Beijing: Hong Kong police have fired a live bullet for the first time as clashes with radical protesters worsened on Sunday evening.

In another first, two water cannons were deployed to clear the streets as tensions intensifed.

Around 8pm in Tsuen Wen, in the western New Territories, a group of masked protesters wielding metal and bamboo poles chased a smaller group of police down Sha Tsui Road.

One news video showed an officer stumbling over a water barricade and falling to the ground shortly before a gun shot was heard. The sound of the gun shot stopped the advancing protesters in their tracks. </s> A Hong Kong police officer has fired a gunshot during protests here, the first time a live round has been used since demonstrations broke out in June.

Images showed several other officers also pointed guns at protesters who were chasing them with sticks and poles.

In another first, police deployed water cannon against protesters on Sunday, the BBC reported.

The protests began in the city’s Tsuen Wan district and have since spread to the district of Tsim Sha Tsui.

Demonstrations were sparked by an extradition bill but have since morphed into broader anti-government protests, and developments on Sunday mark a serious escalation in the unrest.

Police told local media that the gunshot was fired as a warning to protesters, and that several officers had been taken to hospital as a result of the clashes.

But police Superintendent Leung Kwok-wing did not say where the shot was aimed.

During the melee, one older man was seen on his knees pleading with police not to shoot.

Before the scuffle, black-clad protesters had thrown projectiles at police, including bricks and petrol bombs.

Police also fired rubber bullets and tear gas, and used two water cannon vehicles to clear barricades and disperse crowds.

Images on social media show the vehicles being driven through the streets of Tsuen Wan, where a group of demonstrators had set up roadblocks and dug up bricks from the pavement.

The vehicles are equipped with surveillance cameras and multiple water-cannon nozzles, and police had said they would only be used in the event of a “large-scale public disturbance”.

Earlier this month, human rights group Amnesty International warned that the cannons could cause serious injuries and lead to further tensions.

There was another, more peaceful rally on Sunday comprised of a few hundred people, some of them family members of the police, who called for a political solution to the crisis.

Activists have criticised the police for being heavy-handed during the pro-democracy rallies.

Several people were hospitalised on Saturday after violent clashes.

The latest round of violence comes after an uneasy peace that lasted a little more than a week. </s> A Hong Kong police officer fired at least one gunshot Sunday, the first time a live round has been used during three months of protests.

Violent clashes broke out between protesters and police in Tsuen Wan, around 10 kilometres (six miles) from central Hong Kong, after a rally at a nearby sports stadium attracted thousands of people.

"According to my understanding, just now a gunshot was fired by a colleague... My initial understanding was that it was a uniformed policeman who fired his gun," a Hong Kong police officer told reporters.

Hong Kong police also used water cannon for the first time Sunday, raising the stakes against protesters who have staged sometimes violent rallies that have rocked the city for the past three months.

Officers were seen with drawn sidearms as protesters clashed with police in the district of Tsuen Wan after a rally at a nearby sports stadium.

The financial hub has been gripped by mass rallies that were initially against a proposed extradition bill to China, but have spun into a wider pro-democracy movement targeting the pro-Beijing government.

As thousands of people marched in the pouring rain to Tsuen Wan, a group of hardcore protesters erected makeshift roadblocks and dug up bricks from the pavements.

After firing tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowds, police drove water cannon vehicles onto the streets, unfurling signs warning protesters they would deploy the jets if they did not leave.

The jets were later fired from the moving trucks towards a crowd of protesters who ran away, but hardcore group of protesters later threw bricks and Molotov cocktails in violent confrontations with riot police.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Police had previously said the vehicles, complete with surveillance cameras and multiple spray nozzles, would only be used in the event of a "large-scale public disturbance".

Throughout the protests, Beijing has used a mix of intimidation, propaganda and economic muscle to constrict the protests in a strategy dubbed "white terror" by the movement.

The MTR -- the city's metro -- is the latest Hong Kong enterprise to face public censure, after appearing to bend to Chinese state-media attacks accusing the transport system of being an "exclusive" service to ferry protesters to rallies.

On Sunday the MTR shut stations near the main demonstration area in Tsuen Wan, in the second day of station closures in-a-row.

"However bleak our future is, we're trying to express ourselves rationally," said Peter, in his 20s, before the clashes began.

"We have faith in ourselves and we have faith in our city that some day our demands will be answered."

A second rally in the afternoon of a few hundred people -- some of them family members of police -- criticised the government for leaving officers to handle the brunt of the crisis, while also calling for an independent investigation into the police handling of the protests.

"I believe within these two months, police have got enough opprobrium," said a woman who asked not to be named and said she was a police officer's wife.

The city's officers are often the focus of protesters' anger because of their perceived heavy handling of the rallies.

Ten people were left in hospital after Saturday's clashes -- two in a serious condition -- staff said, without detailing if they were police or protesters.

On Saturday police baton-charged protesters and fired tear gas, while demonstrators threw rocks and bottles later into the night in a working-class neighbourhood.

