Hong Kong: Families, elderly protest government inaction

Hundreds of people joined a family ‘Guard the Children’ march in Hong Kong calling for a stable future for the future generations of the city.

The protesters rallied on Sunday, defying a police ban on marches in the Chinese-controlled territory and continuing a restive weekend of demonstrations which saw police fire teargas overnight.

Anti-government protests took place in different locations across the Asian financial hub, including one at the city’s international airport for a third day.

Increasingly violent demonstration have plunged Hong Kong into its most serious political crisis for decades, posing a serious challenge to the central government in Beijing which has taken an increasingly tough line.

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By Sunday afternoon, over a thousand black-clad protesters peacefully swarmed the airport arrivals hall, chanting “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our time.”

In the city’s Victoria Park, thousands of people including elderly and families with children braved sweltering heat to demand authorities listen to the public’s demands, particularly an independent inquiry into the government’s handling of the crisis and what they say is police brutality.

Police said on Sunday they had arrested 16 people during the protests on Saturday for charges including unlawful assembly and possession of an offensive weapon. Authorities have arrested over 600 people since the rallies began in June.

Jason Liu, a 29-year-old protester who works as an arborist making sure the city’s trees are healthy, said the police made him the most angry as they acted like enemies rather than protecting the people.

“But our main target is obviously the government. They didn’t respond to any of our requests.”

The former British colony of Hong Kong is roiling from months of protests that began against a proposed bill to allow people to be extradited to stand trial in mainland China and have developed into calls for greater democracy.

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