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Clashes as Hong Kong Marks 5 Years Since 'Umbrella' Protests

Agence France-Presse

   HONG KONG - Renewed clashes broke out in Hong Kong Saturday night as
   police used water cannon and tear gas to disperse hardcore protesters
   hurling Molotovs and bricks after tens of thousands rallied peacefully
   in a nearby park.

   Huge crowds had gathered to mark the fifth anniversary of the "Umbrella
   Movement", the failed pro-democracy campaign that laid the groundwork
   for the massive protests currently engulfing the finance hub.

   Tens of thousands crammed into a park outside the city's parliament,
   the same site that was the epicenter of the 2014 protests.

   But smaller crowds took over a main road opposite the building with
   groups of hardcore activists in masks throwing bricks and petrol bombs
   at the nearby Central Government Offices.

   Police responded with water cannon laced with pepper solution and tear
   gas volleys, though the crowds soon dispersed at the sight of riot
   police.

   The scenes were reminiscent of the Umbrella Movement, which exploded
   when huge crowds came out after police fired tear gas at a student-led
   rally which had taken over the same highway -- and was named after the
   ubiquitous tool people used to defend themselves from police.

   Both 2014's protests and the current demonstrations were fueled by
   fears that Beijing is eroding freedoms in the semi-autonomous Chinese
   city and frustrations over the lack of direct elections. But the
   character of the protests has noticeably hardened in the intervening
   years.

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