Further violence took place in Hong Kong on Saturday as anti-government protesters clashed with police in civilian clothes.
Around 100 protesters stormed into a shopping mall in Sheung Shui, close to the border with mainland China, and chanted ‘liberate Hong Kong’ and ‘return to the mainland’.
They were targeting Chinese traders in a bid to disrupt the Christmas shopping trade.
Police tackled the protesters using pepper spray and batons. Shoppers were seen to argue with police who had also blocked walkways in the mall.
Anti-government protests in Hong Kong first began in June over a proposed extradition law, which has since been withdrawn. The protesters are now demanding for more democracy and the resignation of Carrie Lam, the chief executive of Hong Kong. Protesters claim that Beijing and Lam’s government are destroying Hong Kong’s autonomy and Western-style civil liberties.
According to the police, 336 people, some as young as 12, have been arrested already this week and the total number of people arrested since the start of the unrest is now at 7,000.