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Hong Kong police clear pro-democracy demonstrators’ protest site Hong Kong police clear pro-democracy demonstrators’ protest site
(about 4 hours later)
HONG KONG — Police cleared demonstrators from one of Hong Kong’s largest protest sites Wednesday and arrested two student leaders at the forefront of the pro-democracy movement that has gripped the Asian financial hub for two months. HONG KONG — Police cleared the remaining barricades from one of Hong Kong’s largest protest sites Wednesday and arrested two pro-democracy leaders as authorities stepped up their efforts to end the two-month-long civil disobedience campaign.
Crowds gathered near the protest site in the city’s Mong Kok shopping district cheered and clapped as the final protesters were removed from the site that has become a flashpoint between protesters and those intent on breaking up the protests. Hundreds of protesters chanted for “full democracy” as workers in red caps and “I love Hong Kong” T-shirts began clearing the metal and wooden barricades in the shopping streets of Mong Kok, a crowded working-class neighborhood that has become a flash point between protesters and opponents during the occupation.
Although scuffles broke out when the riot police moved against the protesters after clashes overnight, there was no serious violence Wednesday, according to news reports. The protests and clashes — which began over Beijing’s controls over Hong Kong elections — increased into a wider challenge over central government control in the former British colony and whether its traditions of relative freedoms can endure.
Traffic flowed freely in the busy area for the first time since protesters took to the streets in late September to demand greater democracy in the former British colony. Authorities opened dialogue with demonstrators, but have refused to significantly change policies over the administration of Hong Kong, which was turned over by Britain in 1997.
Police Wednesday also arrested Joshua Wong and Lester Shum, two of the leaders of the protest movement that has posed the biggest challenge to China since Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule in 1997. On Wednesday, police in helmets soon waved away the workers and took over the operation, gathering up more barricades, as well as tents, canopies and other debris. Onlookers clapped and cheered the police as they cleared the final obstructions.
The clearing of the Mong Kok protest site came a day after police arrested at least 86 pro-democracy demonstrators, after an attempt to clear occupied streets descended into scuffles, confrontation and chaos. “You are kids, and the whole of society does not support you,” one woman shouted at the protesters.
On Tuesday morning, bailiffs and contractors wearing hard hats had removed some of the barricades in Mong Kok following an injunction brought by a minibus company that had complained that its business was hurt. Authorities have recently begun using bailiffs and the courts as a way to whittle away at the protest sites. The operation was carried out after taxi drivers won a court case demanding the streets be cleared. Public opinion has turned against the civil disobedience campaign the longer it has dragged on, although support remains strong for the protesters’ goals.
The exercise began peacefully, with protesters offering no resistance as workers removed barricades and wooden pallets blocking the road. But as workers moved down the street, removing tents and other items — and as more protesters arrived — tensions began to rise. Riot police and protesters faced off intermittently during the day, with officers slowly pushing activists back and arresting anyone who failed to retreat quickly enough.
As the day wore on, police made several attempts to force protesters back, using batons, shields and pepper spray — and hauling to the ground, handcuffing and arresting any who did not retreat quickly enough. Protesters wore masks and goggles, and some carried wooden shields to defend themselves. Some staged “mobile occupations,” blocking traffic on surrounding streets. Among those arrested were Joshua Wong, the 18-year-old protester who is the most recognizable face of the movement, and Lester Shum, one the leaders of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, who took part in talks with the government last month.
The protesters who were detained face charges including criminal contempt of court, unlawful assembly, resisting or obstructing police, assault on a police officer, and possession of an offensive weapon, police said. Wong and Shum were also both detained at the start of the protest movement in late September, and held for a day or two before being released. At the time, the arrests — as well as the use of tear gas by the police — had generated a wave of sympathy for the student movement. It was not clear, however, if the detentions would have the same effect now.
Mong Kok, a working-class neighborhood, has been home to a more unruly crowd of protesters than the main occupation site in the Admiralty district, but demonstrators in Mong Kok have also faced more anger and threats from local residents. Police spokesman Steve Hui said a total of 148 people had been arrested in two days of clashes in Mong Kok, for offences ranging from contempt of court, obstructing police officers carrying out their duties, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly, with and at least one person held for possessing an offensive weapon. Around 20 police officers were hurt in the worst of the confrontations on Tuesday, police said.
Support for the civil-disobedience action mounted by the pro-democracy demonstrators has diminished in recent weeks, opinion polls show, although support for democracy remains strong. The main protest site at Admiralty, in the heart of Hong Kong’s financial and government hub, remains largely untouched, with thousands of tents still pitched there. But it’s widely believed it is only a matter of time before police also move in there to clear the streets.
Protesters remained defiant, however. The protests have sharply divided opinion in Hong Kong. Many young people tend to support the occupation and older people are often opposed.
“Even if they clear this place, our will to fight for genuine universal suffrage hasn’t changed,” 27-year-old protester Ken Chu, wearing a bright yellow safety helmet and a gas mask, told the Reuters news agency Tuesday. “It will only inspire people to think of other ways to continue this movement.” Tensions have been highest in Mong Kok, with protesters facing abuse and sometimes violence from opponents.
Denyer reported from Beijing; Deane reported from London. A previous police attempt to clear streets in Mong Kok had foundered in October, after thousands of protesters thronged the streets, but this time around the police came in greater numbers and with more determination.
“You can’t defeat the protesters’ hearts!” screamed Liu Yuk-lin, a 52-year-old protester in a hard hat holding a yellow umbrella, the symbol of the movement, as she stood before lines of police, according to the Reuters news agency.
The clearance operation lasted around three hours, and traffic began flowing normally an area that had been blocked since protesters began calling for more democracy in late September.
The Hong Kong Federation of Students accused the government of violence and of “stepping on people’s demands” after refusing to make any significant concessions to their demands.
“We have tried every method of communication, but that road has ended,” the group said in a statement. “If the government continues like this, we will have to escalate our actions.”
Fei Ko, a 53-year-old man, said the occupation had disrupted his daily commute and his wife’s tourism business.
“We are all citizens that have rights to use the roads, and police better clear them,” he said.
Mee Li, a 40-year-old woman who works in hotel services, said the police had been very tolerant for two months. “The police method of clearance is right, there is no such thing as too much violence,” she said. “If police don’t act, the protesters won’t retreat.”
Denyer reported from Beijing. Deane reported from London.