Dueling protests Saturday marked the 10th week of unrest in Hong Kong, with marchers passing shops shuttered as worries grow that police will crack down on activists in the streets.
Pro-democracy demonstrators again marched demanding the resignation of Beijing’s designated leader, Carrie Lam, democratic elections and an independent investigation of police force used against demonstrators.
Earlier Saturday, thousands of schoolteachers marched to Lam’s official residence, where they tied white ribbons on the fence outside in support for the protest movement, which includes many students.
Meanwhile, pro-government demonstrators expressed love for Hong Kong and China, and posed for photos with police officers.
Officers in riot gear briefly charged into a neighborhood at the end of the pro-democracy march, aiming to chase down protesters who were assembling illegally outside their station, shining laser pointers and throwing eggs. But by the time the cops were assembled and started their charge, most of the protesters were gone and angry residents of the neighborhood accused them of being part of a criminal gang and told them to leave.
Tensions were heightened in the city already on edge when members of China’s paramilitary People’s Armed Police practiced crowd control tactics at a sports complex in Shenzhen across the harbor from Hong Kong, in what some saw as a threat against pro-democracy protesters in the semiautonomous territory.
Saturday’s protests were seen as a key test of whether the protest movement can keep wide support if China cracks down, Reuters reported.
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