HK police fire tear gas as protesters injure officer with arrow - Al Jazeera English

A Hong Kong police officer has been hit in the leg by an arrow as authorities used tear gas and water cannon to drive away protesters occupying a university campus and blocking a major road tunnel under the city's harbour.

The clashes on Sunday came after a day of relative calm that followed one of the most violent weeks in more than five months of anti-government unrest in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

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Police said the arrow struck a media liaison officer and he was taken to a hospital. Photos on the department's Facebook page show the arrow sticking out of the back of the officer's lower leg through his pants.

Al Jazeera's Divya Gopalan, reporting from Hong Kong, said the university and its surroundings is the last stand of the protesters.

"This is where the protesters still feel that they can send a message to the government that they are able to stop the city from functioning normally and disrupt the city," she said.

The pro-democracy protesters held their ground for most of the day, as water cannon trucks drove over bricks and nails strewn by demonstrators to spray them at close range.

They began retreating into Hong Kong Polytechnic University near sunset, fearing they would be trapped as police fired tear gas volleys and approached from the opposite direction.

New tactics

In the university courtyard, civil engineer Joris, 23, said he was prepared to go to jail in his fight against the government. Those shooting arrows were protecting themselves, he said.

"The police violence has been over the top," he told Reuters news agency. "The protesters have been reacting to the police. We haven't fought back as much as we could. I would be prepared for jail. We are fighting for Hong Kong."

Reuters reported that a high-pitched wailing came from at least one police vehicle, suggesting a new tactic to try to clear the crowds. Police confirmed the use of a "long-range acoustic device".

Chinese soldiers in a base close to the university were seen monitoring developments with binoculars, some dressed in riot gear with canisters on their chests.

On Saturday, troops belonging to China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) briefly left their barracks to help Hong Kong residents clean up debris left by demonstrators, in a move that could stoke further controversy over the city's status.

Since early June, Hong Kong has been rocked by protests triggered by a bill that would have allowed the extradition of accused individuals to mainland China to stand trial.

Although the proposed law has now been withdrawn, public anger has been driven by the authorities' refusal to address protesters' demands for an independent inquiry against alleged police brutality; amnesty for the nearly 600 people charged with offences stemming from the protests; a retraction of police claims that protesters are guilty of rioting; and universal suffrage to elect the full legislature and chief executive.

In recent weeks, calls for disbanding, or at least reorganising, the police force have grown out of public anger, with critics alleging indiscriminate and rampant use of force.

 The protesters held their ground for most of the day [Adnan Abidi/Reuters]

SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies

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2019-11-17 12:31:00Z
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Hong Kong police officer shot with arrow during university siege - CNN

Hundreds of protesters with bricks, petrol bombs and makeshift barricades have held off riot police on roads surrounding the campus in the city's Hung Hom district, just across Victoria Harbor from Hong Kong Island, for hours.

The authorities have responded with tear gas and water cannons in skirmishes that have stretched from early in the morning until well into the evening.

As violence has escalated in recent days, protesters have begun using bows and arrows against the police, and authorities said a media liaison officer was hit in the leg with an arrow during a skirmish Sunday afternoon.

in a fiercely worded statement, the police labeled the group holding the university "rioters," a loaded term in Hong Kong's protests which carries a heavy prison sentence if convicted.

The man who was shot with an arrow is conscious and has been sent to hospital for treatment, according to the police statement.

Hong Kong's Polytechnic University is just one of a number of university campuses being used in the past week as a rallying point for Hong Kong's protest movement.

But unlike other campuses such as the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Polytechnic University sits in the center of the city, close to a number of major roads including a cross harbor tunnel.

In the past week, protesters have blocked these roads, severely disrupting the city's public transport system.

Polytechnic University is also less than 164 feet (50 meters) from a Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) base. So far there has been no sign that the country's military will be used to crack down on protesters.

In a statement Sunday evening, the Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union and the university's Staff Association said they were "very worried" about the safety of students and bystanders.

"We call on both sides to exercise restraint and avoid the use of deadly weapons. The current stalemate is caused by a series of government decision-making mistakes and should be resolved responsibly," the statement said.

University campuses fortified

The protests in Hong Kong have now been raging for almost six months after they began in June over a controversial China extradition bill, which sparked huge marches across the city.

When the government suspended but didn't withdraw the bill, the movement's focus quickly expanded to focus on complaints of police brutality and wider calls for democracy.

The protests took a turn in early November after the protest-related death of a 22-year-old student, the first since the demonstrations began. Protesters began to fortify university campuses across the city, holding off police with weapons ranging from bows and arrows and petrol bombs.

On Saturday night police attempted to clear the roads around Polytechnic University but were forced to back down after protesters started fires on the street and threw petrol bombs.

