Hong Kong protests escalate

HONG KONG Hong Kong protesters defied tear gas volleys and thronged the streets in their thousands, Monday, after overnight clashes with police, paralysing parts of the city as they demanded Beijing allow unfettered elections.
Travel advisories are warning travellers to be cautious. Hong Kong is one of the most popular destinations for tourists from Southeast Asia and China.
The rare scenes — in which crowds faced down riot police in the worst unrest since the handover to China in 1997 — brought widespread disruption as commuters struggled to make their way into work leaving many schools and businesses shuttered.
Protesters have defiantly stuck to their demands for full universal suffrage after Beijing last month said it would allow elections for the city’s next leader in 2017 but would vet the candidates — a decision branded a “fake democracy”.
As morning broke over the city, thousands of protesters remained in control of at least three major thoroughfares with a significantly reduced police presence after hours of tear gas and running battles.
Many tried to snatch some sleep where they could, fearful that the police might return at any minute.
“We are more confident now, the police don’t have enough officers to close down the districts where there are protests,” Ivan Yeung, a 27-year-old who works in marketing, told AFP after a night camped out in the busy Causeway Bay shopping district.
- Dramatic escalation -
The clashes marked a dramatic escalation of protests in the city, which rarely sees such unrest, after a tense week of largely contained student-led demonstrations exploded into mass angry street protests.
Students have boycotted classes in the past week, which saw the central government complex stormed, with pro-democracy group Occupy Central on Sunday bringing forward a mass civil disobedience campaign that had been due to start on 1 October.
Demonstrators have decried the police’s use of tear gas — the first in the city since anti-WTO protests in 2005 — but the authorities have defended their conduct, calling the ongoing protests unlawful.
Overnight Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying insisted demonstrators withdraw from the streets.
“I am appealing to the people that are blocking the streets to leave peacefully as soon as you can, to not allow the daily lives of Hong Kong people to be disrupted by blocked traffic,” he said.
He also quashed rumours circulating on social media that the city authorities planned to call in the People’s Liberation Army, which stations a garrison in the city.
“There is absolutely no proof of this,” he said.
But the protest leadership showed little sign of backing down.
“Anyone with a conscience should be ashamed to be associated with a government that is so indifferent to public opinion,” Occupy said in a statement Monday.
Protesters are demanding that Leung step down and that Beijing rescind its decision last month that anyone standing for election to the city’s top post in 2017 must be vetted by a loyalist committee first.
- Commuters frustrated -
For commuters in the already densely populated and congested city, the ongoing protests brought widespread disruption.
More than 200 bus routes were cancelled or diverted as well as large sections of the city’s tram networks. The underground railway was operational but exits at several subway stations in key areas were closed.
An AFP reporter on the scene in Mongkok — one of the most densely populated suburbs of the city and the site of a second protest across the harbour in Kowloon — saw angry confrontations between protestors and members of the public frustrated at the disruption.
Multiple businesses and schools remained shuttered in protest areas.
The city’s stock exchange opened as usual, but sank 1.18% as investors fretted about the potential impact the ongoing disruption could have on a key regional market.
A total of 41 people had been treated in hospital for injuries sustained during the protests, RTHK reported.
Officers have so far made 78 arrests for offences ranging from forcible entry into government premises, unlawful assembly, disorderly conduct in public place and assaulting public officers.
Former colonial power Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” deal that guarantees liberties not seen on the mainland, including freedom of speech and the right to protest.

sourced:ttrweekly.com