Hong Kong police began dismantling the city’s main pro-democracy site yesterday, clearing away tents and barricades after more than two months of rallies, and hauling off a hard core of protesters who vow that their struggle lives on.
The dozens making a last stand were the remnants of what once numbered tens of thousands of people at the height of the protest movement, before public support waned.
Some were carried by groups of four officers while others were led off on foot.
The call for free leadership elections has underpinned the demonstrations, and protesters have vowed the clearance operation will not end a campaign they say has redefined the city’s vexed relationship with Beijing.
“This is not the end of the movement. The political awakening among the young is irreversible and we will fight on,” pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo said.
Police had announced a “lockdown” after a 30-minute window allowing protesters to voluntarily leave the site – an encampment of tents, supply stations and art installations sprawling along a kilometre of a multi-lane highway through the Admiralty district.
Some managed to leave after the deadline, but were asked to give their identity details to police.
Thousands gathered on Wednesday night for one final mass rally at the site, but the numbers had already dwindled to hundreds by yesterday morning.
Before the police operation, bailiffs descended with cutters and pliers to take down barricades and load them into trucks to enforce court orders taken out by transport companies frustrated at the long-running disruption.
The Admiralty site has been the focal point of the protest movement since rallies erupted in September, after China’s Communist authorities insisted that candidates in Hong Kong’s 2017 leadership election will have to be vetted by a loyalist committee. Protesters say this will ensure the election of a pro-Beijing stooge, and their struggle has highlighted a litany of frustrations in the former British colony, including a yawning income gap and lack of affordable housing.
Some in Admiralty expressed a sense of failure yesterday morning, after the authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing refused to give any concessions on political reform, but said the occupation had changed Hong Kong for good.
Media mogul Jimmy Lai, a fierce critic of Beijing, said he would stay at the site “until I am arrested”.
“Definitely you will miss the people you have spent over two months with, other than that we’re looking forward to the next one,” he said, referring to future actions for the movement.
Authorities had warned they would take “resolute action” against those who resist the clearance which they say is being carried out to restore public order and reopen roads to traffic.
Hong Kong cops move in
The dozens making a last stand were the remnants of what once numbered tens of thousands of people at the height of the protest movement, before public support waned.
Some were carried by groups of four officers while others were led off on foot.
The call for free leadership elections has underpinned the demonstrations, and protesters have vowed the clearance operation will not end a campaign they say has redefined the city’s vexed relationship with Beijing.
“This is not the end of the movement. The political awakening among the young is irreversible and we will fight on,” pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo said.
Police had announced a “lockdown” after a 30-minute window allowing protesters to voluntarily leave the site – an encampment of tents, supply stations and art installations sprawling along a kilometre of a multi-lane highway through the Admiralty district.
Some managed to leave after the deadline, but were asked to give their identity details to police.
Thousands gathered on Wednesday night for one final mass rally at the site, but the numbers had already dwindled to hundreds by yesterday morning.
Before the police operation, bailiffs descended with cutters and pliers to take down barricades and load them into trucks to enforce court orders taken out by transport companies frustrated at the long-running disruption.
The Admiralty site has been the focal point of the protest movement since rallies erupted in September, after China’s Communist authorities insisted that candidates in Hong Kong’s 2017 leadership election will have to be vetted by a loyalist committee. Protesters say this will ensure the election of a pro-Beijing stooge, and their struggle has highlighted a litany of frustrations in the former British colony, including a yawning income gap and lack of affordable housing.
Some in Admiralty expressed a sense of failure yesterday morning, after the authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing refused to give any concessions on political reform, but said the occupation had changed Hong Kong for good.
Media mogul Jimmy Lai, a fierce critic of Beijing, said he would stay at the site “until I am arrested”.
“Definitely you will miss the people you have spent over two months with, other than that we’re looking forward to the next one,” he said, referring to future actions for the movement.
Authorities had warned they would take “resolute action” against those who resist the clearance which they say is being carried out to restore public order and reopen roads to traffic.
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