Protesters say Hong Kong's unique freedoms are in jeopardy as Beijing tightens its political chokehold on the semi-autonomous city.

The city had appeared to have pulled back from a sharp nosedive into violence, with the last serious confrontation taking place more than a week ago, shortly after protests paralysed the airport.

Get Breaking news, live coverage, and Latest News from India and around the world on NDTV.com. Catch all the Live TV action on NDTV 24x7 and NDTV India. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram for latest news and live news updates. </s> Hong Kong has been wracked by protests for seven weeks,

A protester throws a tear gas canister which was fired by riot police during a protest in Hong Kong, Sunday, July 28, 2019. Police fired tear gas at protesters in Hong Kong on Sunday for the second night in a row in another escalation of weeks-long pro-democracy protests in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. (Ring Yu/HK01 via AP)

Police fired tear gas at protesters in Hong Kong on Sunday for the second night in a row in another escalation of weeks-long pro-democracy protests in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

Protesters occupied two areas at opposite ends of central Hong Kong following a mid-afternoon rally against police use of tear gas the previous Sunday.

As night fell, one group that had blocked a road near the Chinese government’s liaison office began to move forward. The police issued warnings, and protesters were seen throwing eggs at them. Officers fired tear gas to halt the advance.

Protesters had rallied earlier at a park in Hong Kong’s financial district before marching out in several directions despite not winning police approval for a public procession. It was the second straight day that protesters took to the streets without official permission.

A sea of black-shirted protesters, some with bright yellow helmets and masks but many with just backpacks, streamed out of Chater Garden park. Chanting “Add oil,” a phrase that roughly means “Keep up the fight,” a huge crowd marched east down a wide thoroughfare in what has become a summer of protest in the city.

They stopped near the Sogo department store and set up barricades to block off the area and defend it against police.

Another group headed west toward mainland China’s liaison office. Protesters egged the office last weekend and splattered black ink on the national emblem, eliciting an angry reaction from the Chinese government.

They stopped about two blocks short of the office and used orange and white construction barricades to build a wall spanning a major road. They massed behind the barriers as night fell, with umbrellas pointed forward to shield their identities and ward off any police move to clear them.

Some nearby stores shuttered early as police in riot gear gathered nearby ahead of the all but inevitable clearing operation.

Hong Kong has been wracked by protests for seven weeks, as opposition to an extradition bill has morphed into demands for the resignation of the city’s leader and an investigation into whether police have used excessive force in quelling the protests.

Underlying the movement is a broader push for full democracy in the territory. The city’s leader is chosen by a committee dominated by a pro-Beijing establishment, rather than by direct elections.

The rally in Chater Garden was called to protest the police use of tear gas, rubber bullets and other force to break up a protest the previous Sunday.

“We need to have a protest to show that we are strongly against this kind of brutality and we need them to respond to our demands,” said rally organizer Ventus Lau.

Police had denied Lau’s request to march west to the Sheung Wan district, where the tear gas was used the previous weekend, citing escalating violence in clashes with protesters that have broken out after past marches and rallies.

“The police must prevent aggressive protesters from exploiting a peaceful procession to cause troubles and violent clashes,” said Superintendent Louis Lau of the police public relations branch.

On Saturday, clashes between protesters and police led to 11 arrests and left at least two dozen injured in an outlying district toward the border with mainland China.

The police had also denied permission for that march in Yuen Long, where a mob apparently targeting demonstrators had beaten people brutally in a train station the previous weekend.

Protesters and police faced off in the streets well into the night, as they’ve done repeatedly during the summer’s pro-democracy protests.

Police said protesters removed fences from roads to make their own roadblocks and charged police lines with metal poles. One group surrounded and vandalized a police vehicle, causing danger to officers on board, a police statement said.

Officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets as demonstrators threw bricks and other objects and ducked behind makeshift shields.

Later, police wearing helmets charged into the train station, where a few hundred protesters had taken refuge from the tear gas. Some officers swung their batons at demonstrators, while others appeared to be urging their colleagues to hang back. For the second week in a row, blood was splattered on the station floor.

Police arrested 13 people, including march organizer Max Chung, for offences including unlawful assembly, possession of offensive weapon and assault, according to police and Hong Kong media. At least four officers were injured.

The Hospital Authority said 24 people were taken to five hospitals. As of Sunday morning, eight remained hospitalized, two in serious condition.

Amnesty International, the human rights group, called the police response heavy-handed and unacceptable.

“While police must be able to defend themselves, there were repeated instances today where police officers were the aggressors,” Man-kei Tam, the director of Amnesty International Hong Kong, said in a statement.

Police said they had to use what they termed “appropriate force” because of the bricks and other objects thrown at them, including glass bottles with a suspected corrosive fluid inside.

Associated Press writer Ken Moritsugu in Beijing contributed to this report.

