West urges both sides in Hong Kong to pull back the rage

Protesters struck Hong Kong’s transport network for a second day running as western powers voiced concern.

Protesters let rip with bricks in a clash with police at Hong Kong's City University on Tuesday. Picture: AFP

Protesters struck Hong Kong’s transport network for a second day running on Tuesday as Western powers voiced concern over spiralling violence after police shot a demonstrator and another man was set on fire.

Small bands of masked protesters blocked roads, threw objects on to rail tracks and held up subway trains, sparking cat and mouse clashes with riot police and renewed chaos on the morning commute.

Universities were also a flashpoint, with police firing teargas at protesters who had blocked roads leading to the City University of Hong Kong.

Masked activists outside Hong Kong University blocked a main road by catapulting bricks with a big slingshot from a footbridge.

Hong Kong has endured 24 straight weeks of increasingly ­violent rallies aimed at securing greater democratic freedoms from China.

On Monday, the financial hub was convulsed by some of the worst violence yet as crowds reacted to the shooting of a 21-year-old protester by rampaging through train stations, barricading streets and vandalising shops throughout the day and night.

Footage also emerged of a man being doused with a flammable liquid and set ablaze by a masked assailant. Both the man set alight and the shot protester were in a critical condition on Tuesday.

The violence prompted the US and Britain to urge Beijing and Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam to find a compromise, but there is ­little sign Beijing or Ms Lam are willing to offer any concessions.

“We condemn violence on all sides, extend our sympathies to victims of violence regardless of their political inclinations, and call for all parties — police and protesters — to exercise restraint,” US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said.

Britain said the latest violence was “deeply disturbing”.

“Political dialogue is the only way forward and we want to see the Hong Kong authorities agree a path to resolve this situation,” Downing Street said.

As clashes raged on Monday, Ms Lam said protesters were indulging in “wishful thinking” if they thought violence would achieve political change.

On Tuesday, she criticised protesters and praised people who tried to make it into work.

Ms Lam has been either unable or unwilling to end the political crisis as Beijing insists she takes a hard line. In a leaked recording from September, Ms Lam told business leaders her room for manoeuvre was “very, very, very limited” and that she “has to serve two masters”.

AFP