Though the COVID-19 outbreak is raging on all over the world and more people are getting infected, Hong Kong doesn’t seem to care.
Hong Kong Protestors Returned to Violent Riots Despite COVID-19 Outbreak
Hong Kong police were forced to fire tear gas on Saturday in order to disperse hundreds of black-clad protestors.
Some of the protestors were armed with petrol bombs.
According to CNA, this took place during a rally to mark six months since police arrested demonstrators at a subway station.
Plastic water bottles and umbrellas were thrown at one officer, which prompted him to draw his gun. however, he did not fire.
This incident marked a return of violence in Hong Kong after a short period of calm. The period of calm came after anti-government protests which peaked in June 2019.
Momentarily, the COVID-19 outbreak did the trick to keep residents indoors as they were afraid to head outside but this was shortlived as throngs of protestors congregated in and around Mong Kok district and the Prince Edward subway station.
They could be heard shouting “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our time,” while others shouted for the police force to be disbanded.
Fires were also set on Nathan Road in Kowloon district as the police retaliated using pepper spray and tear gas.
Hong Kong Has Been “Largely Peaceful” This Year
Hong Kong is deemed to be “largely peaceful” this year with only a few protests here and there.
But hey: we’re only 60 days into the new year.
This return of violence will undoubtedly make things harder for Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam as she scrambles to also combat the spread of the COVID-19.
This comes on top of the pressure on Lam after she refused to seal the border with mainland China, thus making residents angry.
To date, over 7,000 individuals have been arrested in the anti-government protests and many have been charged with illegal assembly or rioting.
For their offence, they may be sentenced to up to 10 years of jail.
At this moment, the city has 95 confirmed cases and 2 deaths.
