their actions are “intolerable”.

“Beijing has adopted an intimidation strategy and is trying to wait it out until at least early September, when (school) term starts – many protesters are high school and university students,” Hong Kong-based political analyst Dixon Sing said.

The party is also preparing for the 70th anniversary of the founding of modern China, and is unlikely to want to take antagonistic steps ahead of that.

The wait-and-see approach is similar to how it approached the 2014 pro-democracy “Umbrella Movement” in Hong Kong.

The 2014 events saw protesters occupy parts of the city for more than two months but faded away without winning concessions from Beijing after key leaders were arrested. But this may not be enough. By waiting, it risks further embarrassment for a government led by Chinese President Xi Jinping that tolerates no dissent.

“The protests in Hong Kong are a serious loss of face for Beijing, and presents a key political and strategic dilemma for the Chinese authorities – do we intervene, when, and how,” Michael Raksa, assistant professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, told AFP.

2. Give in

Beijing could pressure Hong Kong’s government into adopting a more conciliatory tone and finding some way to compromise with the protesters.

Their demands include an independent inquiry into police methods, and the permanent shelving of the extradition bill.

The government could also orchestrate Lam’s resignation, another key demand of the protesters. “Lam has become a colossal political liability both locally and internationally,” said Sing.

However doing so would be seen to be giving in to the protesters and rewarding their actions. “The likelihood of Beijing adopting non-violent, conciliatory measures is low,” Hong Kong-based political analyst Willy Lam told AFP.

3. Up the ante

The central government could step up its pressure and intimidation tactics against the protesters. There has already been increasingly strident condemnation from authorities and state media.

The Chinese military last week described the unrest as “intolerable” and released a slick propaganda video showing a drill of armed troops quelling a protest in Hong Kong. “At this stage, (Chinese president Xi Jinping) is gravitating towards a more hardline stance,” Lam said.

But if Beijing does not plan to carry out such threats, then there is a risk of needlessly causing further panic. This could trigger a flow of money and companies out of the global financial hub.

4. Send in the troops

The most dramatic – and risky – strategy for the central government would be to send in military reinforcements.

There is already a garrison of thousands of troops from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) stationed in Hong Kong, though they generally keep a low profile.

While Hong Kong’s law states PLA troops “shall not interfere in the local affairs of the region”, it also says they can be deployed to “maintain public order”.

But this last resort could spell financial disaster for Hong Kong and wholesale global condemnation for the Chinese Communist Party.

“It would seriously undermine the political legitimacy of Xi Jinping and the CCP, both internally as well as externally, with widespread international condemnation reminiscent of the 1989 suppression of Tiananmen Square protests,” said Raksa.

Updated

The Chinese national flag has been taken down and thrown in the sea, as protesters set a tree alight outside the homes of police officers, the South China Morning Post has reported.

It is worth taking a look through the detailed reports in this thread too.

Updated

A truck has passed through a crowd of protesters without slowing down.

Police cleared hundreds of protesters from near Tai Po station.

Meanwhile, a fire has been started at another police station. Live footage shows it has grown since this was tweeted, as protesters add more flammables to the flames.

Updated

Christy Choi, reporting for the Guardian, was in Admiralty earlier.

A bit of comic relief for protesters in Admiralty, as two Hong Kong politicians were making the rounds. League of Social Democrats’ Avery Ng sauntered about with a loudspeaker slung over each shoulder and cheekily yelled out: “If you want to tell the cops to fuck off you need a loudspeaker to do it,” eliciting a chuckle from the protesters.

Ng says he’s been walking around since this afternoon and that “the cops have been hiding behind the barriers, randomly shooting teargas canisters at people.”

He and Au have been speaking to protesters and police over these loudspeakers.

As we were speaking the police slammed their riot shields down with a thud, alarming protesters and causing the chairman of the political party League of Social Democrats to pick up the microphone and yell at everyone to step back and keep a 20-metre perimeter from the police.

