Under a November full moon, hundreds of young people dressed in black set about turning several of Hong Kong’s top universities into fortresses, well stocked with improvised weapons.
At City University of Hong Kong, protesters used table tennis tables, potted plants, furniture, sports equipment and bamboo to form a network of barricades to block roads and fortify the entrances to the student residence complex.
Hundreds of protesters wearing gas masks and helmets tore up piles of paving bricks and ceramic tiles to hurl at police, while others stockpiled dozens of gasoline bombs, distributing them to their forward positions.
Small groups sat chatting as they fashioned garden hose and nails into spikes to puncture vehicle tires.
The scene this week was repeated at nearly half a dozen campuses across Hong Kong, where demonstrators say they have been forced into taking a harder line by the government.
Until now, the pro-democracy protesters have used fast-moving, hit-and-run tactics to “be like water” and avoid arrest in clashes with police.
However, with protesters beginning to wield bows and arrows and occupying improvised barricades, the tactics threaten to take the pro-democracy campaign to a new level of risk for all sides.
The protesters say their non-violent efforts have been met by brutal police tactics and their weapons are needed to protect themselves.
Police have shot and wounded at least three protesters.
“It has never been a fair war zone,” said 23-year-old Josh, as he watched protesters practice shooting arrows at Baptist University. “We have nothing, only masks, and the police have guns. We’re only trying to defend ourselves.”
Another protester said he had begun to throw bricks after seeing police attack demonstrators.
“We try every peaceful means, but we fail,” said Chris, 19, a student from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
“We would probably throw gasoline bombs and bricks because we don’t want our friends to be injured,” he said, breaking down in tears as he described police crackdowns. “I’m willing to die for Hong Kong.”
The protesters seem increasingly intent on forcing a showdown, as small raiding parties vandalize shops and block roads, tunnels and railway lines in widening areas around their campuses.
Authorities said protesters had turned the Chinese University of Hong Kong into a “weapons factory,” prompting a crackdown on Tuesday that left many people injured in fiery clashes.
Students accused police of turning the campus into a war zone and said they have no choice but to defend themselves.
Protesters have fortified parts of the campuses of Polytechnic University and the University of Hong Kong, as well as the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Baptist University and the City University of Hong Kong.
For the first time, protesters have been arming themselves with bows looted from university sports offices.
Police said flaming arrows, a signal flare and even electric saws had been wielded against officers.
On Thursday, police said that protesters dropped flower pots and fired several arrows at officers near Polytechnic University. There were no casualties.
Protesters could be jailed for two years for assaulting a police officer, while “wounding with intent” could mean life, police said.
Hong Kong Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung (楊潤雄) chided university authorities over “riotous acts” on campuses, while University of Hong Kong president Xiang Zhang (張翔) called on students not to provoke the police into entering the campus.
“If there are any who are planning to do anything with serious consequences, such as actions likely to injure people, I appeal to them not to,” he said.
Police deny using excessive force, but have unleashed unprecedented amounts of tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets and barrages from water cannons.
In a possible preview of tactics to come, police used an armored truck with officers firing less-than-lethal rounds to break up a barricade in the Central business district on Wednesday.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong had become a “battlefield for criminals and rioters,” a police spokesman said.
“Where did all these gasoline bombs and weapons come from?” spokesman Tse Chun-chung (謝振中) asked reporters. “We have a strong suspicion that the school was used as a weapons factory.”
At the City University of Hong Kong, the dorm buildings echoed to the sound of protesters pulling up and heaping paving bricks to use as projectiles.
They knocked back cases of drinks then filled the bottles with a mixture of oil and gasoline.
At one point, the operation got more organized as supplies of food, water and medical equipment were carried in.
“There are a lot of gasoline bombs,” said one 16-year-old school student who felt compelled to join the fray. “It’s set to be a good show.”
A sense of purposeful anarchy reigned. Some protesters picked up litter, sorting it for recycling, while here and there a couple waded through the crowd, masked and in black, holding hands.
University officials were nowhere to be seen, except for the residence guards who sat at their desks as protesters appropriated everything within reach.
Occasionally, lookouts would sound the alarm, sparking a flurry of activity and shouts as black-clad figures crouched behind barricades, umbrellas and homemade shields held at the ready.
Some anxious international students scurried past, suitcases in hand. Others took photographs.
Volunteer medics set up a first aid station in a hall.
“I’m not afraid to get hurt, but I’m afraid of being arrested, because it means a loss of freedom,” said 19-year-old student named Thomas, as he strapped on plastic guards on his forearms and shins. “And freedom is why I’m here.”
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