Hong Kong police fire tear gas at New Year's mass march.
Catch up on the developing stories making headlines.HONG KONG -- Hundreds of thousands of people packed Hong Kong streets for an annual New Year's Day protest march as the monthslong pro-democracy movement extended into 2020 with further violence between police and demonstrators.
Police used pepper spray, tear gas and a water cannon to drive off the demonstrators, although a government statement said officers were “deploying the minimum necessary force." Hong Kong toned down its New Year's celebrations amid the protests that began in June and which have dealt severe blows to the city's retail, tourism and nightlife sectors.
Such marches have often devolved at their conclusion into violence. Both sides have been accused of provoking clashes, and nearly 6,500 protesters as young as 12 have been arrested in scores of incidents on streets, in shopping malls and on college campuses. The protests began in June over proposed legislation that could have allowed residents to be extradited to China where they could face possible torture and unfair trials. The legislation was withdrawn, but not before the protests expanded to wider calls for reforms in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
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