Katie Tam And Chanwoo Bang, The Associated Press

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. </s> Riot police stand behind shields as they face off protesters in Yuen Long district in Hong Kong on Saturday, July 27, 2019. Police in Hong Kong used tear gas against protesters Saturday who defied authorities’ warnings not to march in a neighborhood where six days earlier a mob apparently targeting demonstrators brutally attacked people in a commuter rail station. (AP Photo/Bobby Yip)

HONG KONG (AP) — Police repeatedly fired tear gas and rubber bullets to drive back protesters blocking Hong Kong streets with road signs and umbrellas Sunday in another night of pitched battles as protests for democracy in the Chinese territory escalate.

It was the second night in a row that tear gas was used against protesters. Their demonstrations began early last month in opposition to an extradition bill that has since been suspended, but the movement has become a broader push for full democracy.

Protesters occupied two areas at opposite ends of central Hong Kong on Sunday following a midafternoon rally against police use of tear gas at a demonstration the previous weekend.

On the western end of Hong Kong Island, one group blocked areas near the Chinese government’s liaison office and began to move forward as night fell. Police issued warnings, and protesters threw eggs at them. Officers fired tear gas to halt the advance.

Police then embarked on an hourslong effort to push the protesters eastward and get them to disperse.

In repeated standoffs, spontaneous but highly organized protesters set up behind scaffolding that they built across a street. Police lined up behind clear shields about 30 meters (100 feet) down the road. Dozens of journalists in bright yellow vests stood on the sidelines between the groups.

The police would advance gradually, firing bursts of tear gas. Protesters in hard hats scurried about, rearranging makeshift barriers of pilfered road signs and other items. By the time the police reached the scaffolding, they had backed off about 6 meters (20 feet).

Another team of officers, more mobile with smaller shields, then swept in to clear the area. Local media reported some protesters were detained.

For more than seven weeks, protesters have taken to Hong Kong streets, initially to demand the scrapping of a proposed extradition law that would send suspects to mainland China to face trials. The legislation is seen as a threat to Hong Kong’s freedoms that were guaranteed for 50 years when China took back control of the former British colony in 1997.

The bill was eventually suspended, but the protesters then called for the resignation of the city’s leader and an investigation into whether police have used excessive force in quelling the protests.

Underlying the movement is a push for full democracy in the city, whose leader is chosen by a committee dominated by a pro-Beijing establishment, rather than by direct elections.

Earlier Sunday, protesters rallied at a park in Hong Kong’s financial district before marching out in several directions despite not winning police approval for a public procession. It was the second straight day that protesters took to the streets without official permission.

A sea of black-shirted protesters, some with bright yellow helmets and masks but many with just backpacks, streamed out of Chater Garden park. Chanting “Add oil,” a phrase that roughly means “Keep up the fight,” a huge crowd marched east down a wide thoroughfare.

They stopped near the Sogo department store and set up barricades to block off the area and defend it against police.

Another group headed west toward mainland China’s liaison office. Protesters egged the office last weekend and splattered black ink on the national emblem, eliciting an angry reaction from the Chinese government.

Some stopped about two blocks short of the office and used orange and white construction barricades to build a wall spanning a major road. They massed behind the barriers as night fell, with umbrellas pointed forward to shield their identities and ward off any police move to clear them.

Some nearby stores shuttered early as police in riot gear gathered nearby ahead of the all but inevitable clearing operation.

The rally in Chater Garden was called to protest the police use of tear gas, rubber bullets and other force to break up a protest the previous Sunday.

“We need to have a protest to show that we are strongly against this kind of brutality and we need them to respond to our demands,” said rally organizer Ventus Lau.

Police had denied Lau’s request to march west to the Sheung Wan district, where the tear gas was used the previous weekend, citing escalating violence in clashes with protesters that have broken out after past marches and rallies.

“The police must prevent aggressive protesters from exploiting a peaceful procession to cause troubles and violent clashes,” said Superintendent Louis Lau of the police public relations branch.

On Saturday, police fired tear gas and rubber bullets as demonstrators threw bricks and other objects and ducked behind makeshift shields at a march in an outlying district toward the border with mainland China.

Police had also denied permission for that protest in Yuen Long, where a mob apparently targeting demonstrators had beaten people brutally in a train station the previous weekend.

Police wearing helmets charged into the same train station, where a few hundred protesters had taken refuge from the tear gas. Some officers swung their batons at demonstrators, while others appeared to be urging their colleagues to hang back. For the second week in a row, blood was splattered on the station floor.

Police arrested 13 people, including march organizer Max Chung, for offenses including unlawful assembly, possession of offensive weapon and assault, according to police and Hong Kong media. At least four officers were injured.

The Hospital Authority said 24 people were taken to five hospitals. As of Sunday morning, eight remained hospitalized, two in serious condition.

Amnesty International, the human rights group, called the police response heavy-handed and unacceptable.

“While police must be able to defend themselves, there were repeated instances today where police officers were the aggressors,” Man-kei Tam, the director of Amnesty International Hong Kong, said in a statement.

