(Time)
China’s national day was marked in Hong Kong Tuesday with citywide unrest, as pro-democracy protesters fought running battles with police in a stark repudiation of Beijing’s sovereignty over the enclave. Police fired live rounds and a protester was reportedly shot in the chest but in circumstances as yet unclear.
Demonstrations began in the early afternoon, when pro-democracy politicians defied a police ban to lead tens of thousands on a march through downtown districts. Marchers chanted the democracy movement’s slogan—”Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time!”—and sang “Glory to Hong Kong,” a song that many are calling the enclave’s “national anthem.”
Said Danny Wo, a taxi driver who joined the march: “I wish for Hong Kong independence. I am not Chinese, I am a Hongkonger. Hong Kong is still a colony under this Chinese government.”
“It’s the 70th anniversary of China, so it’s even more important to come out today,” added Apple, a 17-year-old student protester. “China is getting more powerful. If China becomes more powerful other countries might experience something like what’s happening in Hong Kong now. It’s an important to come out and stop them,” she told TIME. Read more