HK protesters plan major rally on Jan 1

Hong Kong, Dec 27 (IANS) The anti-government protesters in Hong Kong have planned a major rally on January 1, 2020, after three straight days of Christmas demonstrations and confrontations with police that led to more than 310 arrests.

The police said they had arrested more than 310 protesters between Tuesday and Thursday, 165 of them on Christmas Eve, including 105 near the force’s headquarters in Wan Chai, on suspicion of taking part in an illegal assembly, the South China Morning Post reported on Friday.

Riot police were out in force on Thursday, with officers spraying blue dye and subduing several protesters.

Meanwhile, the January 1 rally has been organised by the Civil Human Rights Front, which has organised the biggest protests over the past seven months since the unrest began.

The massive protests began on the streets of Hong Kong on June 9 following the introduction of a contentious extradition bill, which was later withdrawn by the government, and have escalated to become a movement that seeks to improve Hong Kong’s democratic mechanisms and to oppose Beijing authoritarianism.

However, some protesters have opted for more radical tactics than peaceful protest and violent clashes with the police have been common.