MOSCOW, September 28 (RIA Novosti) - Pro-democracy mass protest skirmishes in Hong Kong became more intense on Sunday as the Hong Kong police used tear gas against thousands of peaceful protesters in attempt to clear the protest areas, the New York Times reports.
“The central government adamantly opposes the various illegal acts that have occurred in Hong Kong, damaging rule of law and social order,” said one of the Hong Kong officials, cited by the New York Times.
"The police are determined to handle the situation appropriately in accordance with the law," echoed the city's chief administrator, Chief Executive C.Y. Leung in a statement published by CNN.
However, the police actions have been rough, as security services arrested dozens of peaceful demonstrators and used force trying to break up the crowd.
The initiator of Hong Kong's Occupy Central pro-democracy movement, Benny Tai Yiu-ting, has declared “the launch of a mass disobedience campaign”, aimed at blocking up the Hong Kong financial center, as reported by BBC on Saturday. He also blamed the police for the “unnecessary” hard measures against the civil population, especially for having made no announcements about the use of the pepper spray, which led to several injuries among the protesters.
The weekend's clashes took place after a week of students’ protest actions against the government’s intention to constrain electoral reforms and cancel open nominations for the elections in Hong Kong in 2017.
According to BBC, the protests have recently been joined by Hong Kong citizens of all ages. The police attempts to encircle and clear the protest area turned out inefficient and prompted confrontation among the population.
Experts claim “the Hong Kong authorities could risk angering even more city residents” if they continue to confront the protesters in such a tough manner, the New York Times reports. Discontent about the Chinese government’ policy is especially widespread among younger Hong Kong citizens, who are full up with rising prices as well as the government’s loyal policy towards oligarchs.