Police said they had to use what they termed “appropriate force” because of the bricks and other objects thrown at them, including glass bottles with a suspected corrosive fluid inside.

Associated Press writer Ken Moritsugu in Beijing contributed to this report. </s> Hong Kong police fired water cannon on anti-government protesters in an unprecedented move on Sunday, after an initially peaceful march through a residential district in the western Kowloon peninsula took a violent turn.

Two crowd-control vehicles were dispatched after protesters earlier took control of a major road, where thousands stood behind barricades and shielded themselves from police tear gas with umbrellas.

The vehicles chased protesters for several hundred metres before they dispersed into surrounding side streets and a nearby mall.

Tseun Wan is best known for its tower-block housing estates and new office blocks, but on Sunday its streets descended into chaos as protesters threw a number of petrol bombs and bricks at riot police.

A police officer fired a gun into the air at around 8 pm (1200 GMT) after he was surrounded by eight to 10 protesters, according to a district council protest monitor.

The clashes were some of the most intense yet in Hong Kong since protests began on June 9 against a legislative bill that would have allowed for criminal extradition to mainland China, which has a separate legal system from Hong Kong.

Protesters braved the heat and smog on Saturday, only to march through intermittent heavy rains on Sunday.

As demonstrations enter their 12th week, protesters said they are still as determined as ever to protest against the government as they see themselves taking a last stand against political repression from China.

“It’s a last chance. I think the government’s control will be tighter and tighter and I don’t think they will let loose.

”So this could possibly be our last chance to fight,” said protester Phoenix Ip, who attended a police-sanctioned march through western Kowloon with her 2-year-old son and husband.

“I’m pretty pessimistic about the future – but we still have to try.

”At least we tried for our next generation,” she said.

Hong Kong is a former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997, and its unique identity and semi-autonomous status remain important rallying points for protesters.

Many believe the city has seen a decline in civil and political rights since the failure of the 2014 democracy protests known as the Umbrella Movement.

“China doesn’t want to lose Hong Kong, they want Hong Kong to become part of China and act like Chinese people who just follow what the government tells them.

“I don’t think anyone wants to see that happen,” said protester Chevron Hor.

While China is yet to signal whether it will intervene with its military or police in Hong Kong, Beijing has put renewed pressure on Hong Kong companies to condemn anti-government protests.

Earlier this week the MTR Corporation, which runs Hong Kong’s subway system, received an injunction against protesters.

It said it may also suspend service without warning to stations where violent clashes occur.

Service at stations near Saturday and Sunday’s protests was also suspended.

The announcement follows commentary in Chinese state media accusing the MTR of colluding with protesters after extra trains were sent to help residents leave a violent protest in July.

The subway system has played a critical role in helping protesters to move about the city and evade police. (dpa/NAN) </s> Beijing’s worldview cannot conceive of a leaderless movement: there have to be saboteurs behind it

On Friday morning, as Hong Kong woke up, the news came in as thick as the incessant rain: Andy Chan Ho-tin, the head of the outlawed Hong Kong National party, was arrested overnight at the airport as he was about to go to Japan.

Then came the news of Joshua Wong’s arrest – one of the most famous pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong. Wong’s name became known in 2012 when, at 15, he organised the protests against the national education curriculum. The curriculum was seen as an attempt at instilling patriotism in Hong Kong’s youth, but described as “brainwashing” by Wong and his supporters. He was one of the leaders of the Umbrella Movement, in 2014 – for which he served time in jail, and is still facing a number of charges. Among the Umbrella Movement’s leaders was Agnes Chow: she, too, was arrested on Friday. Wong and Chow are the co-founders of the political party Demosisto, which, like Chan’s Hong Kong National party, is one of the organisations that emerged from the Umbrella Movement.

None of them have had a high profile in the current political strife – it is a leaderless movement that has assumed as one of its recognisable slogans Bruce Lee’s motto of “being water”: adaptable, and mobile.

Hong Kong protests: Joshua Wong and other pro-democracy figures arrested Read more

Commentators have been trying to find a good label to give to the protests that have been rocking Hong Kong all summer: umbrellas play a less important role than they did in 2014, even if they are still visible as a protective tool against the weather, tear gas, and unwelcome photographs or security cameras.

Some tried to baptise this the Hard Hat Revolution: things have become a lot more violent on the ground in Hong Kong, with the police routinely firing multiple rounds of tear gas, as well as beanbags rounds, rubber bullets, sponge grenades. Police batons are used with abandon, so helmets can be useful.

On Sunday, Hong Kong also saw an officer fire the first live round of the current protests. In recent decades, such occasions have been rare in the policing of public unrest: it was almost half a century ago that Hong Kong saw shootings by colonial police trying to restore calm in the territory after the leftist riots of 1967, a spillover of the Chinese Cultural Revolution across the then British territory. In 2016 warning shots were fired by a policeman during protests in the working-class Mong Kok district.