Demonstrators disperse after teargas is fired by police in Hardcourt Road, Admiralty
Demonstrators disperse after teargas is fired by police in Hardcourt Road, Admiralty. Photograph: Eloisa Lopez/Reuters

Updated

Protesters are streaming into Causeway Bay.

Updated

Protesters are staging a sit-in at the airport.

CNN is broadcasting from the scene.

Updated

Earlier, bricks were seen being ferried by wheelbarrow.

Chinese military will not be deployed – official

Here’s the latest from the Associated Press:

An official says Hong Kong’s police are fully supported by the government and there is no need to deploy China’s military to cope with increasingly violent anti-government protests.

Senior superintendent Kong Wing-cheung of the police public relations branch said chief executive Carrie Lam and other Hong Kong officials have stated the same on multiple occasions.

Kong told reporters at a daily briefing Monday that he personally believes there is no chance of a deployment of the People’s Liberation Army.

Speculation of an intervention by China’s military has been fuelled in part by a slick publicity video it released last week showing troops firing teargas and dealing with a mock street demonstration.

Kong said he doesn’t feel the police are being made scapegoats over the violence and are fulfilling their mandate to protect the community and maintain law and order.

Updated

Crowds of people are heading west to Causeway Bay, Hong Kong’s retail centre, where tens of thousands blocked roads last night.

Updated

Protesters are leaving Harcourt Road after barrages of teargas were fired at them, according to Quartz’s Mary Hui.

There are further reports that teargas was fired directly at peaceful protesters from above.

Updated

Beijing will announce ‘something new’ for Hong Kong tomorrow, according to the South China Morning Post.

An anonymous source told the paper the Hong Kong and Macau affairs office, which is controlled by the Chinese state council, would make a “new announcement” on Tuesday.

A source familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the office would make statement but refused to elaborate further.

Another official with knowledge of the situation told the South China Morning Post that Beijing’s position on Hong Kong remained largely unchanged.

“Hong Kong will not have the same strategic value to China if the chaos continues. If things come to that, even if the central government wants to save Hong Kong, there is not much it can do,” he said.

Earlier, Reuters reported that Hong Kong police said Chinese military police would not be deployed to the territory.

Updated

Hong Kong’s airport authority has announced it is rescheduling flights, without explaining the reason for the cancellations.

Hong Kong international airport has started implementing flight rescheduling at 1200hrs to clear the backlog of passengers. Until 1400hrs today, the airport handled 465 flights wile 77 flights were cancelled. The terminal is also busier than usual. Airport authority Hong Kong advises passengers to contact their airlines, and to proceed to the airport only when their seats and flight time have been confirmed.

The airport emergency centre has been activated at 0700hrs this morning to coordinate operations among various business partners at the airport. Airport operations continues to be orderly. It is expected that number of flight movements handled this afternoon and evening will be gradually increased.

Updated

Away from the frontline protests, a motorist is repeatedly driving around a roundabout.

Updated

A taxi has just rammed through another crowd of protesters, the Guardian’s Lily Kuo reports.

Police have ordered protesters in the Admiralty area to leave. Hong Kong police tweeted:

A large group of protestors are currently gathering in the Admiralty area, blocking carriageways near Central Government Complex, Harcourt Road and vandalising the Central Government Complex.

After repeated and futile warnings, in face of the situation, anti-riot Police officers have deployed tear gas and minimum force to disperse protestors. The Police appeal to everyone in the area to leave immediately.

Updated

Dozens of protesters have occupied roads, using traffic barriers and dismantled metal fences to build barricades and road blocks.

Outside the New Town Plaza, in Shatin, in the New Territories, protesters are getting more sophisticated and using concrete from a nearby construction site.

Passing cars are beeping in support, while the protesters cheer and clap in response.

Updated

More than 500 arrests since 9 June

Police say they have arrested 420 people in connection with the protests since 9 June, when they began. They included 379 men and 73 women. The youngest person arrested was 14 and the oldest was 76 years old. Plus, there has been 82 arrests today so far.

