Police dragnet descends on HK campus protesters
Hong Kong police fought protesters on Monday as they tried to break through a cordon trapping hundreds in a university.
Hong Kong police using teargas and batons fought protesters on Monday as they tried to break through a cordon trapping hundredson a university campus.
Protesters advanced on the police from outside the cordon, while others emerged from the campus. Police used teargas and insome places swooped in to subdue protesters and make arrests. It wasn’t clear if any of those inside Hong Kong PolytechnicUniversity escaped.
Hong Kong’s work week started with many protests that disrupted traffic, schools closed because of safety concerns and a temporarylull in the pitched battles for control of the Polytechnic campus, as the emphasis shifted from battering the protesters withtear gas and water cannons to waiting for them to come out.
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For days, protesters fortified the campus to keep police from getting in. Cornered by authorities, they were trying to getout.
Officers repelled one attempt on Monday morning with teargas, driving a few hundred protesters back onto the campus.
Protesters won on a legal front when the high court struck down a mask ban imposed last month. The court said it did not consideranti- mask laws unconstitutional in general, but in this case, the law infringed on fundamental rights further than reasonablynecessary.
The ban has been widely ignored, and police have charged protesters with wearing masks.
The protests started peacefully in June, sparked by proposed legislation that would have allowed extradition to the mainland.But by the time the bill was withdrawn, the protests had broadened into a pro-democracy movement. Activists see the extraditionbill as an example of Hong Kong’s eroding autonomy under Beijing rule since the 1997 handover from Britain.
The head of a nationalistic Chinese newspaper said Hong Kong police should use snipers to fire live ammunition at violentprotesters. “If the rioters are killed, the police should not have to bear legal responsibility,” Global Times editor Hu Xijinwrote on Weibo.
Protesters barricaded themselves inside Polytechnic last week. Police surrounded the area on Sunday night and began movingin after issuing an ultimatum for people to leave the area.
Riot officers broke in one entrance before dawn as fires raged inside and outside the school, but they didn’t appear to getvery far. Fiery explosions were seen as protesters responded with petrol bombs. Police, who have warned that everyone in thearea could be charged with rioting, reportedly made a handful of arrests.
At daybreak, protesters remained in control of most of the campus. In one outdoor area, some demonstrators made petrol bombswhile others dozed while wearing gas masks. Two walked about with bows and arrows, while many stared at their smartphones.
“We are exhausted because we were up since 5am yesterday,” said a protester who gave only his first name, Matthew.
“We are desperate because our supplies are running low.”
A lull settled on the area as the president of the university said in a video message that police have agreed to suspend theiruse of force. Jin-Guang Teng said police would allow protesters to leave and he would accompany them to the police stationto ensure their cases would be processed fairly.
“I hope that you will accept the proposed temporary suspension of force and leave the campus in a peaceful manner,” he said.
It seemed unlikely the protesters would accept the offer given that they would all likely be arrested. A few hundred streamedout of the campus about 8.15am in an apparent bid to escape, but they were driven back by tear gas.
It seemed unlikely the protesters would accept the offer given that they would all likely be arrested. A few hundred streamedout of the campus about 8.15am in an apparent bid to escape, but they were driven back by tear gas.
A police vehicle in Hong Kong was hit by a Molotov cocktail https://t.co/qzTlrugKy2 pic.twitter.com/RXYEcG8Ckp
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 17, 2019
Some wearing gas masks calmly picked up smoking tear gas canisters and dropped them into heavy-duty bags, but the protestersdecided to retreat with a phalanx of officers lined up across the road in the distance
Police Superintendent Louis Lau warned “cold-blooded rioters” to stop using molotov cocktails, arrows, cars and other life-threatening weapons to attack police officers. If they continue such behaviour, Mr Lau said, “we will have no other choice but to use the minimal force necessary to address the situation, including real bullets.” Early Monday, PolyU council member Owan Li appealed to the Hong Kong government to “do something to save this university, save the students, save Hong Kong’s future.” Mr Li told reporters that he was terrified for the many students and protesters that were on campus. “Every single person is important. Every life is important. Every one inside is a Hong Konger.” The stakes are high for Hong Kong, a former British colony that was returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. As part of the handover agreement, Hong Kong was supposed to remain a semi-autonomous city under the “one country, two systems” regime until 2047. But the worry is a full crackdown could spell the end of Hong Kong’s autonomy and dilute its role as a global financial hub. The saga represents a black eye for China, too, which is embroiled in a bitter trade war with the US and facing increasing scrutiny around the world for its detention program targeting ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang.
Sunday’s skirmishes came a day after troops from a local garrison of China’s People’s Liberation Army made a rare appearance outside one of their barracks to help remove roadblocks and other debris. Dressed in jogging attire that some described as a propaganda stunt, the move stoked fears about the army’s future role in this city.
The Civil Human Rights Front, an umbrella group that organised some of the biggest marches and rallies over the summer, called for the Hong Kong government and police to de-escalate the situation.
“With the tense atmosphere and escalation of the use of force by police, we worry that the protesters, most of whom are our young and future generation, will face arrest with bloodshed,” the group said on Sunday.
Sunday’s clashes kicked off at the university at about 10am and remained constant nearly all day. Police said a media-liaison officer was hit in the calf by an arrow at around 2pm, adding that the attack posed “a grave threat to the safety of everyone at the scene.” The officer was taken to a hospital and was conscious, police said.
The university condemned the behaviour of those occupying the campus and urged them to leave immediately. “The university is gravely concerned that the spiralling radical illicit activities will cause not only a tremendous safety threat on campus, but also class suspension over an indefinite period of time.” After sundown, hundreds of protesters gathered on an overpass near the university where they had built barricades out of chairs, desks, tables and other items on multiple sides, squaring off with police several hundred feet away. Several wielded molotov cocktails, while another group carried a giant slingshot to the front. Riot police surrounded the area.
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