Hong Kong protests to continue throughout Christmas week
Hong Kong is facing a Christmas week of protests, with demonstrators planning to gather across the city over the coming days.
Protesters plan to gather in five malls on Christmas eve, and will count down to Christmas near the city’s harbour front in the bustling Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district.
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Protests are also planned for various places on Christmas Day according to notices on social media.
After more than six months of unrest in the city, protests are in a relative lull compared with the scale and intensity of earlier confrontations.
Nevertheless, there is no sign the violence will end imminently. Police have arrested more than 6,000 people since the protests intensified in June, including more than 52 in the past weekend.
The latest rally ended with demonstrators – black-clad and masked – throwing bricks and bottles at the police on Sunday.
Officers responded in turn with bursts of pepper spray, while one policeman drew his pistol and pointed it towards a crowd. Witnesses told news agencies he did not pull the trigger.
Hong Kong residents are angry at what they see as Chinese meddling in the freedoms promised to the former British colony when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
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China denies interfering and says it is committed to the “one country, two systems” formula put in place at that time and has blamed foreign forces for fomenting unrest.
Many Hong Kong people are also furious at perceived police brutality and are demanding an independent investigation into it. Police deny using excessive force.