“They chose to come and fight for the freedom of Hong Kong”

“THEY FIRED plastic bullets at us!” Breathless from running, a young man holding a white flannel over his face shakes his head in disbelief at the response of the police. Other youngsters lie on the floor washing the residues of pepper spray from their faces. Similar scenes have played out throughout Hong Kong on June 12th, after violent confrontations between riot police and mainly young protesters.

Tensions had been rising for days over plans by the Legislative Council (Legco) to pass a law allowing Hong Kong to send suspected criminals to mainland China, where many fear they would not get a fair trial. Before 9am, with little resistance from the police, protesters closed large roads surrounding the government district. Cars were abandoned where they sat in traffic jams. Outside Legco a line of priests led the crowd in a chorus of “Sing Hallelujah to the Lord”. Others berated policemen for turning against their fellow citizens.