(9 Dec 2019) Hong Kong police on Monday called a pro-democracy march Sunday "generally peaceful" but condemned arson and property damage committed by a small number of individuals. Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators crammed into the streets Sunday, their chants echoing off high-rises, in a mass show of support for the protest movement that shows no signs of ending.
Police banned mass marches as protests turned increasingly violent but allowed Sunday's march after a few weeks of relative peace.
The rally was called by the Civil Human Rights Front, a group that has organized some of the biggest demonstrations since hundreds of thousands of protesters first marched on June 9.
The initial protest movement was against a now-shelved extradition bill that would have allowed Hong Kong suspects to be extradited to mainland China, widely seen as infringing on the semi-autonomous city's special freedoms granted when the former British colony was returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
The police criticized handfuls of protesters who threw gasoline bombs and trashed several businesses.
Police spokesman Kwok Ka-chuen said police made 42 arrests over the weekend for possessing weapons and other charges.
In total, Hong Kong police say they have made 6,022 arrests and fired nearly 16,000 rounds of tear gas during six months.
Police said they have also fired 10,000 rounds of rubber projectiles rounds and that 493 officers have been injured.
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