Hong Kong police fire tear gas to break up New Year's Day march

Pro-democracy protesters take to Hong Kong&#039;s streets.

(Image credit: Anthony Kwan/Getty Images)

published 1 January 2020

Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters marched through Hong Kong streets on Wednesday in their largest demonstration in weeks.

The New Year's Day protest was authorized by the government, but police withdrew the permission after claiming that some "thugs" had thrown bricks and petrol bombs, damaging banks and shops. Officers tried to disperse the crowds using tear gas and pepper spray. Police arrested five males, of which the youngest was 13 years old.

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.

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