Protesters Mourn Hong Kong

Tens of thousands of people braved the heat and smog to march today

Today was supposed to be deadline day to clear out the protesters so that President Xi Jinping could have a flawless celebration of the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. And for the most part it was -- the soldiers stepping perfectly in time -- even practicing standing for two hours and only blinking 40 seconds at a time. Xi pulled out all the military hardware and people in the parade waved wildly towards the rostrum.

This contrasted with jubilant celebrations in Beijing

But the patriotic celebrations up north did not reverberate down south. Instead protesters marked the anniversary with a funeral theme, wearing black and throwing lots of "hell money" that is usually burned to give to ancestors in the afterlife.

And then around 4pm, what we all feared the most happened -- a Hong Kong police officer shot an 18-year-old this afternoon in Tsuen Wan during a series of violent protests all over the city. Following surgery, the male student is said to be in critical condition and this incident has further inflamed protesters and the public about how the police force have handled 17 weeks of protests.

A week ago during a town hall meeting, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said it was remarkable that no one had been killed -- it was her way of pointing out the police had shown great restraint towards the protesters compared to elsewhere in the world.

The moment a student was shot by a police officer

However just moments before the shooting, the protester swung a thin metal rod at a police officer who retaliated by shooting a live round at close range, apparently out of self defense. The student fell to the ground and felt his chest hurt and asked for an ambulance. As of 10.20pm, there are reports saying bullet fragments have been removed from his lung where he was shot, just 3cm from his heart.

While his condition is not life threatening, the police have a lot to answer for this dramatic escalation. Police senior superintendent Yolanda Yu commented on the incident, saying the officer shot the live round to "save his life and his colleagues' lives".

She doesn't even relay the facts properly, only saying the 18-year-old was shot in "the left shoulder area", as if to play down the seriousness of the incident, but goes on to say how the protesters are rioters rampaging over the city.

Water cannons shooting water with blue dye at protesters

How is this all going to end?

The annual October 1 march was banned by the police yesterday, and in the hopes of further mitigating the situation, the MTR shut down a number of stations to try to prevent people from assembling. However, tens of thousands of people showed up at East Point Road in Causeway Bay before 1pm and led by some pan-democrats, defied the police and marched down Hennessy Road all the way to Chater Garden in Central.

While that march was peaceful, along with a few eggs pelted at a large portrait of Xi, a smaller number of protesters began heading towards Western district where the liaison office is, but a large group of riot police armed with a water cannon were there to greet them.

Running battles ensued from Central to Wan Chai and Causeway Bay, while others were in Sha Tin, Wong Tai Sin, Sham Shui Po and Tsuen Wan, where the student got shot. Over 180 people were arrested and will be charged with rioting. If convicted, they could be sentenced for up to 10 years in jail.

Carrie Lam on the Tiananmen rostrum enjoying herself

Meanwhile earlier in the day Lam was seen enjoying herself during the 70th anniversary parade in Beijing, but strangely wearing a green round-neck top and tweed blazer, when every other senior leader was sporting a red tie.

Was her not being in Hong Kong a signal that the police could have their way with the protesters? The violent confrontations were also dangerous for reporters and in the evening, some media outlets like RTHK decided to pull back their reporters.

This is not good for freedom of the press -- the police must be held accountable for their actions and this can only be done by reporters on the ground. But as the situation becomes more hairy, how can they do their jobs relatively safely?

Protesters throwing "hell money" to mourn the loss of HK

Too many questions, and not enough answers. Will Lam hold another town hall meeting to engage with Hong Kong residents? Will the police own up to its brutal tactics? Meanwhile more MTR stations have been trashed, along with apparently pro-Beijing shops and restaurants, entire shopping malls shut down, bringing the city to a halt.

There needs to be reconciliation, not just dialogue, Carrie. Withdrawing the extradition bill is not enough to satisfy the protesters... or you haven't figured that out yet?