
HONG KONG – A semblance of calm returned to one of Hong Kong’s universities on Monday (Nov 18) morning following days of intense standoff and violent clashes that resumed early Monday after police moved in to disperse the hundreds of protesters hauled up inside the campus.
Local media reported that police have arrested at least 40 people outside Hotel Icon on Science Museum Road near Polytechnic University (PolyU) in Hung Hom.
Before this, police had entered PolyU at around 5.30am, making arrests too, as petrol bombs rained on them and sparking fires that sent thick smoke to the sky.
The anti-government protesters have been locked in a standoff with police at the Hung Hom campus that lasted sporadically through Sunday and into the night. They threw petrol bombs and bricks from improvised catapults, while police retaliated with tear gas and water cannon.
Footage showed that the flyover and a footbridge over the main road leading to the Cross-Harbour Tunnel, next to PolyU, were set ablaze, as was a police armoured truck.
In a statement issued before 7am on Monday, the police reiterated that they did not raid PolyU. They said a large gang of rioters gathered at Cheong Wan Road next to PolyU at around midnight and hurled petrol bombs at officers, as well as set objects on fire. The statement said multiple explosions were heard and specialised crowd management vehicle and tear gas were deployed. “At around 5.30am, police continue to conduct dispersal and arrest operation. Meanwhile, rioters gathering inside the campus set fire and caused extensive damage,” it added.
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