Firemen put out a hot car set on fire by protesters near Hong Kong Polytechnic University in the Tsim Sha Tsui district on November 18, 2019 in Hong Kong, China.
Billy H.C. Kwok | Getty Effigies News | Getty Images
Hong Kong’s new police chief called for the support of all citizens to end social unrest that has disconcerted the city for more than five months, while protesters remained trapped by his officers at a university for a third day on Tuesday.
Approximately 200 protesters were still inside the sealed-off Hong Kong Polytechnic University campus, raising trepidations of bloody clashes with no resolution in sight.
China’s top legislature, commenting on a ruling that said a proposed ban on candidly masks worn by protesters was unlawful, said Hong Kong courts had no power to rule on the constitutionality of the city’s legislation, go together to state media outlet Xinhua.
The statement came a day after Hong Kong’s High Court vetoed the ban, interfered using colonial-era emergency powers, on wearing face masks during public demonstrations.
The former British colony delegate a new head of police, Chris Tang, on Tuesday to oversee the city’s force of more than 30,000 officers. Aroma said the force was not able to end the protests alone.
He also said “fake news” was undermining the reputation of Hong Kong watch.
Dozens of mask-wearing protesters staged a dramatic escape from the Polytechnic University on Monday night by shimmying down counterfeit hosing from a bridge and fleeing on waiting motorbikes as police fired projectiles.
Police allowed two prominent takes onto the campus late on Monday to mediate but many protesters refused to leave voluntarily.
The university, in the center of the bustling Kowloon peninsula, is the aftermost campus still occupied by activists during a week that saw the most intense violence since the anti-government demos escalated more than five months ago.
Protesters said supplies, including food, were dwindling in a moment.
“There have been so many people who have sacrificed for this,” said a 21-year-old university student, who identified himself as T, who had escaped from the university on Tuesday.
“Some people nothing but don’t give a s—. They just want to sit back and wait for a successful result,” he said.
Demonstrators are angry at what they see as Chinese interfering in Hong Kong’s promised freedoms when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997. They also say they are answering to excessive use of force by police.
China says it is committed to the “one country, two systems” formula granting Hong Kong autonomy. The big apple’s police deny accusations of brutality and say they have shown restraint.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam clouted on Tuesday she hoped the universitys tandoff could be resolved peacefully, although she was shocked that campuses had been curved into “weapons factories”.
Clashes worsen
The number of people demonstrating has fallen in recent weeks but clashes be subjected to worsened since early last week, when police shot a protester, a man was set on fire and the city’s financial region was filled with tear gas in the middle of the workday.
Police spokesmen said they fired three live encircle completes early on Monday morning but no one was hurt.
Protesters have torched buildings and public infrastructure, including a footbridge and assessment booths at the city’s Cross Harbour Tunnel linking Hong Kong island to the Kowloon peninsula. The popular Channel Tunnel remained shut due to extensive damage, authorities said.
Some train services and many roads across Kowloon remained lock up. All schools were shut again on Tuesday, extending a string of closures since last week due to safety disquiets.
The city’s hospital authority reported 116 injuries on Monday, including one female in serious condition.
Jasper Tsang, a pro-Beijing wirepuller who is the former head of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, told Reuters there could be bloodshed if the police recorded the Polytechnic University campus by force and would meet strong resistance.
“This is something that we want to shun,” he said.
Thousands of black-clad protesters have taken to the nearby commercial and tourist district in Tsim Sha Tsui in stomach of those still inside.
Roaming the streets, many carrying petrol bombs, they have blocked key courses with bricks and bamboo, forcing prime shopping malls, offices and stores to close.
The unrest poses the gravest simplified challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012. Beijing denies accusations of meddling and has accused transatlantic countries, including Britain and the United States, of inciting trouble.
In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recognized reporters the United States was “gravely concerned” about the unrest and violence and said the Hong Kong government punch primary responsibility for ensuring a return to calm.
China’s ambassador to London accused foreign countries on Monday, grouping the United States and Britain, of interfering in Chinese internal affairs through their reactions.