Chinese troops join Hong Kong cleanup as protesters retreat

HONG KONG – Most anti-government protesters abandoned their occupation of Hong Kong’s universities yesterday, while the small contingents that remained harassed some of those cleaning up and kept a major cross-harbor tunnel closed.

City workers, residents and even some Chinese army troops stationed in the semiautonomous territory came out to clear streets that protesters had strewn with debris to slow down any police advance while they had been on campus.

For a city now accustomed to fierce weekend clashes between police and protesters, Hong Kong had a relatively quiet Saturday. About 1,000 people turned out for an annual Gay Pride event in the center of the city.

People’s Liberation Army soldiers, dressed in black shorts and olive drab

T-shirts, joined the cleanup outside Hong Kong Baptist University, the site of clashes earlier this week.

Dozens of troops from a nearby barracks helped street cleaners pick up paving stones, rocks and other obstacles that had cluttered the street and prevented traffic from flowing. Hong Kong riot police kept watch from nearby streets.

The soldiers, jogging in formation, carrying brooms and singing in cadence, were a rare sight on the streets of the city. China maintains a garrison of about 10,000 soldiers, but they can’t operationally deploy without a request from the Hong Kong government.

There were scattered incidents of protesters arguing with people clearing roadways, and in one instance, throwing a gasoline bomb near City University of Hong Kong.