Yolanda Yu, the acting chief superintendent of the Hong Kong police, said:

They used a slingshot and threw petrol bombs and firebombs at police officers.What’s more appalling is that they even set fire to a trolley of trash and pushed it towards police officers. Some even lit up suspected explosives outside a residential building. All these acts pose a serious safety threat to the public.

Police did not appear to distinguish between the pro-democracy and anti-extradition law protesters, and the suspected triads who beat people they thought to be pro-democracy protesters in Yuen Long, who they said “took justice into their own hands,” and beat people “with different views to them”.

Protest permits were denied in recent weeks because police felt “the organisers of public events do not have the ability to exercise control and ensure the events proceed in a good order”.

Some 139 police officers have been injured in the line of duty, with protesters surrounding police stations, throwing petrol bombs, bricks and other hard objects into the building, police said.

Across the past two months, police said they have fired off 1,000 teargas grenades and 160 rubber bullets. Judging by social media videos circulating today, that count is likely to rise.

Updated

The latest photos from the Admiralty area.

Protesters use improvised shields as they confront the police in the Admiralty area.
Protesters use improvised shields as they confront the police in the Admiralty area. Photograph: Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images
Protesters use cooking utensils to contain teargas fired by the police in the Admiralty area.
Protesters use cooking utensils to contain teargas fired by the police in the Admiralty area. Photograph: Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images
A protester smashes a rock while holding an improvised shield in the Admiralty area.
A protester smashes a rock while holding an improvised shield in the Admiralty area. Photograph: Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images
A laundry deliveryman gestures as he walks through a barricade built by protesters.
A laundry deliveryman gestures as he walks through a barricade built by protesters. Photograph: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters

Updated

The Hong Kong government has rebutted ‘unfounded’ rumours the director of immigration would be joining the general strike today.

Regarding an online rumour that the Director of Immigration, Mr Erick Tsang, will go on strike by taking leave today (August 5), the Immigration Department (ImmD) would like to clarify that Mr Tsang was admitted to hospital for medical treatment last week and resumed duty this morning after being discharged from hospital yesterday (August 4). Therefore, it is merely a rumour which is totally unfounded.

The [immigration department] would like to reiterate that amid this difficult time, all colleagues of the department will continue to stand fast at the posts, and will give unwavering support to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government in effectively administering Hong Kong in accordance with the law and strive to provide the public with services of the best quality.

Meanwhile, a number of public services have been suspended “owing to the situation”.

Updated

The “summer of discontent will continue”, tweets the pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong following the police press conference.

Updated

Teargas has been deployed on Harcourt Road in Admiralty, near the government headquarters, the Financial Times’ Eli Meixler reports.

Updated

Reuters’ Vincent Lee has the latest from the police press conference which began at 4pm local time.

Updated

Hong Kong Free Post’s Kris Cheng has summed up the current state of the protests.

Updated

Antony Dapiran, a lawyer and historian, has told CNN that the strike today is likely to be the largest in Hong Kong since 1967.

I’ve never seen anything like it. We’ve had rallies in Hong Kong before, we’ve had protests, but we’ve never had anything where multiple sites around the city have all simultaneously have been the focus of protests.

Updated

There are a lot of older demonstrators at the rallies today, here to support the students and recent graduates who make up a large number of the protesters.

Shum Yu Cheung, 28, a flight attendant who joined the strike on Monday, said:

Maybe we can’t change the Hong Kong government but at least we can support the young generation. I hope one day we can have the right to elect our chief executive.

It’s unclear how many people have joined the strike today. Organisers said at least 30,000 had not gone to work. Shum said all of her friends had taken off today.

Updated

South China Morning Post has tweeted a video which appears to show a taxi driving into a crowd of protesters.

Police are firing round after round of teargas towards protesters on Lung Cheung Road, in Wong Tai Sin.

They had previously warned teargas would be deployed, after projectiles were thrown at them.

