This is a list of protests in January 2020 that were part of the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests. The protests continued to be buoyed up by the success of the pan-democrats at the November 2019 District Council Elections, but also continued to feel the effects of the mass arrests at the November 2019 siege of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. With the notable exceptions of protests on New Year's Day and on 19 January, protests remained smaller-scale but took place almost every day. It appeared that police, under its new chief Chris Tang, had changed its tactics to round up violent protesters early, aiming to avoid the spiralling into evening violence that had occurred in many of the earlier protests.
Towards the end of the month, as the first cases of what would develop into the COVID-19 pandemic were detected in the city, protests began to turn towards the perceived shortcomings in the handling of the outbreak by the Hong Kong government.
Events 1 January: New Year's Day In the evening hours of New Year's Eve, Hong Kong police fired tear gas in Mong Kok, as they continued to try and clear the streets of protesters who had set fires to roadblocks on Nathan Road. Armoured vehicles were seen clearing roadblocks set up by protesters using a variety of objects. The crowd also chanted "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" during the last few seconds of 2019.
The march on New Year's Day, named "Stand shoulder to shoulder", was aimed at pressuring Carrie Lam and the government to accept protesters' five core demands. Further demands of the police-approved protest included calls for increased union representation, for police to take responsibility for misconduct such as arresting medical staff at protests, and for the Hong Kong government not to increase the salaries of police who had been involved in such misconduct. Thousands gathered filling up the lawn of Victoria Park, from where the organisers started the march 20 minutes ahead of the planned 3:00 pm start. As people marched out of Victoria Park, more people were waiting to get in. Secondary school students, families with children, and elderly people had turned up to join the march. The marchers called chants commonly heard throughout the protests, such as "" and "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times".
The Civil Human Rights Front said the police asked them to end the march after clashes broke out in Wan Chai. Officers soon began firing tear gas and pepper spray there. The front said it immediately complied and asked people to leave. It said they received notice from police at 5:30 pm, asking to end the rally by 6:15 pm. Some radical masked protesters did not heed this call and went on to vandalize more than five HSBC branches, setting one of the bronze lions outside the bank's headquarters on fire; the bank had drawn the ire of protesters and their supporters when it closed an account by the supporting organization Spark Alliance in December 2019. Other businesses with mainland Chinese connections were also vandalized. Police charged quickly into action, rounding up more than 460 protesters near the Sogo department store; some observers saw this as a sign of a change of tactics under the new Police chief, Chris Tang, who had assumed his position on 19 November.
Organisers claim over one million participated in the protest. Police said 60,000 people attended the march at its peak.
The CHRF said the police decision to end the march showed that the government is unwilling to listen to the voices of the people and is infringing on the right of assembly of Hong Kong residents. They warned that peace will not return to Hong Kong if police continue to adopt such methods.
2 January Some protesters called a "Lunch with You" rally. At about 1 pm, about 100 citizens gathered in and around Statue Square in Central. Participants chanted slogans in the square, other held signs to protest police use of allegedly excessive force. At about 1:45, the crowd walked towards Pedder Street. The crowd then shouted "See you tomorrow" and disbanded. More than ten riot police officers remained on alert in Pedder Street afterwards.
3 January Thousands of teachers and other protesters gathered at Edinburgh Place at night to voice their opposition at what they called "white terror" from the government. Organised by the Professional Teachers' Union (PTU) the rally came after education secretary Kevin Yeung said the PTU was misinformed and called on teachers not to be misled by them. Fung Wai-wah, the leader of the union, said "the government is making teachers scapegoats for the current social unrest".
Organisers said 20,000 people turned up at the peak of the rally.
5 January
Several hundred people began marching through Sheung Shui accusing the government and police of failing to take action against parallel trading in the district. The organiser said there would be about 100 marshals to maintain law and order also stating that it was unnecessary as the authorised event will be peaceful. A stand-off then developed after the police told protesters to disperse as soon as they reached the endpoint. Police warned that they could be arrested for holding an illegal assembly. Organisers claimed a turnout of 10,000 people. Police said the crowd numbered 2,500 at its peak.
6 January Some citizens continued to launch "Lunch with You" rallies in multiple districts. Among them, in Wan Chai and Causeway Bay, demonstrators walked along Hennessy Road and Johnston Road, and some people raised banners and shouted slogans common to the protests.
