Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
James Morris

Hong Kong protests: Police fire tear gas and water cannons at protesters who lobbed Molotov cocktails outside government office

More violence has erupted in Hong Kong, with police firing tear gas and chemical-laced water after protesters lobbed Molotov cocktails outside the government headquarters.

Pro-democracy supporters – a mix of hard-core protesters wearing masks and families with children – had marched through downtown Hong Kong on Sunday in defiance of a police ban.

But trouble later flared up when hundreds of protesters targeted the government complex, throwing petrol bombs and bricks through police barriers.

Officers responded by firing volleys of tear gas and using water cannon trucks to spray the chemical-laced liquid.

Pro-democracy protesters react as police fire water cannons outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong (AFP/Getty Images)

Protesters retreated but re-grouped in the nearby Wan Chai neighborhood, setting a fire outside a subway station exit and on the streets.

They fled again after riot police advanced.

An anti-government protester throws back a tear gas canister at the police (Jorge Silva/Reuters)

It comes after pro-democracy supporters clashed with pro-Beijing activists in the Amoy Plaza shopping centre on Saturday.

The latest clashes, which came amid the mid-autumn festival holiday, followed several nights of peaceful rallies that featured mass singing by pro-democracy supporters.

An anti-government protester outside the government complex on Sunday (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Protesters have refused to yield despite the government's promise to withdraw an extradition bill that triggered the protests months ago.

They have widened their demands to include direct elections for their leaders and police accountability.

Many saw the extradition bill, which would have allowed some Hong Kong suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial, as an example of Hong Kong's autonomy eroding since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Additional reporting by AP.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.