Officers are now marching up the street to push protesters back, while stopping to regain formation at intervals.

The Hong Kong government said in a press release:

The report room services of Wong Tai Sin Police Station are now temporarily suspended. Police appeal to members of the public not to obstruct the emergency vehicles access so as to avoid affecting the emergency services provided to the public.

Here is a live stream:

Updated

Demonstrators are apologising to motorists who have been caught in the gridlock, just outside the city’s financial centre.

Protesters are preparing to form barricades across Harcourt Road.

Police have attempted to remove barricades from across roads elsewhere, but were driven away by protesters, according to reports.

Updated

Protesters staying out of the 31 C heat are congregating in a mall in Shatin, towards the north of the island, which has been the home of protests every day for more than two weeks now.

Dramatic scenes in Hong Kong.

Updated

Police use tear gas and 'minimum force' to disperse protesters

Earlier, the embattled Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam addressed the media for the first time in a fortnight and warned that the protests were pushing the Chinese territory towards an “extremely dangerous situation”.

Her law and order focused speech, which offered no solutions to the grievances of the protesters or any way forward, appears to have encouraged others to take to the streets and inflamed those already demonstrating, while former chief executive Tung Chee Hwa accused the US and Taiwan of being behind the unrest.

“I want Carrie Lam to come out and fix the problem, not give us some bullshit,” said Joel Tse a 25-year-old advertising industry professional.

Tse had originally been on the fence as to whether or not he should join today’s general strike, but seeing the chief executive’s press conference earlier today decided to join. He said her answers were unsatisfactory, and that he wanted to make a point that the use of excessive force by the police was unacceptable.

Hong Kong International airport is running at a vastly reduced capacity today after 2,300 workers at the continental transport hub went on strike.

Airport authority refused to confirm the reasons behind the reduced service, according to CNN.

An electronic billboard shows flight information at the departure hall of Hong Kong International Airport today, after more than 100 flight cancellations
An electronic billboard shows flight information at the departure hall of Hong Kong International Airport today, after more than 100 flight cancellations Photograph: Jérôme Favre/EPA

Meanwhile, demonstrators are arriving in the district of Admiralty for one of the protests.

Demonstrators arrive at the Admiralty station of Mass Transit Railway.
Demonstrators arrive at the Admiralty station of Mass Transit Railway. Photograph: Eloisa Lopez/Reuters

Thousands are coming together in support of the general strike in the city, amid protests at a number of locations today.

Elsewhere, there appear to be standoffs between protesters and police.

Hello, I’m Mattha Busby taking over from my colleague Kate Lyons.

Its just after 2.30pm in Hong Kong – four hours ago a car rammed into a barricade erected by protesters near the Yoho Mall in Yuen Long and injured one person.

What we know so far

  • Protests in Hong Kong have entered their ninth week, as protesters engage in a city-wide strike. The protest is aimed to disrupt peak-hour travel of commuters and is the fifth consecutive day of mass demonstrations in the city.

  • Simultaneous rallies are planned for seven of Hong Kong’s 18 districts. Hong Kong has not held a general strike in more than 50 years.

  • During the morning rush hour for commuters, protesters caused transport across Hong Kong to be brought to a standstill, blocking roads and trains.

  • More than 150 flights out of the city were cancelled, with many airport staff walking out of work to join the protests.

  • Hong Kong’s chief executive Carrie Lam addressed the media for the first time in weeks, refusing to step down, as many protesters demand.

  • She condemned the protests for interfering with the ability of working class Hong Kongers to earn a living and said that the protests had “seriously undermined Hong Kong’s law and order and are pushing our city, the city we all love, and many of us helped to build, to the verge of a very dangerous situation.”

  • A car rammed through a barricade set up by protesters in Yuen Long, narrowly missing people trying to hold back the barrier, and injuring one person.

Updated

Across Hong Kong the day of city-wide protests is kicking off, reports Christy Choi.

