Protesters Stomp Out Tear Gas and Burn 'Ghost Money' in Hong Kong's Sham Shui Po

While police fired tear gas in Hong Kong’s Sham Shui Po area on the night of August 14, causing some protesters to flee, others continued to burn paper “ghost money” in celebration of the upcoming Hungry Ghost Festival, a traditional Asian holiday.

Hungry Ghost Festival, celebrated this year on August 15, is a holiday where Buddhists and Taoists set aside offerings for their ancestors and burn incense and joss paper – also referred to in Chinese as “paper money” or “ghost money” – to commemorate the deceased.

This year, according to Channel NewsAsia, demonstrators burnt joss paper in front of Sham Shui Po’s police station as a form of protest, and pieces of paper with Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s face on them – dubbed “hell money” – were also burnt.

This footage shows a variety of different scenes in Sham Shui Po as one protester appears to subdue a tear gas canister with his foot and a metal lid, others continue burning joss money and police take to the streets. Credit: Galileo Cheng via Storyful