Hong Kong police clashed with thousands of protesters on Sunday, as they sought to defend China's main representative office from crowds seething over what many see as an increasing cycle of violence against them.
Protests over the past two months spearheaded by anti-government activists against a proposed bill that would allow people to be extradited from the city to stand trial in courts in mainland China have grown increasingly violent.
A march on Saturday against a violentassault the previous weekend by suspected triad gang members ended in violentturmoil as riot police waded in to disperse crowds.
On Sunday, a peaceful gathering in apark in the city's central business district rapidly morphed into a march, astens of thousands of black-clad protesters set off in several directions,clogging up major thoroughfares.
Thousands of people headed east,towards the shopping district of Causeway Bay, while another large contingentheaded west, towards the Chinese government's representative office, known asthe Central Government Liaison Office.
There, hundreds of riot policeblocked activists from advancing towards the building, which had been heavilyfortified with barricades after it was surrounded and defaced a week earlier. Aclear plastic shield had been erected around a national emblem above its frontdoors.
As the crowds surged, hundreds ofriot police with shields advanced, firing rounds of tear gas, rubber bulletsand sponge grenades – a crowd control weapon – at protesters, sending clouds ofacrid, burning smoke through the streets.
Some protesters were on their kneeschoking as ambulances raced to take away the injured.
The mostly young activists in hardhats, gas masks, and body armour dug in, dismantling street signs and fenceswhich they used to form makeshift barricades to slow police advances.
Many hit metallic surfaces withsticks to create an ominous drum beat that echoed down the streets.
