Hong Kong riot cops forced to withdraw after democracy protesters copy 'Don't shoot' gesture used by US demonstrators
-- Thousands of students and activists gathered in the city's financial district in protest of anti-democratic leaders
-- Officers used tear gas and baton charge to break up crowd, but many protesters remain and have set up camp
-- Beijing last month ruled out open nominations for candidates for the first democratic election in Hong Kong in 2017
-- Protesters chanted 'Shame on C.Y. Leung', the city's Beijing-backed leader, while shielding faces from the gas
-- HSBC and Standard Chartered shut bank branches in Hong Kong as Hang Seng stock market fell to two-month low
-- Officers used tear gas and baton charge to break up crowd, but many protesters remain and have set up camp
-- Beijing last month ruled out open nominations for candidates for the first democratic election in Hong Kong in 2017
-- Protesters chanted 'Shame on C.Y. Leung', the city's Beijing-backed leader, while shielding faces from the gas
-- HSBC and Standard Chartered shut bank branches in Hong Kong as Hang Seng stock market fell to two-month low
Chinese
riot police were forced into an embarrassing back down today as they
withdrew from the streets of Hong Kong amid fury over their heavy-handed
use of tear gas to disperse anti-democracy protesters.
Tens
of thousands of people, mainly students, have brought central Hong Kong
to a standstill, blocking roads and forcing the closure of banks and
schools, in a major pushback against Beijing's decision to limit
democratic reforms.
However
the Chinese government has refused to budge on the issue, warning other
countries not to support the 'illegal rallies', as demonstrators
demanded that Britain and the U.S. 'stand up for democracy'.
The
UK has called for the right to protest to be protected and the Foreign
and Commonwealth Office said it is concerned about the tense standoff.
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'Hands up, don't shoot': Protesters
have responded to the government's use of tear gas by using the 'hands
up, don't shoot' gesture first employed by demonstrators in Ferguson,
Missouri, last month as they marched over the police shooting of unarmed
black teenager Mike Brown
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Solidarity: As a show of defiance this
evening, the protesters turned on the lights on their mobile phones and
held them in the air in central Hong Kong
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Reaction: Police have turned to softer
tactics today in an attempt to quell the protests, after their use o
tear gas drew thousands more on to the streets
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Defiant: Protesters block the main street to the financial Central district, outside the government headquarters
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Peaceful: The Occupy Central movement
say they will remain in Hong Kong's finance district until their demands
for greater democratic freedoms are met
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Scuffles: Protesters have accused the
police of using heavy-handed tactics to break up the demonstration, but
authorities say 12 police have been injured
There
were fears that the Chinese People's Liberation Army could become
involved, echoing the crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square in
1989 which ended with the massacre of several hundred people, but Hong
Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying has denied this.
The
uprising is fast becoming known as the 'Umbrella Revolution' due to the
fact that protesters are using little more than parasols to protect
themselves against the volleys of tear gas being fired at them by police
- in an unprecedented crack down on dissent - leaving many choking under thick clouds of toxic vapour.
The
protesters yesterday adopted the 'hands up, don't shoot' gesture, first
employed last month by demonstrators in Ferguson, Missouri, as they
marched over the police shooting of unarmed black teenager Mike Brown.
There, the gesture became a symbol of the fight against racism and
police violence in America.
In
response, the Chinese government announced that riot police had been
taken off the streets as citizens 'have mostly calmed down' and urged
people to unblock roads and disperse.
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Sit in: The students, who have been
occupying Hing Kong's finance district since yesterday, are preparing to
spend another night on the streets today
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We shall
not be moved: The activists are demanding a free vote in upcoming
elections in Hon Kong, which they fear are being heavily influenced by
Beijing
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Settled in: Around 100,000 students are camping out in the middle of Hong Kong tonight ahead of a public holiday tomorrow
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Protection: The protests are being
dubbed the 'umbrella revolution' after activists used umbrellas to
protect themselves against tear gas and pepper spray
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Gas: A protester wearing goggles, a
mask and carrying an umbrella protects himself against tear gas, which
has been used for the first time in nearly a decade
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Defence: The protesters, mostly
students, have come equipped with goggles, anoraks and face masks to
protect themselves against tear gar and pepper spray
Instead,
the government switched its focus to social media, banning Instagram
across the country in a further bid to stifle dissent in the Asian
financial hub.
The
popular photo-sharing service was shut down today in an apparent
attempt to prevent demonstrators sharing photographs of the upheaval
with their countrymen, as they expanded their rallies throughout Hong
Kong.
Many
photos already posted on the image-sharing website - labelled under the
hashtag #OccupyCentral, a phrase officials went on to block from Weibo,
China's version of Twitter.
The
social media crack down comes as police officers tried to negotiate
with protesters, some wearing surgical masks and holding up umbrellas to
protect against tear gas, camped out on a normally busy highway near
the Hong Kong government headquarters that was the scene of impassioned
clashes that erupted the evening before.
An
officer with a bullhorn tried to get them to clear the way for the
commuters. A protester, using the group's own speaker system, responded
by saying that they wanted Hong Kong's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying
to demand a genuine choice for the territory's voters.
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Barricade: An
activist wrapped in clingfilm to shield himself stands beside a
barricade in Hong Kong's financial district during a second day of
protests yesterday
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Sit in: Thousands of students gathered together in a 'sit in' to block main roads of a popular fashion district in Hong Kong
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Appropriation:
Protesters in Hong Kong have appropriated the gesture, which came to
symbolise the fight against racism and police violence in America, as a
symbol of democracy and freedom
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Toxic fumes: Fury continues to grow
over the police's heavy-handed attempts to disperse protesters,
including the widespread use of tear gas
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Their use
of the gesture has been hailed as a sign of how 'plugged in' to world
affairs Hong Kongers are despite the mainland government's attempts to
stifle social media and other information-gathering tools
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Resistance:
Thousands of protesters are still gathered in Hong Kong's financial
district despite police throwing tear gas at them and launching a baton
charge
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