Hong Kong students in great escape from police
Protesters escaped from a police siege at a Hong Kong university by abseiling from a bridge and fleeing on the back of motorbikes.
Around 100 others who tried to leave the Polytechnic University were forced to dodge a hail of rubber bullets and tear gas. some were arrested.
A total of 116 people were injured in the violence yesterday. Dozens of pro-democracy activists including students managed to clamber down slowly on ropes on to the motorway, hugging each other before hopping on motorcycles.
their riders nimbly evaded the police bombardment from above before taking their passengers away from the makeshift battleground. One escaping student fell while trying to carry herself down from the bridge and was seen being lifted into the back of an ambulance.
In a warning sign of further escalation, a student posted a picture on the internet of a home-made bomb from inside the university. It shows a gas canister with dozens of hefty bolts tied around it.
the crude explosive would prove fatal to anybody stood close enough. the fevered scenes at the university came as the Chinese ambassador to the UK once again accused Britain of ‘taking sides’ with the protesters.
Liu Xiaoming also warned Beijing would not ‘sit on its hands’ as the Kowloon area of Hong Kong is mired in clashes. As many as 500 people have been camped out at the Polytechnic University over the past week. It has become the site of a pitched battle between protesters and police.
the campus has been surrounded by officers in riot gear, who warned they were prepared to use live bullets if the demonstrators do not relent. the violence is some of the worst seen during months of unrest in the semiautonomous Chinese territory.
China has warned that ‘no one should underestimate [its] will to safeguard its sovereignty and Hong Kong’s stability’.
But the protesters show little sign of backing down, returning fire from the police with bows and arrows and petrol bombs.
the activists are fighting for their political freedom, including the right to free and fair elections. they are also worried by China’s increasing influence over the former British colony, which has enjoyed Western- style personal liberty for decades.
the previously urbane financial hub has now descended into a chaotic arena of war as armed police are determined to break into the campus and arrest the protesters. Activists inside set fire to the entrance yesterday morning, hemming themselves in but also preventing anybody from being able to storm the site.