7 January Lunch with You, Sing with You rallies
Some citizens launched "Sing with you" and "Lunch with you" rallies. Protesters in Kowloon Bay and at the International Finance Centre responded to the call for action. The demonstration proceeded peacefully without any conflict between the police and the demonstrators.
Sha Tin District Council
In the evening, in the New Town Plaza in Sha Tin held a "Plan with You" civil district council event. More than ten district councillors served as guests and hundreds of citizens attended. During the period, Shatin District Council Chairman Ching Cheung-ying and vice-chairman Wong Hok-lai made speeches, explaining the district council appropriations, including various expenditure sections including "development, housing and business", "finance, standing and other large-scale activities", "district facility management", etc. It also talked about "police riots", the establishment of Lennon Walls, market management, and regional facilities, as well as the organisation of civil society. At the end of the event, the citizens shouted anti-government slogans, and then slowly dispersed.
8 January About 100 people gathered at a car park in Tseung Kwan O to pay tribute to Alex Chow Tsz-Lok, a student who had died two months earlier, to the day, of injuries from a fall in that car park while a police clearance operation had been conducted against a protest in the vicinity. They observed a minute's silence in memory of him. The mourners lit candles and placed flowers near the car park wall. Others displayed posters about the protests. Some masked protesters attempted to block a major intersection in the area. They pulled old cabinets and a sofa from a rubbish collection point nearby and tried to put them outside the PopCorn mall. Police sirens were heard, causing the protesters to flee back to the car park. The protesters later dug up bricks near the car park and scattered them on a nearby road. They also fled as soon as riot police arrived.
Police were deployed to a "Lennon Wall" in Tsuen Wan overnight, as tensions flared between residents of the area and a group of people who had arrived to tear down protest-related posts and messages. They were carrying rods, high-power water cleaning guns and wall scrapers. Some residents who came out to confront them were chased off by the outsiders who were wielding the tools they had brought with them. Police arrived at around half past midnight to separate the two sides and those who had planned to rip down the Lennon Wall left the area.
9 January Write with You rally Some citizens called for a "Write to You and Warm to Taiwan" rally at 1 pm in Kowloon Bay. At the peak, about 30 citizens were present to write letters to be transferred to the Taiwan solidarity protesters. The scene was generally calm, no slogans were heard. Most of the participants left on their own after writing a letter. During the event, riot police were stationed.
ICAC investigation About 60 people, in Quarry Bay Station gathered outside to chant slogans. Others marched to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) headquarters. The marchers were dissatisfied with Legislative Councillor Lam Cheuk-ting, who earlier disclosed to the media that the superintendent responsible for a fight was being investigated by the ICAC. According to Article 30 (1) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance, it is an offence to disclose the identity of the person being investigated to the public, or any specific person, without lawful authority and reasonable excuse.
10 January Dozens of people protested chanting anti-government slogans and some protesters stomped on pictures of Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping, Chief Executive Carrie Lam and Police commissioner Chris Tang. Later police officers were seen scraping the pictures off the floor. Around 20 riot police officers were present but the protest ended without any confrontations. Some displayed placards calling for an independent probe into alleged police brutality and to disband the force immediately. When the riot police walked past, some insults were also hurled at them.
11 January Citywide Lennon Day Some citizens launched the "Lennon Day" in multiple districts. The event was convened at 2 pm, and the "Yuen Tso Celebration" was held near the Central Government Complex where the Lennon Wall first appeared in Hong Kong. Police where deployed in multiple areas. More than a dozen demonstrators went to make Lennon Walls, in participation with the "Lennon, Warrior Thanksgiving Ceremony" event, outside the Admiralty Government headquarters, followed by a tram to Causeway Bay, and finally glass of a footbridge on Percival Street. Protesters put stickers and posters on the boards.
Riot police suspected of law enforcement within the British consulate At about 5:30 pm, around 20 young people responded to the "Lennon Day" event, and posted the anti-government posters outside the British Consulate General. Suddenly, two or three police officers stopped vehicles approaching, claiming that someone had been hurt at the scene. At least one girl was arrested. People at the scene said that the gray steps where they were located on was part of British territory. Saying that the police could not enforce the law on the step. Later, the British Conservative Party member of the Commission on Human Rights Luke de Pulford on Twitter issued a document, expressed concern about the peaceful expression of the demands of young protesters, suspected to be arrested within the scope of the consulate that requires immediate attention. Later, in a response to an inquiry by Hong Kong Free Press, the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Commonwealth acknowledged that the British Consulate General in Hong Kong had proactively called the police.
12 January