BFF-38 Six wounded as bloody brawl caps day of Hong Kong mall chaos

404

ZCZC

BFF-38

HONGKONG-CHINA-POLITICS-UNREST

Six wounded as bloody brawl caps day of Hong Kong mall chaos

HONG KONG, Nov 3, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A bloody knife fight in Hong Kong left
six people wounded on Sunday evening, including a local pro-democracy
politician who had his ear bitten off, capping another chaotic day of
political unrest in the city.

Flashmob rallies erupted inside multiple shopping centers across the
international finance hub over the afternoon, sparking frequent clashes with
riot police.

The violence was less sustained than Saturday when police and protesters
fought hours of cat and mouse battles after thousands took the streets for an
unsanctioned march.

But the day ended with a brutal fight taking place outside a shopping mall
in Tai Koo Shing, a middle-class neighbourhood on the main island where
protesters had gathered for much of the afternoon.

Live broadcasts showed Andrew Chiu, a local pro-democracy councillor, with
much of one ear severed.

A second man was unconscious in a growing pool of blood as bystanders
desperately tried to stem wounds to his back.

Another man in a grey t-shirt had been beaten bloody by the crowd who
accused him of carrying out the attack and wounding multiple people.

RTHK news, which filmed the brawl, reported that the attacker was a
Mandarin speaker — the predominant language on the Chinese mainland — and
had been arguing with his victims about politics before he pulled out a
knife.

He bit off Chiu’s ear when the councillor tried to tackle him after the
assault. A knife could also be seen lying on the floor outside the mall where
the fight took place.

Police told AFP that six people in total were wounded — four men and two
women — and that three were arrested, without giving further details.

Hong Kong has been upended by the huge, often violent, pro-democracy
protests which have battered the financial hub’s reputation for stability and
helped plunge the city into recession.

Police are firing ever increasing rounds of tear gas and rubber bullets
against small groups of hardcore protesters who have embraced throwing petrol
bombs as well as vandalising pro-China businesses.

With the city desperately polarised, street fights have broken out on both
sides of the ideological divide with growing frequency.

Beijing supporters have attacked opponents throughout the summer, often in
targeted assaults against prominent government critics and opposition
politicians.

Crowds of pro-democracy protesters have also routinely beaten their
ideological oppoents, usually in spontaneous mob violence during rallies.

Beijing has shown no willingness to meet demonstrators demands for greater
democratic freedoms and police accountability — and activists show no sign
of leaving the streets with 22 consecutive weekends of unrest.

This summer’s first protests in which millions marched were sparked by a
now-abandoned attempt to allow extraditions to the mainland.

But as Beijing took a hardline the movement snowballed.

Protesters are demanding an inquiry into the police, an amnesty for those
arrested and fully free elections.

BSS/AFP/BZC/1950HRS