Hong Kong Protesters Hurl Projectiles, Smash Windows as Citywide Strike Continues

Anti-government protests and clashes with local authorities wracked Hong Kong on August 5, the day of a citywide strike.

This footage show groups of demonstrators in two different districts of Hong Kong: Wong Tai Sin and North Point.

In the three Wong Tai Sin clips, demonstrators can be seen ignoring tear gas, throwing projectiles, and breaking the gate of Wong Tai Sin Disciplined Services Quarters, reportedly a site where residents tossed water bombs and plastic bottles down at protesters, according to The Standard.

The North Point video shows people smashing the window of a vehicle that reportedly drove through a protester roadblock. According to reporter Aaron McNicholas, who filmed the video: “The footage of other vehicles in other districts driving through protester roadblocks throughout the day has caused some people to lose all sense of restraint. This driver’s car windows were just smashed and the driver himself was punched. The driver did go through a protester roadblock that consisted mostly of traffic cones, but from my vantage point, he did not do so at high speed in a manner that suggested he intended to hit anyone. But paranoia has set in for some people.”

Elsewhere in North Point on the same day, two groups of people in civilian clothing clashed on the streets. Some reporters at the scene said one group was made up of protesters while the other consisted of local residents. The South China Morning Post said the protesters had been attacked, but said they later surrounded a building inside which they believed the attackers had retreated.

The South China Morning Post said that at least 82 people had been arrested over the course of the city’s August 5 strike. Chief Executive Carrie Lam denounced the protests as “illegal acts,” saying they risked destroying “the stability and prosperity” of Hong Kong, reports said. Credit: Aaron McNicholas via Storyful