民陣昨午發起元旦大遊行，已獲警方不反對通知書，灣仔中國人壽大廈一間店舖在昨日遊行期間被打爆玻璃。有現場目擊者質疑有喬裝警員破壞，兩名蒙面男子其後跑向十多名防暴警員在現場駐守方向，兩人向防暴警大叫「自己人」後，警察放行。
其後在未有警告下向市民施放胡椒噴霧，狂發胡椒球槍及至少兩枚手擲催淚彈，警方不久後即藉詞腰斬遊行，要求30分鐘內解散所有市民，民陣被逼下午5時半宣告遊行結束。
今日網民號召「中環和你Lunch 一齊行完佢」快閃活動，抗議政府侵犯集會自由，無理腰斬合法遊行。中午12:45時開始，數百市民及上班族在中環皇后像廣場聚集，大呼「五大訴求，缺一不可」。有人舉起「Standup for HK（為香港發聲）」海報。
下午1:15時許，市民在皇后像廣場前滙豐銀行前示威，高呼「中止遊行 全民憤怒」等口號，無懼在現場布防的十多名防暴警察。
Hundreds in Central Flashmob To Protest Halting Legal March
The Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) launched a New Year’s Day march yesterday. A China Life Insurance shop in Wanchai was damaged during the march yesterday. Witnesses at the scene questioned the two masked men as disguised police officers. They ran towards the direction of more than a dozen riot police officers at the scene. After the two yelled “same team” to the riot police, the police let them go.
Later, without any warning, police used pepper spray and tear gas rounds on the public. The police soon use this as an excuse to halt the march and demanded that all citizens be dispersed within 30 minutes. CHRF was forced to announce the end of the march.
Today, netizens organised a “Lunch with You in Central” flashmob to complete the march together” to protest against the government’s violation of freedom of assembly and unreasonably cut off legal protest march. Starting at 12:45 pm, hundreds of people and office workers gathered in Statue Square in Central and chanted “5 Demands, Not One Less”. Someone raised a poster reading “Standup for Hong Kong”.
At 1:15 pm, the crowd protest in front of HSBC, chanting slogans such as “Halting March, Everyone is Angry” undaunted by the dozen of riot police deployed.
