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Hong Kong democracy protesters brace for final camp shutdown Hong Kong democracy protesters brace for final camp shutdown
(about 3 hours later)
BEIJING – Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters are bracing for what could be a final showdown with police later this week after a court order Tuesday authorized the removal of barricades and the clearing of roads at the main protest site. BEIJING — Hong Kong police said Tuesday they would clear the city’s main pro-democracy camp later this week, setting up a possible final showdown with protesters after a court order authorized the sweeps.
Bailiffs and the police will begin the operation to clear large swathes of the main site in Admiralty district at 9 a.m. on Thursday, according to a lawyer representing a bus company that brought the successful court action. The operation, set to begin Thursday, reflects the waning support for demonstrators after more than two months of civil disobedience and clashes that began over Beijing’s role in directing elections in the former British colony.
Police are preparing to deploy 3,000 officers, and may take the opportunity to clear the entire protest area, including roads not covered by the court order, Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post reported, citing unidentified police officials. Sympathy for the student-led protesters was high at the outset, especially after police used tear gas. But support has fallen during the prolonged occupation and in response to more confrontational tactics by the radical fringe, whose members tried to break into government offices.
“What I would like to do now is to perhaps make a public plea to the students to stay away the scene when there is plenty of time,” Paul Tse, a lawyer for the bus company, told reporters Tuesday. Authorities will begin clearing the main site in Hong Kong’s Admiralty district at 9 a.m. on Thursday, according to a lawyer representing a bus company that brought the successful court action.
Numbers have dwindled sharply at the pro-democracy protests in recent weeks and morale among protesters is low, while public support for the protests has also dissipated. Some protesters have begun packing their tents and removing artwork from the site this week in anticipation of the final clear-out. Although the court order did not cover the entire protest site, police said they would take the opportunity to clear all the occupied areas.
Police shut down another protest site in Mong Kok late last month after a separate court order, making around 160 arrests in several nights of clashes with protesters. “After we assist the bailiffs clearing the areas in the injunction, we will clear the rest of the occupied areas according to the law,” the assistant police commissioner, Cheung Tak-Keung, told a news conference, warning police would not allow protesters time to pack up their belongings and would arrest anyone who obstructed them.
Activists at a third, much smaller site in Causeway Bay may leave of their own accord this week, one of their members told the Bloomberg news agency. “Police will not take actions if protesters stick to their original principles of peace and non-violence, but we have seen violence being used,” he said. “Protesters should not step up their actions or police will have to use more force.”
Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said officers would use “minimum force” while clearing the streets this week, but has also warned they could face “fierce resistance.” Numbers have dwindled sharply at the pro-democracy protests in recent weeks and morale appears to be flagging. Some protesters have begun packing their tents and removing artwork from the site this week in anticipation of the final clear-out.
Hundreds of people thronged the site late Tuesday to capture what could be the last photos of the area, which has been part of the most serious challenge to China’s control of Hong Kong since it was handed over in 1997.
Police shut down another protest site in another Hong Kong district, Mong Kok, late last month after a separate court order, making around 160 arrests in several nights of clashes with protesters.
Activists at a third, much-smaller site in Causeway Bay may leave of their own accord this week, one of their members told the Bloomberg news agency.
Hong Kong’s chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, said officers would use “minimum force” while clearing the streets this week, but has also warned they could face “fierce resistance.”
The protest movement began as a non-violent civil disobedience campaign in late September, campaigning for full democracy and free elections to choose Leung’s successor in 2017. Beijing demands the right to screen candidates in those elections.The protest movement began as a non-violent civil disobedience campaign in late September, campaigning for full democracy and free elections to choose Leung’s successor in 2017. Beijing demands the right to screen candidates in those elections.
Sympathy for the student-led protesters was high at the outset, especially after police used tear gas on the protesters. But the prolonged occupation has cost the activists public support, as have the actions of a radical fringe, whose members tried to break into government offices last month and have behaved more aggressively with the police. Although public support has fallen off, police also have become less popular for their handling of the protests, according to an opinion poll released Tuesday.
More recently, students have tried to breathe new life into the protest movement by attempting to surround government buildings and, when that simply caused more clashes with police, by staging a hunger strike. However, the most prominent hunger striker, 18-year-old student leader Joshua Wong, abandoned that effort at the weekend on doctor’s orders after nearly five days. The study, conducted by Hong Kong University’s Public Opinion Monitoring Program in late November, showed the popularity of the police force hitting its lowest level since the Chinese takeover 17 years ago.
Recently, students have tried to breathe new life into the protest movement by attempting to surround government buildings and, when that simply caused more clashes with police, by staging a hunger strike.
However, the most prominent hunger striker, 18-year-old student leader Joshua Wong, abandoned that effort at the weekend on doctor’s orders after nearly five days.
Benny Tai, the law professor who came up with the original idea to occupy streets, said it was now time to end that phase of the pro-democracy movement.Benny Tai, the law professor who came up with the original idea to occupy streets, said it was now time to end that phase of the pro-democracy movement.
“Continuing the occupation is high risk with low return,” he wrote in the Apple Daily newspaper on Tuesday.“Continuing the occupation is high risk with low return,” he wrote in the Apple Daily newspaper on Tuesday.
But experts say the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong will not end once the streets are cleared. With young people increasingly politicized and alienated from the Communist Party government in Beijing, and support for democracy still high, there are certain to more protests in the years to come, they say. But experts say the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong will not end once the streets are cleared. With young people increasingly politicized and alienated from the Communist Party government in Beijing — and support for democratic reforms still high — there are likely to be more protests in coming years, many predict.
“If we look at it from winning over Hong Kong’s people. It has already achieved a lot, even more than what was expected,” argued Tai.“If we look at it from winning over Hong Kong’s people. It has already achieved a lot, even more than what was expected,” argued Tai.