We took these photos when the police started using pepper spray on Occupy Central crowds on the sit-in’s first day. Check out our photos taken earlier that day, as well as those from when they first used tear gas on the crowds.
A scuffle on the other side broke out, and the police reacted by pushing back. They unfurled their warning banner. Pepper spray was used.
Seeing the other side get pepper sprayed, the crowd inside the Occupy Central camp got angry and started pulling down the barriers.
The police had pepper spray ready, but protesters calmed each other down.
More policemen started putting on their helmets and gas masks.
Pepper spray was used several times within a short period on the other crowd. Umbrellas, which have become an unintended symbol of the movement, were used by the protestors for protection.
Two elderly people trying to talk to the police.
The people within the camp, now calm, raised their hands in front of the police in response to their use of pepper spray on the other side.
Police carried large containers of pepper spray on their backs.
An elderly man face-to-face with the police.
Hands still up.
A man supposedly performing a Buddhist practice towards the police.
Pepper spray ready to go.
One man wore the Guy Fawkes mask adopted by anti-establishment protesters all over the world.
Another small scuffle was instigated by a protester, who was quickly calmed down by another.
Hong Kong makes a picturesque backdrop for all this chaos. This was taken yesterday evening in Tamar Park.
Hong Kong’s large population of domestic workers took full advantage of Central’s empty streets on their day off. The protests did not deter their weekly Sunday rituals of dancing and singing together.
Photos: Laurel Chor/Coconuts Hong Kong
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