Journalists from various international wires and agencies have been covering the protests in Hong Kong.
Ramy Inocencio, a news correspondent from CBS News is one of them.
Provided protection
Inocencio was reporting at ground zero on June 12 when tear gas was fired by the riot police.
Hong Kong’s police chief says, “We have to use force.” And they did. Our coverage at the top of @CBSThisMorning 7am NYT. Tear gas and tension between protestors and police over a controversial #ExtraditionBill. Foreigners - and Americans - could end up in Chinese jail. Tune in. pic.twitter.com/uA8gPgBxuJ
— Ramy Inocencio 英若明 (@RamyInocencio) June 12, 2019
The journalist was largely unprotected from the tear gas, until a few protestors stepped in while he was reporting.
Two men rushed to give Inocencio an umbrella.
Inocencio accepted the umbrella, and thanked them in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.
As he continued speaking to the camera while holding onto the umbrella, yet another protestor handed him a helmet, putting it on his head.
Inocencio interrupts his report briefly again to thank the protestor for doing so.
Taking to social media to express his gratitude for the unnamed protestors, he uploaded the footage on to Twitter.
Hong Kong's youth protestors are kind. I post this clip to say thanks. @CBSrandy was rolling when the police fired tear gas at the group we were in. An umbrella and helmet were forced on me. I'll prob never know who they are but I'm so grateful for their care. #HongKongProtests pic.twitter.com/NNAsFjpXOP
— Ramy Inocencio 英若明 (@RamyInocencio) June 13, 2019
Protestors have been seen working in groups dousing tear gas canisters with water to snuff them out.
More help rendered
This was not the only time protestors assisted the journalist.
Subsequently on the same day, Inocencio and his team would experience the stinging effects of the tear gas first hand, and protestors helped to douse his eyes with bottled water to flush out the irritants.
The scene was captured by his colleague Randy Schmidt, and Inocencio posted a still from the footage on his Facebook page and Twitter account, to express his gratitude to protestors on the ground once again.
Earlier I said our team was tear gassed as we filmed next to a group of #HongKong protestors. Our awesome photog @CBSrandy grabbed this still from the vid. These super kind protestors helped douse my eyes. Watch @CBSEveningNews tonight to see how it happened. @CBSNews is here. pic.twitter.com/XwH4nt1XsG
— Ramy Inocencio 英若明 (@RamyInocencio) June 12, 2019
The post has garnered over 1,000 shares on Facebook as of writing, with Hongkongers showing solidarity with Inocencio, thanking him for telling "the truth" by conveying news about the protest to the world.
Postponed again
According to CNA, there are 81 injuries related to the protests as of 5pm on June 13.
Separately, 22 officers were injured and 11 people were arrested.
The police had fired about 150 tear gas canisters, though Hong Kong Police Commissioner Stephen Lo had defended the police and their actions, saying that they had shown restraint, until "mobsters" attempted to storm parliament.
Hong Kong lawmakers have since postponed a meeting to discuss the extradition bill.
Originally scheduled for June 12, it was initially postponed to June 14 before being put off again, until further notice.
Related:
Top image via Ramy Inocencio's Twitter
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