New protests erupt in Hong Kong after 44 activists charged with rioting

Hundreds of people surrounded a police station in Hong Kong on Tuesday chanting “free the martyrs” after 44 activists were charged with rioting following weekend clashes between protesters and police that brought the city to a standstill.

They mark the first rioting charges pressed during the eight weeks of protests that have rocked the semi-autonomous Chinese city, and those found guilty face up to ten years in jail. The youngest person charged is a 16-year-old girl.

The protests erupted three months ago over an extradition bill that would have allowed people in Hong Kong to be sent to mainland China for trial. But now it has evolved into a wider backlash against the city’s government and its political masters in Beijing.

Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets on Sunday as they sought to defend China’s main representative office from protesters who set up road blocks and hurled bricks and sticks.

The near daily protests have disrupted business, piled pressure on the city’s government and stretched its police force, which some have accused of using excessive force.

Hundreds of protesters gathered at the Kwai Chung police station where some of the activists were to be freed on bail. Clashes broke out between the protesters and police. One officer brandished a gun to ward off the crowd.

Earlier in the day, protesters blocked train services during the morning rush hour.

Hong Kong, which returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997, is embroiled in its worst political crisis for decades as the increasingly violent protests pose one of the gravest populist challenges to Communist Party rulers in Beijing.

China on Monday reiterated its support for Hong Kong’s embattled leader Carrie Lam and its police and urged Hong Kong’s people to oppose violence.