Yesterday were the National Day Celebrations in Hong Kong – a national holiday this year marking 70 years of Communist Party rule – and as anticipated, it was a day of tense protests that escalated into violence.
During the riots, an 18-year-old protester was shot by the police. This was one of 6 live rounds shot during the incident. It was reported to be a non-life-threatening incident. The person had to undergo surgery and is in now in stable condition recovering in a hospital.
Police said this was the most violent of all days in the past 4 months of protests. Police fired 900 rubber bullets and 1,400 rounds of tear gas – nearly the same amounts used in the whole of the past 2 months.
Some of the protesters were armed with poles, petrol bombs, and other projectiles. There were 269 arrests of persons aged from 12 years old to 71.
More than 100 people were taken to the hospital, and 30 police officers were also injured.
Local neighborhoods witnessed conflicts in the areas of Tuen Mun, Tusen Wan, Shatin, Sham Shui Po, and Admiralty. Due to these clashes, some of the MTR train stations and shops owned by Chinese were forced to close.
During the protests, airport operations were not affected.
Today, Wednesday, October 2, 2019, all offices and schools have reopened after being closed for the holiday.
The protests began in March of this year to fight the Fugitive Offenders amendment bill proposed by Hong Kong Government. This bill, known as the Anti-Extradition Law.