Protesters have not reacted idly to the escalation of violence: bricks have been thrown at police since the 2016 incident. That was when a group of activists battled with the authorities to stop them evicting unlicensed street food sellers during Chinese New Year. It became the Fishball Revolution, from the name of a local delicacy. Its leader was Edward Leung, now 27 and serving a six-year jail sentence. The founder of the group Hong Kong Indigenous, his political awakening came through the fear that the local way of life is being eroded by the desire to integrate Hong Kong ever more seamlessly into China. Leung has given the current movement its most enduring slogan: Reclaim Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Time.

Quick guide What are the Hong Kong protests about? Show Hide Why are people protesting? The protests were triggered by a controversial bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, where the Communist party controls the courts, but have since evolved into a broader pro-democracy movement. Public anger – fuelled by the aggressive tactics used by the police against demonstrators – has collided with years of frustration over worsening inequality and the cost of living in one of the world's most expensive, densely populated cities. The protest movement was given fresh impetus on 21 July when gangs of men attacked protesters and commuters at a mass transit station – while authorities seemingly did little to intervene. Underlying the movement is a push for full democracy in the city, whose leader is chosen by a committee dominated by a pro-Beijing establishment rather than by direct elections.

Protesters have vowed to keep their movement going until their core demands are met, such as the resignation of the city’s leader, Carrie Lam, an independent inquiry into police tactics, an amnesty for those arrested and a permanent withdrawal of the bill. Lam announced on 4 September that she was withdrawing the bill. Why were people so angry about the extradition bill? Beijing’s influence over Hong Kong has grown in recent years, as activists have been jailed and pro-democracy lawmakers disqualified from running or holding office. Independent booksellers have disappeared from the city, before reappearing in mainland China facing charges. Under the terms of the agreement by which the former British colony was returned to Chinese control in 1997, the semi-autonomous region was meant to maintain a “high degree of autonomy” through an independent judiciary, a free press and an open market economy, a framework known as “one country, two systems”. The extradition bill was seen as an attempt to undermine this and to give Beijing the ability to try pro-democracy activists under the judicial system of the mainland. How have the authorities responded? Beijing has issued increasingly shrill condemnations but has left it to the city's semi-autonomous government to deal with the situation. Meanwhile police have violently clashed directly with protesters, repeatedly firing teargas and rubber bullets. Beijing has ramped up its accusations that foreign countries are “fanning the fire” of unrest in the city. China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi has ordered the US to “immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs in any form”. Lily Kuo and Verna Yu in Hong Kong

What started as a revolt against an ill-conceived attempt to introduce an extradition bill that would have allowed suspects to be tried in mainland China, spearheaded by the territory’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, has over time has become a fully-fledged fight for universal suffrage (long promised to Hong Kong) and against increasing police violence.

Looking back through the 22 years that Hong Kong has been under Chinese sovereignty, one major aspect emerges as a clear motivator of the growing political dissatisfaction: the lack of channels of meaningful communication between the government and the governed.

Still, the authorities, in Hong Kong and in Beijing, seem genuinely unable to understand that their chosen interlocutors – a motley crew of billionaires and pro-Beijing loyalists – are not representative of most voices. Hong Kong’s Executive Council is appointed by the chief executive, elected by 1,200 people chosen out of the territory’s 7.5 million citizens. In 2017 Carrie Lam got just 777 of those votes.

Since 1997, every Hong Kong administration has refused to engage in any significant way with the pro-democracy camp, in spite of how vastly representative it is. Lam has been no different.

In recent days Hong Kong has seen an increase in sabre-rattling from China, which has been putting on display its military power near the border. An armed intervention still seems most unlikely, but instilling the fear of it is seen as a useful strategy. And then, after the arrest of close to 1,000 people through the course of the summer, on Friday came the seemingly inexplicable arrests of activists who have kept a rather low profile. This gives us a clue.

Ever since Beijing has had to admit it cannot control the information flooding out of Hong Kong, it has reshaped the events into something it could spin: a small group of “black hands” acting behind the scenes and with international support has tried to sow discord into Hong Kong. The “black hand” theory is an old Soviet trope still shaping the Chinese Communist party’s worldview. With Friday’s arrests we can see that it not only uses it as propaganda, but also actually believes it.

This worldview cannot conceive of a leaderless movement: there have to be saboteurs behind it, whether they are maliciously undermining China’s Five Year Plan, or inciting disaffected people in Hong Kong to ask for a responsive government. That is how the Tiananmen protests ended, too: with a multi-year campaign to unmask and arrest the “black hands” that had caused it, refusing to take into account that the popular sentiment expressed by the millions who took to the streets could be genuine and spontaneous.

What this also points out is a common mistake easily made when looking at China’s most assertive, yet seemingly preposterous, pronouncements: what sounds just like propaganda to outside ears might actually be what China’s leadership believes in, given the determination with which it shuts off all dissenting voices. A government that refuses to listen to its opponents, believes its own propaganda.

