HONG KONG—A standoff between protesters and police at a university here extended into a second evening, with police keeping the area on lockdown while refraining from using the lethal force they had threatened, as increasingly militant antigovernment activists battled back.
When dozens of black-clad protesters jumped railings on Monday afternoon and tried to flee the Hong Kong Polytechnic University campus where the standoff is taking place, police fired tear gas, pepper bullets and water cannon at them, driving many back in. Scuffles broke out as protesters hurled bricks while holding umbrellas for cover. Later Monday, police and government officials urged protesters to give themselves up peacefully.
Police in riot gear, including members of an elite squad known as the Raptors, made some arrests in close combat, including wrestling to the ground several demonstrators who had fought back, causing some bloody scenes. Live video feeds showed a few protesters evading police and running up alleyways and into greenery at the university as they tried to avoid arrest. It was unclear how many successfully fled.
At a police blockade line near the university, a woman who said her daughter was trapped inside the campus burst into tears in front of a couple of police officers. “Please let my daughter go,” said the woman, who knelt down to beg. “Or I would jump from a building in front of you.” Shortly afterward, others joined her for an impromptu sit-in.
The university confrontation, which began a week ago and intensified Sunday morning, has marked an escalation in the tactics underlying the protesters’ strategy. What started as a largely peaceful movement more than five months ago before turning violent has recently taken a yet more combative turn.
Last week, protesters at universities—who include college- and high-school-aged activists as well as older demonstrators—began driving the action more. They began stockpiling makeshift weapons and adopting more aggressive tactics in an effort to maintain the movement’s momentum, fighting with police in several districts near campuses. Protesters began using bows and arrows and adopting the sustained use of slingshots as well as more Molotov cocktails.
Late Sunday, police had threatened to use lethal force if necessary to combat attacks from protesters, who at several times during the day were hurling Molotov cocktails almost continuously. Protesters had gathered at PolyU after a week of clashes at universities, and caused disruptions at the Cross-Harbor Tunnel—a key artery that connects two main parts of the city.
The standoff continued as a law banning people from wearing masks at protests was ruled unconstitutional Monday by Hong Kong’s High Court. The ruling marks a setback for the government, which had imposed the measure under emergency powers in an attempt to quell the unrest.
A commentary published Monday by the People’s Daily newspaper, a mouthpiece of China’s ruling Communist Party, said there should be no room for compromise with protesters, adding that Hong Kong’s future had reached a crisis point. It said there would be no toleration of radical, violent activities that challenged the “one country, two systems” principle that governs China’s relationship with semiautonomous Hong Kong.
Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Wu Qian, speaking to reporters at a regional conference of defense officials in Bangkok, cited a Nov. 14 speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping in which he said the president gave “the highest direction of the central government” to end violence and restore order in Hong Kong. He called it the army’s most pressing task in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam has stayed mostly out of the public eye during the standoff, though she did visit a police officer who was shot by an arrow during Sunday’s clashes at PolyU. In a Facebook post Monday she referred to the protesters as “rioters” and condemned the destruction of facilities in and around campus, as well as the use of Molotov cocktails and bricks.
“The police have made many appeals; whoever is inside the Polytechnic University campus should listen as soon as they can,” Mrs. Lam wrote.
Inside the campus, meanwhile, protesters were trapped inside facilities, according to a student there. The surrounding of the campus by police and their use of tear gas on those trying to leave allowed protesters no choice but to hide inside, he said. There were enough food and supplies to last for another day or two, he said. Those inside the university face arrest for rioting if they surrender, and if convicted could face up to a decade in prison.
Police said Monday that Red Cross volunteers had been allowed to enter PolyU to provide first aid. Previously, police had blocked access for many volunteers hoping to enter the campus to provide aid to the wounded, and photos circulating on social media showed a number of first-aid volunteers had been arrested when trying to leave the campus.
“Since a large amount of weapons, including petrol bombs and explosives, remain on PolyU campus, and dangerous chemicals have been stolen from the laboratory, this poses a grave threat to public safety,” a police statement said. It added that police give “great importance to the injured people at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the rights of arrested persons.”
The city’s Hospital Authority said Monday that 38 people, ranging from 16 to 84 years old, had been taken to hospitals with injuries over the weekend. Five were in serious condition and the rest were either stable or had been discharged.
The police said 154 people had been arrested over the same period, including at least one as young as 13, bringing the total number of arrests to 4,491 since the protest movement began on June 9. Some of those arrested included self-identified medics and some who identified as journalists but couldn’t provide valid credentials.
Police also said they had used live bullets twice, on Sunday night and early Monday morning. In one skirmish, officers fired at a car that attempted to hit a police roadblock.
More skirmishes developed across Hong Kong on Monday and showed few signs of letting up. At 9 p.m., police were firing tear gas and rubber bullets in Jordan, an area in Kowloon near the university, while protesters countered with Molotov cocktails and fire bombs. Black-clad demonstrators as well as regularly dressed people filled the streets again at nighttime, many trying to get food, water and supplies to PolyU.
Loud explosions occurred repeatedly, with big fires in the streets and heavy clouds of smoke hovering over the area. Fliers on social media suggested the roads had been doused with fuel, making the explosions even bigger. Roads were littered with bamboo barricades, umbrellas and garbage, which riot police attempted to clear.
Protesters also gathered again in Central, the bustling financial district, which last week was engulfed in tear gas.
Meanwhile, the city’s Education Bureau announced that primary and secondary schools would remain closed. Classes are expected to resume on Wednesday, almost a week after they were initially suspended, the bureau said. Kindergartens and special-needs schools are expected to remain suspended until Sunday.
Related Coverage
—Rachel Yeo in Singapore and Nancy A. Youssef in Bangkok contributed to this article.
Write to Natasha Khan at natasha.khan@wsj.com, Joyu Wang at joyu.wang@wsj.com and Steven Russolillo at steven.russolillo@wsj.com
Copyright ©2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
https://www.wsj.com/articles/hong-kong-protesters-trapped-in-university-standoff-please-let-my-daughter-go-11574074401
2019-11-18 13:43:00Z
52780435950054
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Hong Kong Police Trap Protesters in Campus Standoff: ‘Please Let My Daughter Go’ - The Wall Street Journal"
Post a Comment