At least seven districts across Hong Kong have rallies planned, according to fliers circulating, with protests planned in: Tai Po, Shatin, Tsuen Wan, Tuen Mun, Wong Tai Sin, Mongkok and Admiralty.

However, in keeping with their recent change in strategy, the protests are likely to move location at a moment’s notice. To counter violent police reactions, protesters have been following Bruce Lee’s mantra, to “be water”, gathering in places and then scattering and moving on to other locations before police can arrive in force.

The city’s subway system was back to normal at a quarter to one, after this morning’s strikes, according to an MTR spokesman.

Protesters not only blocked train doors from closing, they placed bicycles, trolleys and steel bars on the tracks of the East Rail line that connects the heart of Hong Kong to one of the border checkpoints with mainland China, and wedged fire extinguishers between the train and the platform to stop trains from leaving.

“These should not have been on the tracks. If trains hit these objects there could have been serious consequences,” said the spokesman.

Car rams through barricade after violent incident between protesters and driver

Witnesses said that around 10am a car tried to drive through a roadblock set up by protesters near the Yoho Mall in Yuen Long, the site of a violent attack on commuters on 21 July.

Protesters surrounded the car, holding up umbrellas and forcing the driver out of the vehicle. Some began to deface the car and fought with the driver. Some witnesses said the driver bit protesters.

Others at the scene stopped the fighting and first aid volunteers tried to help the driver, who had wounds to his head, but he refused. He eventually got back into his car.

“Suddenly he closed the door and window and then started the engine. The demonstrators were nervous and tried to press against the front of the car to prevent him from leaving,” said Derek Man, who was on the road at the time, with the protesters.

“The driver ignored them and continued to accelerate. The tyres emitted a lot of white smoke. The vehicle broke through the barrier and knocked down one person and then he left the scene,” Man said.

Another witness, Chun Ming Lam, 25, a resident of Yuen Long said he was on his way to work and standing on a footbridge over the road, when he saw the incident.

When he saw the car break through the barrier, protesters began yelling “first aid, first aid!” and he ran down to the scene where one person was propped up against the barrier and protesters were applying ice packs to him. A car arrived later to take the man to a hospital, he said.

Lam who witnessed the attacks on 21 July, when dozens of masked men beat commuters with wooden and iron rods. “It was quite scary but I also witnessed the 7/21 incident and others in Yuen Long. It’s not so scary when comparing with that,” he said.

A police spokeswoman said the incident happened around 10:30 on Monday. “We got a call that some people were run over by a car near Yoho mall in Yuen Long, but once police arrived there were no injured, no car and no witnesses to tell us anything.”

A pro-Beijing Hong Kong lawmaker Ann Chiang has criticised Carrie Lam, saying she’s disappointed Lam provided no solutions for the current unrest in Hong Kong in her press conference earlier today, reports Christy Choi.

Writing on Facebook, Chiang said: “The Chief Executive raised many questions at the press conference! But what about the solution? Disappointed!!!”

One person injured and police investigate after car runs through protesters' barricade

The Hong Kong police are confirming to the Guardian they received a call earlier this morning about a car running down people near Yoho mall in Yuen Long, reports Christy Choi.

A police spokeswoman said: “That [incident] happened around 10:30 today. We got a call that some people were run over by a car near Yoho mall in Yuen Long, but once police arrived there were no injured, no car and no witnesses to tell us anything.”

Our Beijing bureau chief, Lily Kuo, reports that according to a source one person was injured in the incident.

Public broadcaster RTHK has reported that that one third of air traffic controllers have joined the strike. The Hong Kong airport, one of the busiest in the region, cut flights and reduced operations to just one runway, down from two. More than 200 flights have now been cancelled. Some counters at the airport have set up iron bars to control crowds seeking help and the Airport Express, a train to the airport from the city, has been suspended.

‘Liberate Hong Kong, the revolution of our time’ – the slogan terrifying Hong Kong’s leaders

In the last few weeks, protesters have been chanting and graffitiing this slogan all over the city: “Liberate Hong Kong, the revolution of our time”, explains Christy Choi, one of our reporters in Hong Kong.

