Hong Kong police have confirmed that they made three arrests near Prince Edward station on Monday as people gathered there seven years since officers stormed train carriages amid citywide protests.

People gather outside Prince Edward station on August 31, 2026. Photo: The Collective.

One woman and two men were arrested around the MTR station on Monday evening for alleged disorderly conduct in a public place, police said in a written response to HKFP.

The arrestees, aged 33 to 79, have been released on bail and told to report to police in early October.

‘Support freedom’

Local news outlet The Collective reported on Monday that people had arrived at the scene to lay yellow and white flowers in commemoration of the incident.

Among them were activist and dentist Lee Ying-chi, who was fired by her clinic in July after she staged a solo protest on the seventh anniversary of an infamous mob attack targeting protesters and passers-by in Yuen Long on July 21, 2019.

As rain fell on Monday evening, one person held up a yellow umbrella printed with Chinese characters that read: “Support freedom, oppose the evil law” – a 2019 protest slogan that appeared on umbrellas distributed by the now-shuttered newspaper Apple Daily.

A passerby holds an umbrella printed with a 2019 protest slogan as rains falls around Prince Edward station on August 31, 2026. Photo: The Collective.

Police officers stopped and searched several people outside the station, with at least three led into police vehicles, The Collective reported.

Sensitive date

Monday marked the seventh anniversary of a significant episode during the protests and unrest of 2019. On August 31, 2019, baton-wielding riot police stormed Prince Edward MTR station following hours of protest clashes. Officers were filmed pepper-spraying people in carriages as they drove away reporters and medics.

Discrepancies in official records of injuries and the closure of the station fuelled unverified rumours of civilian deaths. The police watchdog largely cleared the force of wrongdoing but faced criticism for lacking independence and investigatory powers in its probe.

The incident sparked widespread public outrage and the date remains sensitive for both police and supporters of the protests, which erupted in June 2019 over a since-axed extradition bill.

These escalated into sometimes violent displays of dissent against police behaviour, amid calls for democracy and anger over Beijing’s encroachment. Demonstrators demanded an independent probe into police conduct, amnesty for those arrested and a halt to the characterisation of protests as “riots.”