INTRODUCTION

Another weekend of protests in Hong Kong descended into clashes between demonstrators and police as officers on Saturday fired multiple rounds of tear gas into crowds centred on two main battlefields in Tai Wai, Sha Tin, and in Tsim Sha Tsui, while flash mobs fanned out across the city, blocking roads and the Cross-Harbour Tunnel before quickly fleeing.

At the airport, more than a thousand people gathered in the afternoon for a second day of a sit-in, with hundreds remaining by late night, determined to camp in the complex.

Four planned marches over the weekend were all banned by police on the grounds of a high risk of violence, including one in Wong Tai Sin and another in Tai Po, which still kicked off.

Some protesters also earlier gathered in Central to renew calls for their five demands, including a full withdrawal of the extradition bill, and setting up an independent investigation into police handling of the unrest. Officers have been accused of using excessive force.

On the other side of the political and social divide, the Safeguard Hong Kong Alliance, which organised a rally last month to support the government and police, held an event again, calling it “the day for supporting police”.