Thread by @SCMPNews

#LIVE: Hong Kong is entering its 17th straight weekend of civil unrest, on the fifth anniversary of the start of the Occupy movement. Follow our coverage here: sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Some MTR station exits in Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Wan Chai have already been closed ahead of the rally. The railway operator has warned that certain stations or exits may be shut down at any time. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Earlier in the day, groups of protesters pasted posters all the way from Causeway Bay to Admiralty, creating a long “Lennon Wall”. Photos: SCMP/Felix Wong, K.Y. Cheng sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Dozens of protesters hurl abuse at police guarding the entrance to the government headquarters.
A few kick the barricades and metal fences but most are verbally abusive. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Police raise the red warning flag - "stop charging or we use force" - and fire pepper spray over the barricades at protesters. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Dozens of protesters have entered Harcourt Road, just as they did when the Occupy movement kicked off in 2014. Some are trying to cross the road, but many are lingering. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: The rally officially began with a speaker recounting the 87 rounds of tear gas fired during the Occupy movement five years ago and the details of the recent anti-government protests. “People are back." sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Protesters have filled a long stretch of the lawn at Tamar Park. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Scenes from five years ago today, when the 79-day Occupy movement was triggered. Photos: SCMP/K.Y. Cheng, Dickson Lee sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Ms Wong, a 67-year-old retiree, watched the community dialogue Carrie Lam held on Thursday. She said: "She was like an alien. I couldn't see any sincerity." sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, a co-founder of the Occupy campaign, takes to the stage.
He tells the crowd not to forget Occupy protesters who are still in jail, as well as those "sacrificed" in the current protests sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Protesters point laser beams at a helicopter flying over Tamar Park. Earlier, there were accusations a helicopter showered fluorescent powder on demonstrators in previous rallies. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: At the government headquarters, police have fired water at protesters who are shining lasers and throwing rocks. But it does not appear to be from a police water cannon. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Protesters have piled barricades and pot plants outside two side entrances to the government headquarters. In a statement, the force warns protesters to stop charging police cordon lines. Photo: SCMP/Kimmy Chung sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Riot police has raised the red flag on Tim Wa Avenue. Police earlier raised the red flag - warning of the use of force - at the other side of the government complex. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Hundreds of protesters remain on Harcourt Road, bringing traffic to a halt there. “Reclaim Hong Kong; revolution of our times,” they chant. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: A secondary school student, who identifies himself as Hin (right), says students form the backbone of the anti-government protests, adding that many will boycott classes to rally on September 30, ahead of National Day on October 1. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Buses are turning back at the roadblock set up by protesters on Harcourt Road. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Academic Benny Tai Yiu-ting, one of the co-founders of the Occupy movement, has taken to the stage. “Every generation of Hongkongers has come out to fight for the same goal, genuine democracy in Hong Kong,” he says. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Benny Tai tells the crowd to continue to write letters to his fellow co-founder Chan Kin-man, who is still in prison, saying it is a great source of encouragement to him behind bars. Photo: SCMP/Kanis Leung sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: The bridge linking the Pacific Place mall to Queensway Plaza and the bus terminal is closed. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: A water cannon has arrived at the government complex. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Figo Chan, deputy convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front, which organised the rally, says police told the group they would start the clearance operation after 15 to 30 minutes, if they fail to maintain order. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Joshua Wong, the activist who came to prominence during the Occupy movement, gets overwhelming support from the crowd as he says people are back with even stronger determination five years later. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Civil Human Rights Front convenor Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit urges the crowds to leave in an orderly manner along the promenade towards Central or Wan Chai. The rally ends about 30 minutes early. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Not far from the scene of the standoff between police and protesters, soldiers are spotted patrolling inside the barracks of the People’s Liberation Army Hong Kong garrison. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests Photo: SCMP/Kimmy Chung

#LIVE: Protesters burn a hammer and sickle flag and slam the Chinese Communist Party in English. Photo: SCMP/Linda Lew sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Protesters have been collecting bricks in front of the Admiralty MTR station at Queensway Plaza. They are throw them at the government headquarters. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Protesters have thrown at least two petrol bombs.
sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Police have used a water cannon on protesters on Harcourt Road. The water contains blue dye, intended to make it easier to identify protesters later.
Reporters on the scene say the water also appears to contain pepper spray. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Police have fired tear gas on Harcourt Road.
sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Civil Human Rights Front convenor Jimmy Sham estimates 200,000 to 300,000 people attended the rally, more than expected. Sham says police had asked them to end the rally as soon as possible. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Scenes from the ground. Photos by SCMP's Sam Tsang sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: After police used water to disperse the crowd outside the Chief Executive's Office, demonstrators have retreated and are walking towards Central. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Riot police have arrived on Harcourt Road, leading protesters to flee. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Scores of riot police are advancing towards Admiralty and have just raised a blue flag, warning protesters they are participating in an unlawful assembly.
sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Riot police have arrived on Harcourt Road, leading protesters to flee. Police are also on nearby Rodney Street.
There are also officers inside Admiralty MTR station. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Riot police are also outside the Pacific Place mall on Queensway, leaving only a few lanes for traffic. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: About a dozen police vehicles have arrived at Harcourt Road and officers armed with long shields are clearing barricades set by protesters, who have largely deserted the road to head to Central. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: As protesters in Central work out how to leave, some change T-shirts. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Hundreds of protesters are queuing for ferries to Tsim Sha Tsui, with some shouting: “Don’t take the MTR, take ferries!” As protesters wait for their ferry rides, they sing the protest song “Glory to Hong Kong”. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: The police force says “appropriate force” has been used against a large group of violent protesters who vandalised glass panels outside the government headquarters and set up barricades on Harcourt Road. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Riot police have stopped two buses in Wan Chai at the intersection of Fleming Road and Harbour Road near Central Plaza. They have asked passengers to leave the buses and line up to be searched. sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Riot police in Wan Chai have removed the personal belongings, including masks and T-shirts, of some passengers and placed them on the ground to photograph for evidence sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests

#LIVE: Some angry citizens are singing songs in response to heavy police presence outside the Sogo department store in Causeway Bay sc.mp/r6mdq #HongKongProtests

#LIVE: Admiralty has quieted down, but police continue to stop and search people in Causeway Bay and at the Cross Harbour Tunnel on the Kowloon side sc.mp/r6mdq #HongKongProtests

📷 by Dickson Lee, Felix Wong, K. Y. Cheng

#LIVE: At least one man was taken into a police van after buses were searched on Fleming Road. sc.mp/r6mdq #HongKongProtests

#LIVE: Lawmaker Ted Hui says he saw three people put into a police van. He added that police gave no response when he asked why they were being taken sc.mp/r6mdq #HongKongProtests

#LIVE: A passenger on the 116 bus says disputes earlier between several young men on board and two middle-aged men were triggered by different political views sc.mp/r6mdq #HongKongProtests

#LIVE: Police rushed onto a 116 bus on Hennessy Road in Causeway Bay. A middle-aged man has been taken off the bus. Officers made reporters leave the scene sc.mp/r6mdq #HongKongProtests

https://twitter.com/SCMPHongKong/status/1177960881071759360

#LIVE: Photos from the scene earlier as police stopped the route 116 NWFB double-decker bus in Causeway Bay, including a none too happy citizen sc.mp/r6mdq #hongkongprotests
📷 : Felix Wong