Hong Kong police began removing protesters from a key road at a pro-democracy protest site in Mong Kok yesterday as hundreds continued to block Argyle Street hours after authorities began enforcing a court injunction to open the road.
Police dragged off some people who resisted their calls to leave the area, using plastic handcuffs to subdue them before walking them to a waiting bus. Others were escorted from the area peacefully.
More than four hours after the first barricades were removed as authorities began enforcing the court injunction, the street remained jammed with protesters, onlookers and media.
Photo: EPA
The successful reopening of Argyle Street would pave the way for future action at Nathan Road, the main occupation area at Mong Kok, a densely populated working-class district that is a popular tourist and shopping area. Mong Kok, on the north side of Victoria Harbor, has seen some of the most violent clashes since the demonstrations started.
The protests, the most disruptive since China resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, were sparked by Beijing’s decision to screen candidates through a committee for the territory’s leadership election in 2017. The standoff in Mong Kok has been tense, but non-violent so far.
“We just don’t want to let the movement die,” said Donnie Li, a 25-year-old student at the Open University of Hong Kong and one of the Mong Kok protesters.
“People in Mong Kok are more energized and stronger, so people think we could upgrade this to something more physical, but we won’t,” Li added.
Public support for the movement, which swelled after police fired tear gas at umbrella-wielding demonstrators on Sept. 28, is waning. About 68 percent of respondents said the government should take action to end the student-led protests, according to a survey conducted by the University of Hong Kong on Nov. 17 and Nov. 18.
“The protesters have shined the spotlight brightly on Chinese policies regarding Hong Kong and the Hong Kong government’s complicity regarding those polices,” Michael Davis, a law professor at the university of Hong Kong, said by telephone.
“Therefore there is a high level of public attention going forward and the government in Hong Kong is going to have trouble with its own governance if it doesn’t do better than it has done so far,” Davis said.
Bailiffs last week removed barricades outside CITIC Tower in Admiralty district with little resistance from demonstrators. Admiralty, on Hong Kong Island, is the main protest site, where demonstrators have erected hundreds of tents outside the government headquarters.
Nathan Road, at the heart of the Mong Kok protest site, is also subject to a court injunction.
Yesterday, the government offered to hold talks with students, under condition they drop their main demand that China reverse its decision to vet candidates for the 2017 election.
“We are always open to communication with the students, but if they insist on some impractical conditions,” such as the reversal of China’s ruling, then there’s no room for talks, Hong Kong Chief Secretary Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) said.
Protesters’ options are shrinking after their attempts to negotiate with the government failed, a trip by representatives to Beijing was thwarted and Hong Kong courts issued injunctions for the removal of some barricades.
The movement is also splintering, with some advocating more violent action, while others want the demonstrations to end. A small group of protesters last week smashed through a glass door of the Legislative Council building in Admiralty, leading to condemnation from leaders and pro-democracy lawmakers.
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