Hong Kong Protests Turn Violent as Anti-Occupy Mobs Swarm the Scene

Image: Amanda Mustard/Mashable

By Jenni Ryall2014-10-03 13:02:25 UTC

HONG KONG Scenes heated up on Friday in Mong Kok, an area in the Hong Kong district of Kowloon West, as large groups of locals and anti-Occupy Central supporters tried to take back the streets.

On Nathan Road, the main road in Kowloon, a small group of protesters huddled under a blue and white canopy in the middle of the intense scenes. Anti-Occupy supporters acted aggressively and charged towards the peaceful protesters; brawls broke out in the first incidents of crowd violence seen in the past week of the Occupy movement.

Men claiming to be locals said they were sick of the Occupy movement disrupting Kowloon and not allowing them to get to work.

Below, footage from a local news site shows what looks to be tents and portable gazebos being dismantled in Mong Kok.

Some student protesters, who could not stand the violence, were eventually escorted out by police as the crowds cheered. Others sat in tears, while many remained defiant.

At 7 p.m. local time on Friday, a large group of Occupy supporters pushed to the center to offer backup, bringing with them supplies of bread rolls and water. Police put a cordon between the two groups of pro-democracy supporters to segregate the crowd.

People looked into the huge, uncontrolled demonstrations from atop the train station entries, poles and traffic lights. By later in the evening, the aggressors had been pushed out by protesters, and the mood had turned back to a more peaceful demonstration, with protesters offering police umbrellas for cover and applauding them for their work.

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Hong Kong Protests Turn Violent as Anti-Occupy Mobs Swarm the Scene