24th May 2020 – (Hong Kong) Tam Tak-Chi, the vice President of People Power party was arrested opposite Sogo in Causeway today for participating in illegal assembly to protest against the National Security Law at around 12pm today.
Many protesters gathered near Sogo and Hennessy Road while at least 4 tear gas rounds were fired. At 1.25pm today, police set up a defence line near Percival Street.
Earlier in the afternoon, someone hurled a hard object from the top of a building at the police who were carrying out their duties. Protesters also threw umbrellas and other objects including bricks and bottles at police officers. Police strongly condemned such irresponsible action and violence even if no one was injured. Protesters also scattered nails on the road with an attempt to cause disruption on traffic. Tram service was affected as a result. Riot police officers responded by combing the street to clear the nails.
Around 2pm today, rioters dismantled scaffoldings on the roadside in Wan Chai and blocked Lockhart Road with the loosened bamboo sticks. Rioters also set barricades on carriageways with stones, potted plants and umbrellas. They also blocked multiple roads with rubbish bins and miscellaneous objects in Wan Chai. Traffic cones, water-filled barriers, and railings were scattered on the ground. They set fire to traffic cones and objects.
Police repetitively demanded those present to disperse immediately as they were violating the gathering ban. Police officers started to commence clearance on Hennessy Road towards eastern direction at 1.30pm. A police officer wielded a pepper-projectile gun at the crowd in Wan Chai at 2.30pm.
Police intercepted many other protesters and took away some protest materials and pamphlets as evidence. Roadblocks were set on many major highways and roads including Island Eastern Corridor and Waterloo Road to intercept suspicious vehicles.
At 2pm, armoured vehicle and the water-cannon vehicle moved towards Causeway Bay. Many shops started to close down. Black flag was hoisted on Hennessy Road in Wan Chai. Police continued to ask reporters present to disperse on Great George Street by hoisting blue flag. At 2.20pm, another group of riot police started to move from Beijing Liaison office in Sheung Wan towards Central.
At 2.40pm, police hoisted orange flag on Gloucester Road near Causeway Bay before clearing the barricades. On the other hand, some rioters damaged traffic lights in the vicinity of Johnston Road and O’Brien Road, Wan Chai. The Specialized Crowd Management Vehicle and Unimog have been deployed to assist in carrying out law enforcement.
At 3.22pm, tear gas rounds were fired near the overhead bridge on Percival Street, water cannon was deployed. Around 40 people were arrested. Pepper projectiles were fired Causeway Bay Plaza and Hennessy Road. At 3.30pm, rioters smashed the glass panels of I.T. boutique near Lee Garden Avenue with bricks. Bricks were also removed from the pedestrian pavement on Percival Street.
At 4.06pm, police arrested many people in front of Sogo. At 4.15pm, some rioters erected barricades on Canal Road East while many protesters started to march towards Times Square. At 4.25pm, around 80 people were arrested in front of Sogo for illegal assembly. At least 5 tear gas rounds were fired near Tin Lok Lane.
At 4.37pm, police hoisted black flag near Canal Road Flyover and fired more tear gas rounds. Some rioters hurled water bombs at police at 4.45pm while police retaliated by firing pepper projectiles. At 4.47pm, some protesters were arrested near Bank of China. At 5pm, more protesters were arrested near SOGO.
At 4.45pm, rioters hurled bricks, unidentified liquid at police officers near Canal Road Flyover, at least 4 media officers of the police force were injured. Police condemned the violence by the protesters.
At 5.15pm today, Sam Yip, the district councillor for Central and Western District was also arrested. Police again hoisted blue flag to disperse protesters near Canal Road Flyover. One was arrested.
According to the Hospital Authority, as of 6pm, 2 men and 4 women were sent to the hospital during the rallies on Hong Kong Island. Among them, 2 men and 2 women were in stable condition. One woman was discharged and the remaining 51-year-old woman was in critical condition. It is known that the critically ill woman is a Nepalese cleaner who had a heart attack. She was suspected to have suffered from heart attack when a group of people entered the toilet she was cleaning.
At 8.15pm, rioters again barricaded the road under Canal Road Flyover.
At 8.20pm, the government issued a statement to strongly condemn the behaviour of the rioters, saying that they took advantage of the anti-extradition movement in June last year and continued to launch violent attacks to destroy social tranquillity for many months, which caused great harm to Hong Kong. As the epidemic eased, they once again leveraged on national security laws as an excuse to cause chaos. The government also strongly condemned protesters who waved Hong Kong independence banneers at the scene, blatantly disregarding Hong Kong ’s constitutional order, and pointed to their atrocities today, showing that Hong Kong independence and rioters are still rampant, confirming the necessity and urgency of national security legislation.
At 9.40pm, police intercepted another 12 protesters near Fire Station at Canal Road Flyover.