It’s the campaign slogan for Edward Leung, a now-jailed advocate of Hong Kong independence when he looked to run to be one of the city’s few elected lawmakers.

And it’s making the government here nervous, with Carrie Lam even bringing this phrase up during her press conference on Monday. Lam said the slogan, ‘Reclaim Hong Kong, revolution of our times’, was a “threat to national sovereignty and a call to destroy Hong Kong”.

A protester waves a black Hong Kong bauhinia flag, which has become a symbol of the protests, as they gather outside the Kwun tong police station.
A protester waves a black Hong Kong bauhinia flag, which has become a symbol of the protests, as they gather outside the Kwun tong police station. Photograph: Vincent Thian/AP

The phrase once associated with a tiny core group within Hong Kong that were advocating independence from China, has now has filtered into more common usage by protesters who are taking to flying flags that read “Hong Kong independence”, and the talk of independence is something that China isn’t likely to tolerate.

A source who had recently visited Leung said the young activist was pleasantly surprised to see the revival of his election tagline, but also expressed concerns over the situation, SCMP reported.

“He is worried the young people would lose their freedom of taking part in the struggle if they followed his path,” the source said.

China is sensitive to any perceived challenge against its sovereignty – even symbolic ones.

Earlier this week a Chinese flag was taken off the flagpole and thrown into Victoria Harbour, and replaced with a flag calling for independence. It drew the ire of city’s former Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, who is offering a million Hong Kong dollars reward for any information on who was responsible.

Updated

And another one, featuring Edward Leung, a leading Hong Kong independence activist.

During her press conference, Carrie Lam mentioned that she was aware of a slogan being used by protesters: “Reclaim Hong Kong, the revolution is now (or, the revolution of our time)”.

Now people in Hong Kong are gleefully tweeting the clip of Lam saying the revolutionary expression.

More analysis of Carrie Lam’s press conference from Lokman Tsui, who teaches journalism at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and has been following the protests closely.

“She sounds like a broken record. It looks like she is trying to run the playbook of criticising the unrest and the violence and linking it to economic stability,” said Tsui.

“Most of my students and friends are just more angry and annoyed.”

Car rams through barricade of protesters

A large car has been filmed approaching a barricade in the street where protesters were congregating, then backing up and ramming through it, barely missing protesters..

The videos – shot from three different angles – have been circulating on Telegram and are reportedly from today’s protests. The incident happened in Yuen Long, Yoho Mall is visible in the background of the videos.

The Guardian is working to confirm that the videos are from today and whether there were any injuries caused by the incident.

Hong Kong’s stock market has taken an early hit this morning as the city’s governance crisis continues to mount. With elusive chief executive Carrie Lam about to speak this morning, the Hang Seng index is down 2.2%, outstripping losses on the other main Asian bourses. The Nikkei in Tokyo is down 2% and China’s Shanghai Composite is off 1%.

Hong Kong’s political problems have so far played a backseat role in the markets compared with the US-China trade dispute, but it now looks like the crisis is looming larger in the minds of investors.

Snap verdict: Protesters unlikely to be happy as Lam trots out same old lines

Protesters are not likely to be appeased by the government’s remarks, which were largely the same as before: condemning protesters for undermining stability in Hong Kong and calling on citizens to “rally together” against violence.

Lam did make one gesture, which is instituting a daily press conference from the police, who have become perhaps the primary focus of the protests after weeks of clashes with protesters, which have involved beating residents and protesters with batons, firing tear gas and rubber bullets on them, and pepper spraying them.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam attends a press conference in Hong Kong, her first public appearance in weeks.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam attends a press conference in Hong Kong, her first public appearance in weeks. Photograph: Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images

The press conference has wrapped up and Carrie Lam has left.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam gives address flanked by her cabinet, as Hong Kong endures a city-wide strike.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam gives address flanked by her cabinet, as Hong Kong endures a city-wide strike. Photograph: Jérôme Favre/EPA

Carrie Lam has been asked “what extent are you to blame and why have you not resigned”?

