Leave the streets, HK protesters told
Print Edition
THE lives of Hong Kong’s citizens has been severely affected by the Occupy Central movement and they want a return to normal life as soon as possible without causing a huge conflict, Chief Executive CY Leung said yesterday.
He was speaking in south China’s Guangzhou City where he was attending the Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Cooperation and Development Forum. He also repeated his insistence he would not be resigning.
Leung said that police had been dealing with the Occupy Central movement with “maximum tolerance.” But he also said the situation could not go on forever, and called on protesters to leave the streets.
Police began removing barricades set up by protesters on both sides of Hong Kong’s harbor yesterday morning.
The move to dismantle blockades on the Queensway, Harcourt Road, Jackson Road, around the Arsenal Street police headquarters and in Mong Kok came as the student-led occupation of main roads in the heart of Hong Kong entered its third week.
The barricades were placed on lorries at the roadside ready to be taken away. Protesters in the areas were not resisting the operation, but were monitoring the police action.
A number of helmeted police were on standby, while officers used loud hailers to tell protesters they were not clearing the site, only trying to retrieve equipment that belonged to the force and the government.
In Mong Kok, police removed barricades at the junction of Argyle Street and Shanghai Street, enabling five lanes to reopen to traffic.
The move came after protesters had allowed the junction of Argyle and Portland Street to reopen. But police attempts to remove barricades on Mong Kok Road failed after they were confronted by protesters.
Chief Superintendent Steve Hui urged protesters to clear Queensway in Admiralty to allow tram services to run normally. He warned Occupy leaders and other citizens against using social media to encourage people to expand the protests.
Hui criticized protesters in Mong Kok after another rowdy night during which scuffles had broken out between police and people manning barricades.
He described Mong Kok as a “high-risk area” where troublemakers may gather. A total of 47 people had been arrested at the protest site there so far, he said.
Hui said more police had been deployed to the area and appealed everyone to remain calm.
Yesterday afternoon, hundreds of people opposed to the Occupy movement arrived at the protest site and scores of masked men rushed to a barricade on Queensway to confront protesters.
Angry taxi drivers who were against the protests which had seriously affected their business also rallied at one barricaded road.
“Open the roads,” the group, which also included truck drivers, chanted. Taxi drivers have given protesters a deadline of tomorrow evening for all barricades to be lifted.
Local transport officials say the MTR network had reached a “critical point” with a 20 percent increase in passengers since the protests began over two weeks ago.
Assistant Commissioner for Transport Albert Su warned that traffic congestion is expected on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon today, saying a four-day event at the Convention and Exhibition Center in Wan Chai would add to the situation.
Representatives of the catering industry have complained that the protests are affecting business and urged the government and students to hold talks.
Lawmaker Tommy Cheung said 40 percent of the restaurants in Central, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok had seen business slump by 40 percent in the past two weeks.
He said 32 percent of them had been forced to slash their business hours, while half had to reduce staff hours due to the lack of customers.
Allan Zeman, chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Holdings, said traffic problems are taking their toll on restaurant staff.
“Many of the restaurants close early as they want to send their people and staff home early,” he said.
“A lot of confidence in Hong Kong is being lost. This has gone on for too long and we must find a way to finish this,” he said.
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