Thousands of mostly black-clad activists set off on a protest march in Hong Kong’s Mong Kok district on Saturday, as the Chinese-controlled city braced for another weekend of anti-government demonstrations.
Protests against a proposed bill allowing people to be extradited to stand trial in mainland China have escalated since June, growing increasingly violent, with police accused of excessive force and failing to protect protesters from suspected gang attacks.
Mong Kok, which includes gritty working class sections and is also a popular shopping destination, was the scene of some of the most violent clashes during pro-democracy protests in 2014.
Many of Saturday’s demonstrators wore yellow or white hard hats, and the crowds chanted “age of revolution!” and “Hongkongers, add oil!” - a popular exhortation in Cantonese.
“I’m a little worried about whether the police force might use violent ways on the demonstrators because the route of the demonstration is a little bit narrow, and if we want to leave it might be difficult to get away from the police,” said a 20-year-old university student named Ivan.
“I think this entire movement will continue until at least the end of 2019,” he said.
Hundreds of marchers held posters with an illustration of protesters in hard hats tending to a young child, with the words “protect the future”.
The crowd was mostly young, but also included families and many older people. Some young couples held hands.
“We are here because we want to stick up for Hong Kong. We don’t need an evil law to take over Hong Kong,” said a woman surnamed Yau who was joined by family members including her 11-year-old daughter.
As the marchers gathered at the starting point, one passed around pre-paid subway cards to young groups, while others gave out chicken wings and McDonalds food. When the march started, volunteers handed out hard hats, face masks and water bottles.
Most of the shops in the upscale Langham Place shopping mall had pulled down their shutters by late afternoon, and many street-facing businesses along the march route had closed.