• This article was amended on 2 September 2019 because an earlier version said that a recent use of live fire was the first in half a century by Hong Kong police facing rioters. There was at least one intervening example, in 2016. </s> Travelers wait at the check-in counters in the departure hall of the Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2019. Protesters clogged the departure area at Hong Kong’s reopened airport Tuesday, a day after they forced one of the world’s busiest transport hubs to shut down entirely amid their calls for an independent inquiry into alleged police abuse. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

HONG KONG (AP) — The Latest on Hong Kong protests (all times local):

Hong Kong police say they have arrested five people for unlawful assembly, assaulting police officers and possessing weapons after a second day of mass protests at the city’s airport.

Officials said in a statement that some protesters detained, harassed and assaulted a traveler and a journalist, and obstructed ambulance workers from taking the two men to the hospital. They said other protesters attacked a police officer and snatched a baton from him.

A government statement condemned the acts, saying they “have overstepped the bottom line of a civilized society.”

Hong Kong’s busy airport was the latest setting for large-scale pro-democracy protests that have rocked the city for months, with authorities canceling dozens of flights on Monday and Tuesday. Demonstrators say they plan to return to the airport Wednesday.

President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that U.S. intelligence believes that the Chinese government is moving troops to its border with Hong Kong.

Trump also tweeted that “Everyone should be calm and safe!” He provided no additional details.

Riot police briefly clashed with pro-democracy protesters outside the Hong Kong Airport for the second day on Tuesday though calm returned to the airport in the early hours of Wednesday.

The airport disruptions are an escalation of a summer of demonstrations against what some in Hong Kong see as an increasing erosion of freedoms. The protests have in recent weeks turned to focus on police brutality against demonstrators.

Earlier Tuesday, Trump called the Hong Kong protests a “very tricky situation,” saying he hopes no one is injured or killed.

Most protesters and police have left Hong Kong Airport after a second day of demonstrations that caused mass flight cancellations at the busy transport hub.

Calm returned to the airport in the early hours of Wednesday after riot police briefly clashed with pro-democracy protesters outside the building earlier Tuesday night. Officers armed with pepper spray and swinging batons briefly tried to enter the terminal, while protesters used luggage carts to barricade entrances.

Hundreds of flights were cancelled Tuesday and Monday and passengers have been forced to stay in the city while airlines tried to find other ways to get them to their destinations.

The airport disruptions are an escalation of a summer of demonstrations against what some in Hong Kong see as an increasing erosion of freedoms. The protests have in recent weeks turned to focus on police brutality against demonstrators.

China’s diplomatic mission in Geneva is lashing out at the U.N. human rights office, accusing its spokesman of making a “wrongful statement” about protests in Hong Kong that “sends the wrong signal to the violent criminal offenders.”

In an e-mail to reporters, the mission took issue with comments Tuesday by spokesman Rupert Colville, who expressed concerns about the “escalation of violence” and the firing of tear gas canisters by security forces into crowded areas.

The mission lamented how the demonstrations in Hong Kong “have recently taken a violent turn as some radical mobsters deliberately perpetuated violence … Their behavior has nothing to do with peaceful demonstration.”

It urged the human rights office to “stop interfering in the affairs of Hong Kong.”

Emergency officials have taken an injured mainland Chinese man away from Hong Kong’s airport after angry protesters who accused him of being a Chinese undercover agent tied up his hands and tried to beat him up.

The man was pictured with his hands bound with cable ties, lying in a fetal position on the ground surrounded by a crowd of protesters as demonstrations continued at the airport for a second day and turned tense late Tuesday. Some tried to kick and hit him while others tried to hold the crowd back. Protesters said they detained him because he wore a press vest and claimed to be a reporter, but a mainland Chinese ID card was found in his belongings.

The chaotic situation eventually ended when protesters allowed ambulance workers to take the man away on a stretcher.

Pro-democracy protesters have been sensitive to police infiltration after activists were arrested by officers dressed just like them. Police have acknowledged that they use decoy officers in some operations.

Chaos has broken out at Hong Kong’s airport as riot police move into the terminal to confront protesters who shut down operations at the busy transport hub for two straight days.

Officers armed with pepper spray and swinging batons clashed with protesters who used luggage carts to barricade entrances to the airport terminal on Tuesday night.

Police took several people into a police van waiting at the entrance to the airport’s arrivals hall.

Police said they tried to help ambulance officers reach an injured man whom protesters had detained on suspicion of being an undercover agent.

Protesters also detained a second man whom they suspected of being an undercover agent. After emptying out his belongings, they found a blue T-shirt that has been worn by pro-Beijing supporters that they said was evidence he was a spy.

At least three concerts by overseas performers have been canceled in Hong Kong as protesters forced the city’s airport to suspend operations for a second day.

K-pop star Kang Daniel and Scottish band CHVRCHES both announced Tuesday that they are calling off upcoming events. American singer-songwriter Alec Benjamin canceled an upcoming concert late Monday.

