Hong Kong protests: more than 20 arrested after clashes in Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok and Wong Tai Sin
- Clashes flared in Wong Tai Sin after reports that police had arrived to make arrests, with hundreds blocking police vans from leaving
- Riot police used tear gas, pepper spray and batons in densely packed neighbourhood, prompting many residents to accuse them of disrupting community
More than 20 people have been arrested for offences including unlawful assembly in Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok and Wong Tai Sin, where chaos and violence raged until around 4am on Sunday morning.
Eighteen people were injured during the clashes, the Hospital Authority said. Six had been discharged as of Sunday afternoon.
After police started dispersing protesters in Mong Kok in the west of Kowloon, where an approved rally at a sports ground had spilled into protests in Yau Ma Tei and Tsim Sha Tsui, the working-class district of Wong Tai Sin, home to the temple devoted to the Taoist deity of the same name, was suddenly transformed into a smoking battlefield in an unexpected turn of events.
The organiser of the Mong Kok rally said about 120,000 attended. On Sunday, protests were planned in Tseung Kwan O and the west of Hong Kong Island, both densely populated residential districts.
On Saturday night, clashes flared in Wong Tai Sin after reports that the police had arrived to arrest two people. Hundreds blocked police vans from leaving, and attacked outnumbered officers with fire extinguishers, helmets, umbrellas and other objects.
