A Pigeon Was Tear-Gassed in the Protests. Hong Kongers Stopped to Help.

Throughout the now five-month-long series of rallies, Hong Kong citizens have been facing the brutal impacts of police retaliation. Some protesters, including children and teenagers, have been beaten, shot, and arrested.

Violence erupted again over the weekend, and the latest victim to take the internet by storm is a pigeon who got tear-gassed. This could have passed as a minor casualty but some people took it upon themselves to help the bird out, according to netizens.

A video posted on the Reddit thread r/HongKong by user Little_Lightbulb last night shows people rinsing the pigeon who got tear-gassed. They can be seen gently pouring water on the pigeon's head and petting the distressed animal. Then, the pigeon is seen drinking water from a bottle cap.

"A pigeon got tear-gassed. People help rinse away the chemical from it's (sic) eyes and skin with clean water," the post says.

The pigeon does not fly away throughout the video and stayed next to those helping out.

There is no information about where exactly the video was taken.

Police used tear gas after protests escalated in the Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district yesterday. Despite authorities forbidding the rally, thousands of Hong Kongers took to the streets for an anti-government march.

The Hong Kong protests started in June, in opposition to an extradition bill that would allow suspected criminals to be tried in China. The bill has since been scrapped, but the ongoing protests have expanded into a widespread pro-democracy movement.

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