Kang’s management office said the cancellation of a fan meeting scheduled for Sunday was because of safety concerns related to the protests, while CHVRCHES blamed “unforeseen circumstances.”

The airport protests are the latest escalation in a summer of demonstrations aimed at what many in Hong Kong see as an increasing erosion of their freedoms.

The United Nations’ top human rights official has condemned violence in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests and called on the authorities and protesters to solve their dispute peacefully.

A spokesman for U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said she was concerned by the recent “escalation of violence.”

Rupert Colville said the UN Human Rights Office had also reviewed credible evidence that police are using “less-lethal weapons in ways that are prohibited by international norms.”

Tactics by Hong Kong police have become a major issue for protesters.

The rights office urged Hong Kong authorities to investigate examples of officers firing tear gas canisters into crowded, enclosed areas and directly at individual protesters.

Hong Kong’s airport has cancelled all remaining departing flights for the second day after protesters took over the terminals.

The airport authority announced early Tuesday evening that check-in services for departing flights were suspended as of 4:30 p.m. Other departing flights that have completed the process will continue to operate.

It said it did not expect arriving flights to be affected, though dozens of arriving flights were already cancelled.

The authority advised the public not to come to the airport.

Some flights were able to depart and land earlier Tuesday, a day after more than 200 flights were canceled.

The airport’s arrival and departure halls were blocked by thousands of protesters who were gathered in the airport for the fifth consecutive day. They are calling for democratic reforms and an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality.

Thousands of protesters have returned to the Hong Kong airport and are once more threatening regular airline operations just one day after they prompted a full shutdown of one of the world’s busiest transit hubs.

After filling up the arrivals hall, demonstrators are now streaming into the departures area despite increased security measures designed to keep them out.

The black-clad protesters held up signs to appeal to travelers from mainland China and other parts of the world. “Democracy is a good thing,” said one sign in Simplified Chinese characters, which are used in mainland China instead of the Traditional Chinese script of Hong Kong.

One entrance to the immigration area was entirely blocked by protesters and arriving passengers struggled to get through.

More than 100 flights were cancelled as of Tuesday afternoon. Some flights were taking off and going through check-in as airlines worked through the backlog.

Flights have been taking off from the Hong Kong airport as it works through a backlog of cancelled flights while a few thousand protesters have once again occupied the arrival hall.

Some flights Tuesday were still cancelled. It was not immediately clear whether they were affected by the current demonstration, as occurred Monday, when about 200 flights were cancelled and airport completely shut down amid a mass protest.

The airport authority said they were implementing flight rescheduling Tuesday. The authority urged passengers “to use public transportation and allow sufficient time to go to the airport.”

Hong Kong has seen two months of anti-government demonstrations that have increasingly impacted day-to-day operations in the financial hub.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has defended law enforcement actions after protesters prompted an airport shutdown with calls to investigate alleged police brutality.

Airlines early Tuesday were checking in passengers for flights, including those cancelled the previous day because thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators had packed into the airport’s main terminal.

Demonstrators have called for an independent inquiry into what they call the police’s abuse of power and negligence. Some protesters thrown bricks, eggs and flaming objects at police stations.

Lam told reporters that dialogue would only begin when the violence stopped. She reiterated her support for the police and said they have had to make on-the-spot decisions under difficult circumstances, using “the lowest level of force.”

One of the world’s busiest airports was struggling to reopen the morning after thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators crowded into Hong Kong’s main terminal and forced flight cancellations.

Passengers were checking in for flights Tuesday morning in a sign operations were returning to normal, although protesters have shown no sign of letting up on their campaign to force Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s administration to respond to their demands.

About 200 flights had been canceled.

Passengers unable to leave on Monday were among those crowding in the departure hall. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Nick Beake described the "chaos" on the streets over the weekend

China has condemned the recent anti-government protests in Hong Kong as "horrendous incidents" that have caused "serious damage to the rule of law".

A spokeswoman for China's top policy office on Hong Kong insisted that the territory's "top priority" was to "restore social order".

The comments marked a rare intervention by the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office [HKMAO].

The city has seen eight consecutive weekends of anti-government protests.

There were violent clashes on Sunday as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters. Barricades were also erected at several different locations in the city.

Although authorities in Beijing have condemned the protests and reiterated their support for Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam on several occasions, Monday's intervention is widely seen as conveying the official views of China's top leadership on the civil unrest for the first time.

What did China say?

A spokesman for the HKMAO, Yang Guang, condemned what he called the "evil and criminal acts committed by the radical elements" in Hong Kong.

"We call on the general public of Hong Kong to be aware of the grave nature of the current situation," he said at the news conference.

Image copyright EPA Image caption Monday's press conference was held by the Chinese government's top office that handles Hong Kong affairs

Spokeswoman Xu Luying added: "We also believe that Hong Kong's top priority... is to punish violent and unlawful acts in accordance with the law, to restore social order as soon as possible, and to maintain a good business environment."

