The month of September in the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests saw again citywide unrest. Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced on 4 September that the extradition bill, in suspension since July, would be fully withdrawn, which fulfilled one of the five demands of the protesters. Also, following an earlier promise, Lam held a discussion session with randomly selected members of the public on 26 September. These acts, however, had little to no effect on the protests, as protesters insisted that all of the five demands be met. That this latter goal would be hard, if not impossible, to achieve – due to the very limited room given to Lam's administration by mainland Chinese authorities, as transpired from comments by officials – did not discourage the protesters from continuing to take to the streets.
As the month drew to a close, tensions heightened further: on 28 September, the protesters marked the five-year anniversary of the beginning of the Umbrella Revolution; and it was anticipated, also internationally, that the unrest was shaping up to become a major blight to the Chinese National Day celebrations on 1 October.
Several of the protests denounced police violence, underlining protesters' strongly negative perceptions of police which had hardened in the wake of the recent police storming of Prince Edward Station. Rumours of protester deaths at the latter incident, which proved false but were nevertheless widespread and enduring, bore further witness to the deterioration of the situation in the city.
Events
1 September airport protest
Following clashes between protesters and police on 31 August, an operation was held near the Hong Kong International Airport where the aim was to paralyse the airport by blocking approach roads and crowding the bus terminus in defiance of a court injunction on demonstrations in the airport. Roadblocks were set up, and riot police dispersed some of the protesters. Some activists trespassed onto the tracks of the Airport Express line, causing the suspension of services. Protesters later retreated to Tung Chung, with some spraying graffiti inside Tung Chung station. Riot police followed, and the manner in which they stormed a train cabin was said to be similar to when the Special Tactical Squad of the police stormed Prince Edward station on 31 August. The station was later closed by MTR. Protesters were stranded in Tung Chung, and some retreated by walking a 15 km (9.3 mi) route along North Lantau Highway, towards Tsing Ma Bridge; while others returned to Hong Kong Island by taking ferries. Once word got out that riot police had been deployed in Central piers and conducted searches on young people who disembarked, sympathisers quickly mobilised volunteer drivers to transport protesters. The mass evacuation was dubbed by some media as "Hong Kong's Dunkirk".
MTR station protests and conflicts
Daily demonstrations and vandalism occurred at the MTR stations as part of a non-co-operation movement. Additional protests were held in stations such as Prince Edward and Po Lam due to the alleged collusion of MTR and the police. In specific, rumours circulated that the police had killed suspected protesters on 31 August arrest in the Prince Edward station, thus protesters demands MTR to publish the closed-circuit television footage of that night. Witnesses had alleged that at least three seriously injured people were missing in the Prince Edward station on 31 August. Two people who claimed to be relatives of the missing people, told Hong Kong Free Press that the police had killed several people inside the station.
On 4 September, an off-duty MTR station supervisor was injured in Po Lam station by the protesters. Several ticket machines and entry gates were also vandalised. The railway operator strongly condemned the attacks.
On 5 September, tension rose near Hang Hau station when a group of protesters confronted the riot police. Protesters shouted anti-police chants and shone lasers into the station. The police's attempt to search the nearby area provoked residents of a nearby housing estate who were angered by the disturbance. On the same day, the police arrested some protesters in Tuen Mun whom they suspected had planned to vandalise Light Rail there.
Flashmobs besieged police stations as well as MTR stations on 6 September. At midnight, MTR announced that Mong Kok station and Yau Ma Tei station were closed due to vandalism, while Prince Edward station was closed due to the amassing of protesters.
On 7 September, an apparently innocent secondary school student was injured in the head at the hands of police in the Tai Po Market station and charged for unlawful assembly. According to Cable TV, he was a mere bystander while people around him vandalised. Civil Rights Observer condemned the police for using batons to hit the suspects during the arrests, saying it was unnecessary and in breach of police guidelines. On the same day, some protesters staged sit-ins inside two malls owned by MTR – Citylink Plaza, which is in the podium of Sha Tin station) and Telford Plaza in the podium of Kowloon Bay station) – demanding the railway corporation to release the CCTV footage during the 31 August police operation. Protesters later moved from to New Town Plaza and began a confrontation with the police after a protester had been arrested inside Sha Tin station. Protesters continued to place white flowers at one of the exits of Prince Edward station and besieged the Mong Kok police station in the evening of 7 September.
During the march on 8 September, at least four MTR stations were vandalised by protesters, including Central station, which was set on fire. In the Exit D2 of Causeway Bay station, police also threw a tear gas grenade at journalists despite protesters having already left the scene. The next day, Hong Kong Journalists Association and Hong Kong Press Photographers Association jointly condemned police violence, especially the targeting of journalists.
On 10 September morning, a group of unknown vandalised the flowers that citizens placed on the exits of the Prince Edward station. Two journalists were injured by the vandals when following them to a footbridge near Mong Kok Road. After MTR, the Fire Department, the Hospital Authority and the police tried to debunk the rumour regarding the Prince Edward station incident at noon, more citizens to place flowers on the exits of the Prince Edward station in the afternoon. They also declared that MTR's explanation was unacceptable.
