By Coconuts Hong Kong February 12, 2016 / 12:23 HKT
A police shouts at a demonstrator during the run-in. Photo: Facebook screenshot
Police clashed with civilians yet again after intervening in what was supposed to be a peaceful pro-democracy demonstration in Mong Kok last night.
The incident occurred when around 100 demonstrators gathered outside a cinema on Sai Yeung Choi Street with yellow umbrellas and Republic of China flags as part of a peaceful "Gau Wu” protest, a term which originated during the 2014 Occupy Movement.
Police later arrived and demanded to check their identity cards, before getting into a tense standoff that led to backup police being called.
A video filmed by writer Jimmy Pang appears to show the crowd being pushed against a wall by officers yelling “move along”. It appears that Pang was later pushed by an officer on scene, who attempted to stop him from filming.
The tense situation reportedly did not escalate into a full-on violent clash, but officers on scene were met by jeers from the public, as Ming Pao Daily reported.
A demonstrator told Apple Daily that he believes the police officers’ actions were “payback” for the violent riots in Mong Kok earlier this week, which left nearly 90 police officers injured.
http://hongkong.coconuts.co/2016/02/11/police-intervention-during-peaceful-mong-kok-protest-payback-riots
