After six months of protests, yesterday hundreds of thousands of protestors attended one of Hong Kong's largest recent marches:
I had expected that I would now be able to share photographs I had taken at the march. Unfortunately, a painful foot sprain kept me away from it. So instead, below is a series of tweets by a variety of people presented in the order they were tweeted. A few tweets hint at other aspects of the rally, but mostly they help provide a sense of the large number of protestors and their intensity.
Demonstrators returned in force, packing city streets to denounce [China's leader Xi Jingping's] government, rail against police brutality and reiterate demands for greater civil liberties, including universal suffrage. They beat drums, sang protest anthems and chanted, “Fight for freedom.” Though the march was largely peaceful, some demonstrators vandalized shops and restaurants and lit a fire outside the high court.
“We want Hong Kong to continue being Hong Kong,” said Alice Wong, 24, a biology researcher who stood among protesters gathered at Victoria Park. “We don’t want to become like China.”
As many as 800,000 people attended the march, according to Civil Human Rights Front, an advocacy group that organized the gathering.
The mood at the march was relaxed, with people taking selfies against a backdrop of the vast crowds. Children, some dressed in black, marched with their parents, holding hands as they shouted, “Stand with Hong Kong!”
I had expected that I would now be able to share photographs I had taken at the march. Unfortunately, a painful foot sprain kept me away from it. So instead, below is a series of tweets by a variety of people presented in the order they were tweeted. A few tweets hint at other aspects of the rally, but mostly they help provide a sense of the large number of protestors and their intensity.
The CHRF Human Rights Day march from Victoria Park to Chater Garden yet to kick off but Hennessy Road is already full of people #HongKongProstest pic.twitter.com/Wu5NoDW091— Aria Chen (@ariahychen) December 8, 2019
Thousands of black-clad protesters from all walks of life start marching from Victoria Park calling for the government to response to the 5 demands, including democracy and setting up an independent inquiry committee. #antielab #hongkongprotests pic.twitter.com/I5iwNBrkh3— Jessie Pang (@JessiePang0125) December 8, 2019
Holy shit, this is the view at Causeway Bay! It's a total gridlock on the march to Central. There's so many people everyone's only able to take a few steps a minute. Imagine being in the middle and you gotta pee#StandWithHongKong #HongKongProtests pic.twitter.com/kyEsKnC3a5— woppa 🎗😷 (@Woppa1Woppa) December 8, 2019
#NOW #HongKong - 6 months on, HongKongers are still here.— Phoebe Kong 江穎怡 (@phoebe_kongwy) December 8, 2019
Hundreds of thousands of #HongKongProtesters attending Human Rights Day rally organized by @chrf_hk right now. All six lanes filled with sea of black. #HongKongProtests pic.twitter.com/ClaN59sU9D
6 months into the protests (we were counting weeks initially), HongKongers are not giving in, showing in huge numbers for today protest organized by @chrf_hk . I believe today is another "million march" in Hong Kong. pic.twitter.com/8jHM2HWu3r— LO Kin-hei 羅健熙 (@lokinhei) December 8, 2019
The crowd in causeway bay is moving very slowly pic.twitter.com/ToS1D5PvfH— Aria Chen (@ariahychen) December 8, 2019
— Denise Ho (HOCC) (@hoccgoomusic) December 8, 2019
The march just behind the front passing police HQ in Admiralty. There are so many protesters that tens of thousands were actually marching in front of the official front. This march now stretches several km from here back to Causeway Bay. pic.twitter.com/7fgUbrBZ6d— Kong Tsung-gan / 江松澗 (@KongTsungGan) December 8, 2019
six months ago, there weren’t the “five demands,” and most wouldn’t have worn face masks to a peaceful march. so much has changed and we’ve swapped our black tees for dark jackets, but hongkongers are still here pic.twitter.com/5xKSLsdj4D— karen cheung (@karenklcheung) December 8, 2019
Absolutely mind-blowing turnout for today’s march. The front of the march is about 4 subway stops from here. #HongKongProtests pic.twitter.com/XVoQQDvBIx— Laurel Chor (@laurelchor) December 8, 2019
Moments of hopefulness and solidarity like these remind me of what I love most about Hongkongers and home. I just feel so proud and empowered. #HKProtests #antielab #HumanRightsDay #HongKongProtests pic.twitter.com/9SyRB4bMMi— Jessie Lau (@_laujessie) December 8, 2019
Protesters urge eachother to retreat as the water cannon truck is spotted in Central. #hongkong #hongkongprotests #antiELAB #china The atmosphere at the endpoint remains tense but peaceful. pic.twitter.com/MmcjUd5yj9— Hong Kong Free Press (@HongKongFP) December 8, 2019
This kid is so casual performing Hong Kong’s pro-democracy anthem 💁🏻♂️ pic.twitter.com/sStZk31T1w— Rachel Blundy (@rachelblundy) December 8, 2019
Despite tens of thousands having completed the march and left at Central, the Causeway Bay section of Hennessy Road remains packed at 5:20pm.— Hong Kong Free Press (@HongKongFP) December 8, 2019
Photo: iCable screenshot. #hongkong pic.twitter.com/BKb8bsC7GP
The drum circle makes its way past the Bank of China building and into Central. pic.twitter.com/8VUNWbjhcV— Timothy McLaughlin (@TMclaughlin3) December 8, 2019
Lights out as the sun sets pic.twitter.com/AniV3ZPsOR— Pak Yiu (@pakwayne) December 8, 2019
Nearly four and a half hour after the march started the streets of Hong Kong are still jammed with protesters. pic.twitter.com/wG9iiqv0yS— Timothy McLaughlin (@TMclaughlin3) December 8, 2019
Police are clearing barricades and reopening roads in Central. Most protesters have left. #hongkong #hongkongprotests #antiELAB #china pic.twitter.com/99G5tdYyl3— Hong Kong Free Press (@HongKongFP) December 8, 2019
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