Twelve-year-old among those detained after violent clashes with demonstrators. Hong Kong police say they arrested dozens of people, including a 12-year-old child, over the weekend, as they defended firing a live round for the first time since pro-democracy demonstrations started in June. Police said they detained 86 people for offences including unlawful assembly, possession of offensive weapons and assaulting police officers. Sunday’s protests were the scene of the fiercest clashes yet between police and demonstrators since violence escalated in mid-June over a now-suspended extradition bill that would have allowed Hong Kong people to be sent to mainland China for trial. Police fired water cannon and teargas in running battles with protesters, who threw bricks. Six officers drew their pistols and one officer fired a warning shot into the air, police said in a statement. Mak Chin-ho, an assistant police commissioner, said police had used force in response to violence by demonstrators. “We have seen an increase in the intensity and extensiveness of violence used by protesters. Their radical acts have intensified with more dangers and sometimes deadly weapons used including bricks, metal posts, long sticks, and petrol bombs,” said Mak. Hong Kong’s government also condemned the protesters. “The escalating illegal and violent acts of radical protesters are not only outrageous, they also push Hong Kong to the verge of a very dangerous situation.” It said police would “strictly follow up” on illegal acts. “Police will take relentless enforcement action to bring the persons involved to justice,” it said. Pro-democracy members of the Hong Kong’s legislative council countered that the government and the police need to take responsibility, the former for introducing the extradition legislation that sparked the protests and the latter for what they say is selective enforcement of the law targeting government opponents. Kwok Ka-ki, a member of the Civic party, blamed the Hong Kong leader, Carrie Lam. He called her creation of a platform for dialogue a delay tactic rather than an attempt to resolve the conflict. “She is the one who should shoulder all the responsibility, and now she is trying to get away from all the responsibility and shifting the focus to the so-called platform,” he said. Clashes broke out after hundreds of thousands of people braved rain on Sunday to stage a peaceful, police-sanctioned march in Tsuen Wan, a part of the city noted for its links with triad members. The scenes of worsening unrest provoked anger in China, where the microblog of the Communist party’s mouthpiece, the People’s Daily newspaper, condemned protesters who removed a national flag at the rally before the march and trampled on it. “Such provocation challenges the national dignity and hurt the feelings of 1.4 billion Chinese … It should pay a cost.” The Hong Kong government said the act challenged the national authority and “allegedly violates” the national flag and national emblem ordinance. The government-aligned Global Times, meanwhile, hit out at western media for its “biased” coverage of the protests, particularly accounts of how the Hong Kong police officer fired a warning shot. The news outlet said “biased coverage had put the Hong Kong police in a dangerous position, as stories about police brutality have surfaced in recent weeks. Without considering facts, some Hong Kong reporters have stood by the anti-government protesters, abandoning the fundamentals of neutral and justified reporting”. Some protesters said they were resorting to violence because the government had not responded to their peaceful demonstrations. “The more the government ignores us, the more we have to come out,” said Peggy Tai, who is in her 60s, earlier in the day. After almost three months of continuous protests, demonstrators remained determined in their fight for political rights. The wave of protests, which started in early June in opposition to an extradition bill under which individuals could be sent to mainland China for trial, has morphed into a broader anti-government, pro-democracy movement. Demonstrators have five demands: the complete withdrawal of the now-suspended extradition bill; the setting up of an independent body to investigate police violence; a halt to the characterisation of protests as “riots”; an amnesty for those arrested; and a resumption of political reform to allow the free election of Hong Kong’s leader and legislature. Lam said last week she would establish platforms for dialogue although protesters dismissed her offer and said she needed to respond to their demands.T.G