Apr 26, 2020 - World

Hong Kong holds first major protest in over a month

Orion Rummler

This image shows large crowds standing in a mall — Protesters rally in a mall in Hong Kong on April 26. Photo: Anthony Kwan/Getty Images

Several hundred Hong Kong protestors held an anti-government demonstration at a mall on Sunday in one of the city's largest protests since early March.

Why it matters: The pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong dominated headlines for months until the coronavirus crisis forced the government to implement strict social distancing measures.

The big picture: Hong Kong health officials said Saturday that eight new patients had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, after the city claimed zero infections on Thursday for the second time, the South China Morning Post reports.

15 prominent Hong Kong activists were arrested on April 18 on charges of holding illegal assemblies in August and October, related to months of demonstrations last year against China's authoritarian government.

Flashback: In February, Hong Kong medical workers went on strike to demand a closed border with mainland China to stop the spread of the virus, after the city reported its first fatality from the coronavirus.

Later that month, hundreds of anti-government protestors were arrested, per SCMP.
In March, hundreds of Hong Kongers clashed with police during gatherings to mourn a computer science student who died after falling one story in a parking lot last November, per SCMP.

Go deeper: The year of the protest meets the year of the lockdown

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Hong Kong holds first major protest in over a month

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