page_title: 2016 Mong Kok civil unrest
section_title: Course of events
hierarchical_section_title: 2016 Mong Kok civil unrest / Course of events
caption_attribution_description: 中文（繁體）‎: Mong Kok Civil unrest Fire in Soy Street
context_page_description: Civil unrest occurred in Mong Kok, Hong Kong from the night of 8 February 2016 until the following morning. The incident escalated from the government's crackdown on unlicensed street hawkers during the Chinese New Year holidays. Eventual violent clashes broke out between police and protesters, resulting in injuries on both sides.
  The Hong Kong government has classified the violent incident as a riot, while some media outlets and social media platforms have opted for calling the event the "Fishball Revolution", in reference to fishballs, a popular Hong Kong street food. The violence has been described by The Economist as "the worst outbreak of rioting since the 1960s."
context_section_description: On 8 February, the first day of the Chinese New Year, FEHD officers attempted to patrol the side streets of Mong Kok. Hong Kong Indigenous called for action online to shield the hawkers, and by around 9 pm a few hundred had gathered and verbally assaulted the FEHD officers.
  At around 10 pm, a taxi driving into Portland Street accidentally hit an old man. Protesters blocked the road and prevented the taxi from leaving. The Hong Kong Police arrived and surrounded the car, warning others not to get closer. The police left shortly after and returned with a portable podium for crowd control at 11:45 pm, this sparked anger in the crowd. Around midnight, violent clashes broke out between police and protesters as police urged them to clear the street. The police put on protective gear, including helmets and shields and used batons and pepper spray on the protesters, while some of the protesters, equipped with home-made shields, goggles, helmets and gloves, threw projectiles at the police.
  At around 2 am, a traffic police officer was injured on Argyle Street. Protesters continued to surround the injured officer and attacking him with projectiles, prompting his colleagues to approach the scene to protect him. One such officer fired two warning shots into the air in an attempt to prevent further advancement of the protesters. Warning shots are not permitted in the Use of Force guidelines in the Police Force Ordinance. The scene descended into chaos as protesters charged the police line and engaged in scuffles and fighting with the police and tossed glass bottles and rubbish bins at them, At 2:30 am, more police arrived at the scene to disperse the protesters. The standoff subsequently moved to Nathan Road at 3 am.
  At 4 am, the first of multiple fires was started in Sai Yeung Choi Street South, followed by three more ignited in the same street. Some protesters set fire to rubbish bins surrounding Shantung Street and Soy Street, including the junctions of Fife Street and Portland Street and of Nathan Road and Nelson Street, these were put out by the police and firemen. Both lanes of Nathan Road were blocked from south of Argyle Street and the Mong Kok MTR station was shut down.
  At 4:30 am, the Special Tactical Squad were deployed in the intersection of Soy Street and Sai Yeung Choi Street South as a result of failure of combatant from the police force and the escalation of the rioters. They successfully cleared the protesters within 30 seconds. However after 5 minutes, due to lack of reinforcements, they were forced to fully fall back, with one constable injured.
  At 7:15 am, protesters were dispersed from Soy Street near Fa Yuen Street, following a long standoff, after police officers of the Police Tactical Unit were deployed. Protesters gradually dispersed around 8 am. The streets in Mong Kok were calm by 9:00 am, and Mong Kok MTR station was reopened at 9:45 am.
  A total of 61 people were arrested, including Edward Leung, spokesman of the Hong Kong Indigenous and candidate for the Legislative Council by-election. One of the members of Youngspiration, another localist group, was also arrested. 90 police officers and several reporters were also injured in the violence. The Hong Kong Journalists Association said that a Ming Pao journalist was beaten by a policeman despite declaring his identity. Reporters from broadcasters RTHK and TVB were also injured by protesters.
caption: A fire set in Soy Street by the rioters on the morning of 9 February.
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