The Latest: Hong Kong police fight with protesters

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The Latest: Hong Kong police fight with protesters

The Associated Press

July 14, 2019 07:19 AM

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Protesters with umbrellas use steel barricades to block a road as they march through Sha Tin District in Hong Kong, Sunday, July 14, 2019. Opponents of a proposed Hong Kong extradition law have begun a protest march, adding to an outpouring of complaints the territory’s pro-Beijing government is eroding its freedoms and autonomy.


Kin Cheung

AP Photo


HONG KONG

The Latest on protests in Hong Kong (all times local):

10:20 p.m.

Police in Hong Kong have fought with protesters as they broke up a demonstration by thousands of people demanding the resignation of the Chinese territory’s chief executive and an investigation into complains of police violence.

The protest that began at about 3 p.m. Sunday in the northern district of Sha Tin was peaceful throughout most of the day. But some scuffles broke out after nightfall, when police with helmets and shields started clearing streets in the densely crowded area of high-rise buildings.

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Hundreds of protesters, many wearing helmets and surgical masks, retreated into a shopping complex, where some threw umbrellas and water bottles at police. Police followed them and reporters could see the two sides along walkways of several floors of the complex hitting each other with umbrellas and grabbing each other’s helmets.

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4:25 p.m.

Opponents of a proposed Hong Kong extradition law are staging their latest protest march, adding to an outpouring of complaints that the Chinese territory’s pro-Beijing government is eroding its freedoms and autonomy.

At least 10,000 people took part in the march Sunday in Sha Tin, a town in the New Territories, the northern portion of Hong Kong that abuts the mainland.

Protesters carried signs reading “Defend Hong Kong.” Others carried American flags and the Hong Kong flag from before the former British colony’s 1997 return to China.

The government suspended action last month on the proposed extradition law that would have allowed the transfer of crime suspects to the mainland. Protesters want the territory’s chief executive to resign, while others have staged protests over other grievances.

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