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Protests, Tear Gas Mark Hong Kong's New Year's Day

Verna Yu

   HONG KONG - Hong Kong's celebratory mood on the first day of 2020 was
   marred by tear gas and water cannons deployed by police on a largely
   peaceful crowd, and the arrest of some 400 people at a march attended
   by hundreds of thousands in what has been a months-long anti-government
   movement.

   Senior Superintendent Ng Lok Chun told reporters late Wednesday that
   police arrested about 400 people during the New Year's Day march on
   charges including illegal assembly and the possession of offensive
   weapons. He said police fired tear gas after being surrounded by
   protesters who were throwing objects at them. He blamed radical
   protesters for "hijacking" and disrupting the march.

   The Asian financial hub has been roiled by civil unrest for seven
   months, and protesters say they will not back down in their demands for
   universal suffrage and an independent probe into police brutality
   against the movement that saw nearly 6,500 people arrested. The
   anti-government movement was sparked by a controversial extradition law
   that allowed individuals to be sent to China for trial.

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