Hong Kong riot police deployed tear gas to clear protesters on Saturday night after parts of Kowloon were brought to a halt. A major entrance to the cross-harbour tunnel briefly blocked during a series of wildcat road occupations throughout the afternoon.
Chanting “reclaim Hong Kong, revolution of our times,” demonstrators occupied northbound and southbound lanes on the peninsula’s main thoroughfare, Nathan Road.
They built makeshift barricades using pedestrian barriers and street signs, whilst leaving anti-government graffiti on road dividers.
Just before 9.30pm, tactical unit officers descended upon the masked protesters from multiple directions, firing tear gas near Austin Road in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Riot police also headed south along Nathan Road in Mong Kok where multiple arrests were made.
An HKFP reporter witnessed several incendiary devices being thrown at advancing officers.
Protesters scattered, with some heading to Wong Tai Sin via Kowloon City.
The anti-extradition law march was initially prohibited by police, who ordered protesters to restrict the gathering to a park on Anchor Street.
But the ban was overturned by an appeal board, which allowed demonstrators to walk to Cherry Street Park near Olympic MTR station.
As the crowd reached the endpoint at around 5pm, another group deviated from the designated route in Tai Kok Tsui and headed to Mong Kok en route to Tsim Sha Tsui.
At around 6:30pm, crowds choked the entrance to the cross-harbour tunnel at Hung Hom using makeshift barricades, preventing vehicles from passing for over an hour.
Some headed north to Mong Kok afterwards chanting “Monday! Strike!” – a reference to an upcoming walkout.
The protest also saw demonstrators graffiti the exterior of Tsim Sha Tsui police station and set a pile of cardboard alight.
Demonstrators chanted “black cops,” shone lasers into the building and smashed up parked cars on the premises.
The blaze outside the station’s Nathan Road entrance was extinguished by firefighters at roughly 9.05pm.
At around midnight, clashes broke out between riot police and the remaining protesters, who had travelled en masse to Wong Tai Sin.
Angry residents also joined the demonstrators, urging officers to leave.
Multiple volleys of tear gas were fired to disperse the crowds.
Objects were thrown from a nearby disciplinary forces quarters, including glass bottles and water bombs.
Firecrackers were also hurled into the crowd.
Hong Kong protesters have made several demands including the complete withdrawal of the now-suspended extradition bill, for the retraction of the term “riot” to describe protests, for an independent investigation into police behaviour and for an unconditional release of all arrested protesters.
They have also called for a disbanding of the legislature and the implementation of universal suffrage.
More protests are planned on Sunday in Tseung Kwan O and Western district on Hong Kong Island.
