Hong Kong police fire rubber bullets to force back campus protesters
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong police fired tear gas and rubber bullets on Monday to force back anti-government protesters trying to escape a university where hundreds are holed up with petrol bombs and other homemade weapons amid fears of a bloody crackdown.
Dozens tried to flee the Polytechnic University after a night of mayhem in the Chinese-ruled city in which major roads were blocked and a bridge was set on fire and a police officer was shot by a bow and arrow.
Many were arrested near the university on Monday, public broadcaster RTHK reported, while in the nearby commercial area of Nathan Road activists stopped traffic and forced shopping malls and stores to shut.
“We’ve been trapped here for too long. We need all Hong Kongers to know we need help,” said Dan, a 19year-old protester on the campus, as he burst into tears.
“I don’t know how much longer we can go on like this. We may need international help.”
Protesters tried to make another run for it in the afternoon but were met with more volleys of tear gas.
Thirty-eight people were wounded overnight on Sunday, the city’s Hospital Authority said. Reuters witnesses saw some protesters suffering from burns from chemicals in jets fired from police water cannons.
“Remember you have life in your hands. Why do you need to push us to death?” one person shouted at police from a campus rooftop as protesters wearing gas masks and clutching umbrellas looked for ways to escape.
Police urged protesters to “drop their weapons” and leave.
“Police appeal to everyone inside the Polytechnic University to drop their weapons and dangerous items, remove their gas masks and leave via the top level of Cheong Wan Road South Bridge in an orderly manner,” they said in a statement.
“They should follow police instructions and must not charge at police cordons.”
Police said they fired three live rounds when “rioters” attacked two officers who were attempting to arrest a woman. No one was wounded and the woman escaped amid a dramatic escalation of the unrest that has plunged the Asian financial hub into chaos for almost six months.
China says it is committed to the “one country, two systems” formula granting Hong Kong autonomy, with the city’s police accusations they use undue violence.
Face mask ban unconstitutional
A government ban on demonstrators wearing face masks, aimed at helping to quell months of prodemocracy unrest in Hong Kong, is unconstitutional, the territory’s high court ruled Monday.
“The restrictions it imposes on fundamental rights... go further than is reasonably necessary... and therefore fail to meet the proportionality test,’’ the court said, according to a press summary.
The ban on face-covering came into force in October, when the city’s unelected pro-Beijing leader invoked colonial-era legislation for the first time in more than 50 years.
Use of force
The United States condemned the “unjustified use of force” in Hong Kong and called on Beijing to protect Hong Kong’s freedom, a senior official in President Donald Trump’s administration said.
Asked about the clean-up operation, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said their efforts were welcomed by Hong Kong citizens.
The Hong Kong garrison “has the determination, confidence and capabilities to safeguard sovereignty, security and development interests of Hong Kong in accordance with the Basic Law and the Garrison Law and to ensure long term prosperity and stability in Hong Kong,” Wu said, speaking on the sidelines of a defense conference in Bangkok.