In response, she has offered the same spiel she has before, that while she handled the extradition bill badly, though says the bill was “well-intentioned” she has apologised, and is committed to listening to the public.

“What we have not done well is to explain in a more effective manner.. and the engage more,” she says. “I don’t think at this point in time, resignation will help find a solution.”

After someone questioned the fact that a huge number of civil servants were among those protesting, Lam finally directly answered the question of why she has not yet resigned.

“I’m taking responsibility for what we’ve done because I’m the chief executive,” she said.

She says that since the extradition bill has raised problems “it is a time for me to continue to lead my team to address those problems and try to bring Hong Kong out of the current difficult situation. I don’t think resignation of myself or colleagues will provide a better solution.”

Updated

A journalist from the South China Morning Post pointed out that protesters have asked not just for an investigation into the police but an independent commission inquiry into the whole situation, as well as a permanent withdrawal. What is stopping you from taking those actions? You said that the crisis has expanded beyond the bill, so what would you do to deal with that crisis?

“Some people may not agree with our response.. but we have considered every factor. What is in front of us is Hong Kong’s stability and future and escalated violence,” she said.

Lam also said that protesters were using the controversial extradition bill as a cover for “ulterior motives” and “to persist with... revolution”.

“Those ulterior motives are going to destroy Hong Kong,” she says.

Carrie Lam has issued an explanation for why she has not been visible in meeting with protesters and other civil society groups

“We have been constantly thinking about how to improve our governance. I have been having marathon meetings with people from different sectors. Some ask why don’t I meet the press. It’s because radicals will storm wherever I go,” she said.

Carrie Lam responded to a question about the role of the police, whom she calls “Asia’s finest”.

“The police force is safeguarding Hong Kong’s law and order and ensuring Hong Kong’s ongoing safety.

“I’m very sad every time I meet with the commissioner that the force is under extreme pressure... I appeal to the media to have a bit more understanding of the difficulties faced by police during this time.

“The same harassment that I have described” – she said that she is threatened and targeted by protesters –” have been extended to the families of the police.”

Asked what she has done to respond to demands from demonstrators, Lam said the government has responded, just not in a way that will necessarily satisfy protesters. Lam points out that the government’s independent police complaints council has begun looking into the attack on commuters on 21 July by suspected triad gangs.

Paul Chan, the financial secretary, also addressed the crowd earlier in a speech that was essentially a list of numbers that illustrated the hit to the Hong Kong economy of the protests.

Lam, flanked by her entire cabinet, is now taking questions from the gathered press.

At the last press conference, which was the day after a violent attack by suspected triads on protesters and commuters, tensions were especially high. Lam sidestepped questions and spent much of the time condemning both sides for violence. Frustrated journalists yelled at her to “speak like a human.”

Hong Kong’s deputy chief executive Matthew Cheung called on all civil servants to “stand together”. More than 4,000 civil servants have signed letters condemning the government, in a rare display of defiance for the normally politically neutral government bureaucrats. On Friday, thousands of civil servants attended a rally on despite orders from the government for them to stay “totally loyal” to the chief executive.

Among the other things Carrie Lam said was that the demonstrations were destroying the livelihoods of working class people and “breaking their rice bowls”.

She said that from today, police would hold a press conference every day.

Matthew Cheung, the chief secretary of Hong Kong, is speaking now. He is calling for civil servants to stand together.

Lam opened her press conference by condemning protesters’ behaviour from over the weekend, including when demonstrators took down a Chinese flag from a pier and threw it into the sea. Lam said protesters were “bullying” those with different opinions.

The chief executive added that people may choose to strike but they should “respect the rights of others to go to work”.

“Are we using the lives of 7 million people and Hong Kong’s future as leverage?”

Carrie Lam says protests has pushed Hong Kong 'to the verge of a very dangerous situation'

Carrie Lam has spoken to the press about the ongoing protests.

