New | ‘Umbrellas more aggressive weapons than useless tear gas’, claims pro-Beijing lawmaker

A pro-Beijing lawmaker in Hong Kong has claimed that the umbrellas carried by the territory's pro-democracy protesters are more dangerous than the tear gas and pepper spray used against them.

Leung Che-cheung told bemused colleagues today that the evidence was there in classic Hong Kong kung-fu movies, where the hero used an umbrella to fight the villain.

“It is basic common sense that an umbrella can be an aggressive weapon, but many lawmakers are just completely ignorant about history,” Leung lamented.

Pro-democracy protesters, now in their third week of occupying main roads around Hong Kong, have become famous for their umbrellas - initially brought to protect against sun and rain, but later employed against pepper spray.

The protests were soon christened the "Umbrella Movement", an identity demonstrators have eagerly embraced.

“The umbrella can be used as shelter from the rain and the sun, as a walking stick, or as a stick to [protect yourself] from stray dogs … It’s aggressive,” Leung continued on Thursday. “But tear gas and pepper spray are useless weapons … because they cannot make protesters fall [down], they just come back time after time.”