Violence spreads to campuses as unrest continues

Reuters

Hong Kong protesters clashed with riot police in the city’s business district and on university campuses yesterday, extending one of the most violent stretches of unrest seen in more than five months of political chaos.

The confrontations followed a particularly brutal day on Monday, when police shot a protester who tried to grab an officer’s gun and a man was set on fire by radical protesters.

“Hong Kong’s rule of law has been pushed to the brink of total collapse,” police spokesman Kong Wing-cheung said yesterday as he denounced the latest rounds of violence.

A flash mob of more than 1,000 protesters, many wearing office clothes and face masks, rallied in Central for a second day during lunch hour, blocking roads below some of the city’s tallest skyscrapers and most expensive real estate for hours.

Hundreds of hardcore protesters, dressed in their signature black clothes and masks, then used a passenger bus to barricade a key road in the area.

They threw bricks and other objects before retreating.

Kong said masked “rioters” had committed “insane” acts, such as throwing trash, bicycles and other debris onto Metro tracks and overhead power lines, paralyzing the transport system.

He said the man set on fire on Monday was still in critical condition and appealed for information on who was responsible.

Meanwhile, universities emerged as a new battleground with sustained clashes at major campuses for the first time.

At China University of Hong Kong, protesters threw bricks and petrol bombs during an hours-long stand-off with police.

At City University, protesters used a three-person slingshot to fire bricks at police from a footbridge.

Masked activists also built barricades and blocked roads at Hong Kong University while at Polytechnic University, clashes broke out as police tried to arrest a female student.

During the morning rush hour hardcore protesters blocked roads, threw objects onto rail tracks and held up subway trains, sparking yet another bout of transport chaos throughout the city.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam yesterday termed the rioters who tried to paralyze Hong Kong by disrupting traffic as “extremely selfish.”

She said the mobs’ intention is to force a shutdown of the entire Hong Kong.

The HKSAR government is making every effort to repair the damaged public facilities, so as to provide a safe and orderly living environment for the public as soon as possible, she added.

The chief executive hoped that universities and schools in Hong Kong would advise students not to participate in violence.

Lam lauded the Hong Kong residents who volunteered to clear roadblocks set up by rioters, saying that they expressed their love for Hong Kong and injected positive energy into the chaotic society.

The HKSAR government is trying its best to hold a fair, safe, and orderly district council election, Lam said, adding that she also understands some candidates’ concerns as to whether this is a fair election because of the assaults on their offices and threats to their personal safety.