Between 183,000 & 800,000 people marched in Hong Kong for 6-month protest anniversary

Still going strong.

Belmont Lay | December 09, 2019, 12:50 AM

Hong Kong’s commercial district was flooded with up to 800,000 people on Sunday, Dec. 8, one day shy of the six-month anniversary of the start of the ongoing protests on June 9 in the city.

The Civil Human Rights Front organiser estimated 800,000 people marched from Victoria Park in Causeway Bay to Chater Road in Central.

Police said turnout peaked at 183,000.

Details of the protests were reported by South China Morning Post.

The march also commemorated UN Human Rights Day on Tuesday.

On June 9, an estimated 1 million people took to the streets to decry a government extradition bill.

The protests has since gone on to spark an anti-government movement.

So far, at least 6,000 people have been arrested on suspicion of protest-related offences since the start of the unrest.

The Sunday march might extend into Monday as more demonstrations to disrupt the city have been planned.

Six months on, many Hongkongers interviewed by the media said they were impressed with the protests going strong against the government, who they said have not met the people's demands for more accountability and democracy.

Peaceful protesters

Sunday’s protests were the first for which the front had got police approval since August.

The city’s pro-democracy veterans led the procession, which started at Victoria Park at 3.15pm.

The protesters then flooded Hennessy Road, a main thoroughfare on Hong Kong Island, and Queensway after that.

Protesters used their smartphones to create a streaming flow of light as the march extended into the night.

Tension started to build at about 4.30pm in Central.

Groups of black-clad protesters occupied a section of Des Voeux Road Central.

The march was largely peaceful until nightfall.

What radical protesters did

However, radical protesters allegedly hurled petrol bombs at the entrance of the High Court and Court of Final Appeal.

In separate statements, the city government, the Department of Justice and the police condemned the attacks.

They all said such acts seriously challenged the city’s rule of law.

A government spokesman said: “Anyone attacking or slandering the judiciary will cause great harm to the rule of law in Hong Kong and will not be accepted by the whole society. [The government] issues its strongest condemnation.”

Some protesters also vandalised shops deemed to be pro-Beijing, and sprayed slogans outside the Bank of China Tower in Central.

Knives and a Glock semi-automatic pistol were confiscated in raids before the rally began.

Police approved the march to last until 10pm.

By 8:15pm, the march was called off with skirmishes taking place between the police and some marchers.

The future for Hongkongers is unclear as protesters seek different ways to sustain the movement and themselves.

Some protesters are planning to develop labour unions and the yellow economy, which refers to shops and companies deemed to be pro-democracy.

Top photo via