Hong Kong roads reopen as police pull down protesters’ barricades
Print Edition
HONG Kong police yesterday vowed to tear down more street barricades manned by Occupy Central protesters, hours after hundreds of officers armed with chainsaws and boltcutters partially cleared two major roads that had been occupied for a fortnight.
In a concerted effort to reduce the territory held by protesters, police dismantled barricades in the bustling shopping district of Causeway Bay and on the edge of the main protest encampment in Admiralty, near the city government’s headquarters.
After 16 days of the Occupy movement, police armed with a variety of power tools began removing barricades that had been blocking Queensway since the movement began on September 28. A small group of protesters tried to resist, but, hugely outnumbered, they soon backed down and there were no clashes between the two sides.
Fearing the police action, protesters had on Monday sought to fortify their defenses with concrete blocks, but the makeshift barricades made from bamboo poles, trash cans and steel fencing were no match for a determined police force. Once dismantled, the blockades were taken away in a fleet of trucks.
Protesters along Queensway were allowed to reclaim their tents and the area was cordoned off. The entire highway was reopened to traffic before noon.
“We have experienced inconvenience for more than two weeks and finally we could take the bus to work,” an office worker surnamed Chow said.
“I support the police action and hope the protesters leave peacefully.”
A tourist from China’s mainland said the protest shouldn’t interfere with people’s lives.
“As far as I know, Hong Kong is a place in which people respect the rule of law and social order. Their (the protesters) behavior humiliates Hong Kong.”
Police in Hong Kong also yesterday said they will soon move on the protest site in Mong Kok, a commercial area of Kowloon, where they plan to remove road barriers but will not evict protesters.
“Mong Kok is a high-risk area. Our officers are ready to take action to remove obstacles there,” Senior Superintendent Hui Chun-tak said, without giving a timeframe.
Police teams are prepared for protestors reinforcing their barricades as they did in other areas of the city, he said.
After more than two weeks of disruption in Hong Kong, its chief executive Leung Chun-ying said on Monday he hoped the protests would end “as quickly as possible.”
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