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| Petrol bombs thrown inside Tai Wai MTR station tonight cause pockets of fire (RTHK photo) |
The police are appealing to everyone
to remain indoors, saying there has been rioting across Hong Kong, with “many
people” getting injured as the rioters set fires at various places and damaged
property.
The warning, issued just
after 7pm today, Oct. 1, came about an hour after police apologized for firing live bullets
at protesters, critically injuring an 18-year-old student in Tsuen Wan.
Various reports said the Form
Five student was with a group that was using rods and sticks to beat an officer
on the ground when another policeman approached and fired at the group with his
pistol at point-blank range.
The injured youth was rushed
to Princess Margaret Hospital where he was operated on, and will reportedly be transferred
to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei for further examination.
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| TV screen grab of the boy who was shot in the chest (RTHK photo) |
The biggest anti-government
protests to date was held on the 70th anniversary of the founding of
the People’s Republic of China. The traditional early-morning celebration of the
event was held at the HK Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wanchai without
incident.
Leading the Hong Kong
celebration was acting Chief Executive Mathew Cheung. Chief Executive Carrie
Lam joined the national celebration in Beijing, led by Chinese President Xi
Jinping.
The anticipated city-wide
demonstrations shut down many malls and key stations of the MTR, starting with
Wan Chai, Causeway Bay and Admiralty, and as the protests spread, included the
entire Tsuen Wan and Ma On Shan lines.
By this evening, 50 of the 91
stations of the MTR had been closed. Many road routes were also blocked,
forcing many buses and taxis off the streets.
Throughout the day,
protesters armed with molotov cocktails, metal poles and even corrosive liquid,
engaged police in pitched battles, who in turn used tear gas, rubber or
bean-bag bullets, colored water from fire trucks and now, live rounds of
ammunition.
As of 6pm, the Hospital
Authority said at least 31 people have been injured in protest-related
incidents, with two in critical condition.
The massive protests led thousands
of people stranded in several areas, particularly in Tsuen Wan and Tuen Mun.
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| Many people spent the day relaxing on the beach, seemingly unmindful of the tension brewing across the city |
But for others who chose to
stay in relatively peaceful areas like Quarry Bay and further down South, life
went on as usual, with many frolicking on the beach and dining in restaurants.
But for the first time in so
many years, the throngs of visitors from the Mainland who used to spend the “Golden
Weekend” encompassing China’s National Day were nowhere to be seen.
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