On 13 September, it was reported that MTR planned to hire former members of the Brigade of Gurkhas in Hong Kong to tackle the non-co-operation movement, especially non-payment of travel fee. According to CEO Jacob Kam, they are hired because their inability to understand Cantonese foul language made them immune to being taunted by the protesters. Hong Kong Unison, a local NGO for ethnic minority, criticised the hiring of Gurkhas due to their language inability as well as stereotype Gurkhas/Nepalese.
On 15 September, after the end of a peaceful rally, "radical protesters" had damaged at least 3 MTR stations: Central, Admiralty and Wan Chai.
On 19 September, conflict escalated in Sham Shui Po station where a middle-aged man falsely accused a young woman of jumping over the turnstiles of the station, while the female accused the middle-aged man of sexually harassing her. The man was then surrounded by an angry crowd who condemned the man's behaviour. On 26 September, protesters vandalised the Sha Tin station after a MTR staff subdued a man for jumping over the turnstiles in the station, though the MTR staff has no authority to use any force.
1 September BNO passport protest
On 1 September, a protest organised by Britons in Hong Kong, demanding equal rights for British National (Overseas) took place outside the British Consulate in Hong Kong. Around 300 activists, some waving the British Hong Kong flag, demanded that they receive full British Citizenship and full UK passports to replace their second-class British National (Overseas) passports. Craig Choy, a spokesman for the group, stated that "people in Hong Kong felt increasingly desperate and viewed the protests as an endgame. Upgrading the rights of BNO passport holders, or expanding visa programmes for young people, would help calm the situation."
2 September demonstrations in public hospitals
At noontime of 2 September, staff of Queen Mary Hospital formed a chain of people similar to the Hong Kong Way. The action was in protest against police actions in Prince Edward station on 31 August, when some police officers prevented first-aiders from treating the wounded. The organiser claimed that 400 staff members had participated. Demonstrations were also held in other hospitals, including the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Tseung Kwan O Hospital, United Christian Hospital, Kwong Wah Hospital, the Eastern Hospital, Ruttonjee Hospital, Princess Margaret Hospital, Hong Kong Children's Hospital, Kowloon Hospital, the North District Hospital, Tai Po Nethersole Hospital, and the Prince of Wales Hospital.
2–9 September class boycotts and joint-school human chains
A class boycott was called on 2 and 3 September, the first two school days in the academic year. Some secondary and tertiary students joined protests either inside their school campus or outside on 2 September, while others joined protests elsewhere. In Chai Wan and Yau Tsim Mong, students from several secondary schools formed human chains, and held up placards condemning the police. The organiser claimed that 10,000 students from nearly 200 secondary schools did not turn up for classes to join the boycott. The organiser also stated that there would be an indefinite weekly class boycott until the government responded to the demands. Students from St Paul's College asked a retired Chinese language arts teacher to pen the vertical protest couplet banners in support of the anti-extradition bill protest while at school. The poetic literary technique made meaning translation difficult, but they roughly meant "Knowledge Comes From Freedom, Tolerance Unites St. Paul" (「得自由循知識路、容差異繫保羅心」).
The police appeared outside some secondary schools. Outside La Salle College, riot police checked the school bags, while St. Mary's Canossian College banned students from bringing protest gear onto campus, and threatened to punish students who wore black face masks. Commenting on the presence of police force outside La Salle College, Kevin Yeung, the Secretary for Education, said that police were sent to investigate following concerns expressed by citizens, and that inspections were meant to reassure. On 3 September, about 60 students gathered outside Confucian Tai Shing Ho Kwok Pui Chun College. It appeared that the protest arose from a leaked videotape in which the principal of the school reportedly said she would hand over the list of students engaged in class boycotts to the Education Bureau. Later the police arrived. As students left, some police officers charged ahead and one officer tackled a student of a neighbouring school. Two incisors of the student were broken as a result. The school denied calling the police.
Thousands of students participated in the class boycotts and protests throughout the day. A rally at the University Mall in their Sha Tin campus of the Chinese University of Hong Kong attracted thousands. In the afternoon, a public demonstration took place in the same venue. Student unions of ten tertiary institutions demanded that the Chief Executive Carrie Lam respond to the "Five Demands" of the protesters by 8 pm on 13 September.
In the early morning of 9 September, students and alumni from public universities and more than 120 secondary schools across Hong Kong formed human chains. During the event, a middle-aged man wielding a knife injured a teacher. The students of Carmel Pak U Secondary School also delivered a petition to the police after the police arrested their fellow pupils and alumni, injuring one of them, on 7 September. The Hong Kong Student Strike Alliance threatened escalation should the government fail to respond to the five core demands by 13 September.
2–3 September general strike
A rally to kick off of a two-day general strike was held at Tamar Park. 40,000 workers attended, in solidarity with the protest movement and to pressure the government to address the five demands. Attendees alleged that a helicopter which had been hovering above them had sprayed fluorescent powder on them.
Mong Kok Police station blockade
Some protesters gathered around police stations on a daily basis in September. The police had arrested at least 2 people in Mong Kok on 2 September and several more the following morning. A protester was injured and arrested by the police after asking the police "where is your conscience?" He was arrested for "disorder in public places". The President of the Student Union of the Hong Kong Baptist University, who was previously arrested for possessing laser pointers, was arrested by the police for theft. He was freed unconditionally on the following day.