The office also:

Reiterated that the Chinese government "strongly" supports the leadership in Hong Kong

Called on the people of Hong Kong to "unequivocally oppose and resist violence"

Expressed support for the city's police force

Blamed the escalating tensions on "irresponsible figures in Western countries" who are hoping to "contain China's development"

The intervention came a week after protesters defaced the highly symbolic national emblem on the Chinese government's liaison office in Hong Kong, prompting fury in Beijing.

The authorities have now installed a protective casing around the sign.

As a former British colony, Hong Kong has its own legal and judicial systems, and has been promised "a high degree of autonomy" from the Chinese government except in foreign and defence affairs.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Protesters defaced the Chinese national emblem at the liaison office in Hong Kong

Claudia Mo, a Hong Kong legislator who supports the protest movement, said Beijing's latest comments could provoke further unrest.

"I'm so worried what happened in Beijing today [will] actually help fan the fire," she told the BBC. "The way they say they resolutely... support Carrie Lam and the police force. They are trying to divide Hong Kong."

Bruce Lui, a senior journalism lecturer at the Hong Kong Baptist University, said he could not recall a news conference on Hong Kong being called by the HKMAO.

"Beijing is repeating what it has said before. It condemns violence, supports Carrie Lam and Hong Kong police," he told the BBC. "But when asked about the deployment of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops, the spokesperson showed a rather distant attitude."

Although PLA troops are stationed in Hong Kong, they are not expected to interfere in local issues. But the law does permit Hong Kong's government to request assistance from the PLA for the purposes of maintaining public order or disaster relief.

China's two-pronged strategy

Image copyright AFP

Analysis by Celia Hatton, BBC News, Beijing

Beijing seems to be trying to get a grip of the turmoil in Hong Kong with a two-pronged strategy.

It is sharing its views on why the territory's residents are protesting, blaming a small number of "radicals" who are influenced by overseas forces. But it is also trying to maintain some distance by reaffirming its support for the authorities there.

The spokespeople continually praised the actions of the "courageous" police. The one question that was quickly batted away in the news conference was a query about the possible intervention by Chinese forces.

At times they sounded conciliatory. They also expressed support for Hong Kong's unhappy youth, noting that more needed to be done to provide affordable housing and employment.

But much more time was focused on Beijing's reasoning for what has gone so wrong. The officials repeatedly blamed "irresponsible figures" in the West. They also said that many in Hong Kong support the territory's chief executive, Carrie Lam, although they said those individuals are "relatively quiet".

It seemed that Beijing was not even bothering to win over sceptics in Hong Kong. Instead, this press conference repeated views already found in China's state media. This kind of media outreach was new - but the viewpoints don't appear to have changed.

How did we get here?

Demonstrations began when the Hong Kong government introduced a controversial bill that would have enabled extraditions to mainland China.

It sparked huge protests as critics feared the bill would undermine Hong Kong's freedoms, and be used to target political activists.

The row intensified as police were accused of using excessive force on anti-extradition bill protesters.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption There have been clashes near China's liaison office in the territory

Tensions increased further last Sunday, when suspected triad members descended on a subway station in Yuen Long, beating protesters, passersby and journalists with sticks.

Demonstrators accused the police of colluding with the triads - claims denied by the police.

The authorities say they have arrested 12 people over the attack, including nine men with links to triads.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption A large group of masked men in white T-shirts stormed Yuen Long station

The anti-extradition protests have morphed into a broader movement.

While the government has paused work on the extradition bill, protesters now want it withdrawn completely, as well as an independent inquiry into police violence, and democratic reform.

They want the territory's leader, Carrie Lam, who is not directly elected by voters and whose handling of the crisis has been widely criticised, to resign.

Some protesters have also expressed their anger at the mainland Chinese government, which they say has been eroding freedoms in Hong Kong.

Timeline of events 2019

3 April - Hong Kong government introduces amendments to the city's extradition laws to the legislature that would allow criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China.

9 June - In the first of many protests against the changes, an estimated one million people march to government headquarters.

12 June - Anti-extradition bill protesters block roads and try to storm government buildings - police fire tear gas, rubber bullets and bean bag rounds at protesters, in the worst violence the city has seen in decades.

15 June - In a dramatic reversal, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam indefinitely delays the bill.

16 June - Despite the delay, an estimated two million people take to the streets demanding the complete withdrawal of the bill, as well as an investigation into alleged police violence and Carrie Lam's resignation.

21 June - As anger grows towards police, protests blockade police headquarters for 15 hours. They now also want protesters that were arrested to be exonerated.

1 July - On the anniversary of Hong Kong's handover from the UK to China, the Legislative Council (LegCo) building is stormed and broken into by protesters.

21 July- Protesters deface China's Liaison Office in Hong Kong. That same night mobs of men wearing white shirts attack protesters and commuters in Yuen Long station, near mainland China, in a new escalation of violence.
In an escalation of the ongoing protests, a police officer fires a gun whilst clearing protesters; this is the first time a gun has been fired by a police officer in Hong Kong since 1967.