Chilling video emerged Monday of a man being viciously attacked by a group of demonstrators who stormed a subway station in Hong Kong after a peaceful protest turned ugly.
In the footage captured by Hong Kong-based media outlet The Stand News, the man is seen arguing with the black-clad protesters who prevent him from leaving the Mass Transit Railway station on Sunday, according to Reuters.
The hostile crowd surrounds the man before beating and kicking him as he collapses to the floor, bleeding from the face. It was not clear why he was targeted.
Hundreds of pro-democracy protesters then vandalized ticket machines, notice boards and turnstiles at the Sha Tin station, where they chanted, “Fight for freedom!” and “Liberate Hong Kong!”
Dozens of people were arrested in the weekend clashes, bringing the total number of arrested in the protests since June to 1,556, authorities said.
On Monday, MTR said train service had returned to normal.
The Chinese territory is on edge ahead of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic on Oct. 1, with authorities hoping to avoid scenes that could embarrass the central government in Beijing.
Meanwhile, the government in the former British colony this week begins an official dialogue with community members in efforts to heal rifts in society and has already called off a big fireworks display to mark Oct. 1 in case of additional clashes.
Hong Kong also marks the fifth anniversary this weekend of the start of the “Umbrella” protests, a series of pro-democracy demonstrations in 2014 that failed to gain concessions from Beijing.
China, which has a People’s Liberation Army garrison in Hong Kong, has said it has faith in Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam to solve the crisis.
The activists are frustrated at what they view as Beijing’s tightening grip over the Asian financial hub, which returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula intended to guarantee freedoms that are not enjoyed on the mainland.