“Such disruptions have seriously undermined Hong Kong’s law and order and are pushing our city, the city we all love, and many of us helped to build, to the verge of a very dangerous situation.

“As a result of these widespread disruptions and violence, the great majority of Hong Kong people are now in a state of great anxiety, some of them don’t know if they can still take some forms of public transport, while other right now are being blocked from going to work.

“We all love Hong Kong... This is the time for us to rally together to set aside differences and bring back order and say no to chaos and violence.”

The last time Hong Kong’s leader, chief executive Carrie Lam addressed the public was three weeks ago today. She has been virtually in hiding since then, which has further fuelled anger at the government’s response to weeks of protests.

At the last press conference, which was the day after a violent attack by suspected triads on protesters and commuters, tensions were especially high. Lam sidestepped questions and spent much of the time condemning both sides for violence. Frustrated journalists yelled at her to “speak like a human.”

Expectations are not high that Lam will respond meaningfully to protesters demands, which include the permanent withdrawal of the extradition bill that the protests in June, as well as an independent investigation into police behaviour.

This the first time Carrie Lam has spoken to the press in more than two weeks.

Carrie Lam is addressing the press pack now.

Our reporter, Christy Choi, is in the room waiting for Carrie Lam to speak. She was due to appear seven minutes ago.

As the city enters its ninth consecutive week of protests, demonstrators have begun shifting strategies while authorities arrest more people and deploy harsher tactics against them.

On Sunday night and the early hours of Monday, police clashed with protesters and residents in various locations, after protesters evaded and frustrated the police by holding flashmob demonstrations throughout the city. The strategy was for groups of protesters to scatter and switch locations at the last minute, disappearing before riot police were able to arrive en masse.

Commuters stand outside the MTR station as a group of protesters block rail services.
Commuters stand outside the MTR station as a group of protesters block rail services. Photograph: Billy HC Kwok/Getty Images

There are huge delays across Hong Kong today as a city-wide strike, targeting commuters during peak hour, has caused serious delays across the transport system.

Our reporter Christy Choi has been travelling on the MTR, the rail service in Hong Kong was on a train that was held up and then everyone was ordered off the train.

“This is very unusual,” she says. “Things normally run like clockwork.”

Cindy Chan, an officer worker for a utilities company who was ordered off the MTR at Taikoo station said despite the disruption she supported the protests, which she called a “last resort” for the people of Hong Kong.

“I really support it, but I can’t do it because coming from the pressure of the company so I try my best to get to work,” she said.

“First of all the government doesn’t listen to the opinion of the people in Hong Kong and later on you can see it getting worse and worse.”

Chan is not happy with what she sees as inaction from the government, which she says has demonstrated their bias by not investigating police.

“It makes those people who support the protesters even more angry and divides society,” she said.

“I used to be proud of law and order in Hong,” said Chan. “[I would] rely on the police to combat crime, but now I see them and I’m afraid of them, and hate them. I hesitate whether I should seek help from them. This is very different. Hong Kong is different from before.”

Updated

Hong Kong’s leader, chief executive, Carrie Lam, a target of the protests, is set to address the media at 10am local time. Lam, who has been the target of many of the protests over the last two months, has disappeared from public view for the last two weeks, as protesters call for her to step down.

As the city enters its ninth consecutive week of protests, demonstrators have begun shifting strategies while authorities arrest more people and deploy harsher tactics against them.

On Monday, transport across Hong Kong was brought to a standstill and more than 150 flights out of the city were cancelled due to a city-wide strike, as protesters and residents engage in mass civil disobedience to protest their government.

Almost 100 outbound and 100 inbound flights were cancelled at Hong Kong on Monday, due to the strike, with Hong Kong airport posting a warning that “potential circumstances on Monday, 5 August might affect airport operation” and advising passengers to check with their airlines before heading to the airport. Protesters also blocked key roads and trains, as shops and businesses shuttered for the day.

Updated

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