"They showed total disregard for the safety of everyone at scene," police said in a statement Sunday, confirming they tried to disperse the group using tear gas.

A 23-year-old protester and Polytechnic University alumni told CNN Sunday that they didn't have a plan and were just waiting to see how the police would react. "If we don't come out, no one will come out and protect our freedoms. Polytechnic University is my home," he said.

Protesters on Sunday were using catapults to launch bricks and other hard objects at police lines from the university's balconies. Their hold on the high ground made it difficult for police vehicles to advance under a hail of bricks and petrol bombs.

"Such attacks pose a grave threat to the safety of police officers, reporters and first aiders at the scene," said police in a statement, accusing protesters of firing petrol bombs and metal balls at their lines.

On Sunday the government announced that all schools would be shut again on Monday as protests were expected to continue across the city.

Protests escalate

With the both the government and the protesters refusing to back down, there is no immediate end in sight to the Hong Kong demonstrations.

Showing his dissatisfaction with the situation, Chinese President Xi Jinping made rare public comments on the demonstrations Thursday.

He said that "radical" protesters had trampled the city's rule of law and that "stopping the violence and restoring order" was Hong Kong's most "urgent task."

It came just hours before a 70-year-old man, who was struck by a brick during clashes between protesters and their opponents, died of his injuries. Police blamed protesters for throwing the item which killed him.

For the first time since the start of the demonstrations in June, China's People's Liberation Army hit the streets of Hong Kong on Saturday but only to clear up barricades and debris.

Even that incursion was enough to spur pro-democracy lawmakers in Hong Kong to push for an explanation from the city's government.

Chinese soldiers' efforts to clear road blocks outside their barracks in Kowloon Tong was "purely a voluntary community activity initiated by themselves," the Hong Kong SAR government said in a statement to CNN.

CNN's Eric Cheung, Maisy Mok, Sandi Sidhu and Brad Lendon contributed to this report.

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2019-11-17 10:43:00Z
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Hong Kong police officer shot with arrow during university siege - CNN

Hundreds of protesters with bricks, petrol bombs and makeshift barricades have held off riot police on roads surrounding the campus in the city's Hung Hom district, just across Victoria Harbor from Hong Kong Island, for hours.

The authorities have responded with tear gas and water cannons in skirmishes that have stretched from early in the morning until well into the evening.

As violence has escalated in recent days, protesters have begun using bows and arrows against the police, and authorities said a media liaison officer was hit in the leg with an arrow during a skirmish Sunday afternoon.

in a fiercely worded statement, the police labeled the group holding the university "rioters," a loaded term in Hong Kong's protests which carries a heavy prison sentence if convicted.

The man who was shot with an arrow is conscious and has been sent to hospital for treatment, according to the police statement.

Hong Kong's Polytechnic University is just one of a number of university campuses being used in the past week as a rallying point for Hong Kong's protest movement.

But unlike other campuses such as the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Polytechnic University sits in the center of the city, close to a number of major roads including a cross harbor tunnel.

In the past week, protesters have blocked these roads, severely disrupting the city's public transport system.

Polytechnic University is also less than 164 feet (50 meters) from a Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) base. So far there has been no sign that the country's military will be used to crack down on protesters.

In a statement Sunday evening, the Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union and the university's Staff Association said they were "very worried" about the safety of students and bystanders.

"We call on both sides to exercise restraint and avoid the use of deadly weapons. The current stalemate is caused by a series of government decision-making mistakes and should be resolved responsibly," the statement said.

University campuses fortified

The protests in Hong Kong have now been raging for almost six months after they began in June over a controversial China extradition bill, which sparked huge marches across the city.

When the government suspended but didn't withdraw the bill, the movement's focus quickly expanded to focus on complaints of police brutality and wider calls for democracy.

The protests took a turn in early November after the protest-related death of a 22-year-old student, the first since the demonstrations began. Protesters began to fortify university campuses across the city, holding off police with weapons ranging from bows and arrows and petrol bombs.

On Saturday night police attempted to clear the roads around Polytechnic University but were forced to back down after protesters started fires on the street and threw petrol bombs.

"They showed total disregard for the safety of everyone at scene," police said in a statement Sunday, confirming they tried to disperse the group using tear gas.

A 23-year-old protester and Polytechnic University alumni told CNN Sunday that they didn't have a plan and were just waiting to see how the police would react. "If we don't come out, no one will come out and protect our freedoms. Polytechnic University is my home," he said.

Protesters on Sunday were using catapults to launch bricks and other hard objects at police lines from the university's balconies. Their hold on the high ground made it difficult for police vehicles to advance under a hail of bricks and petrol bombs.

"Such attacks pose a grave threat to the safety of police officers, reporters and first aiders at the scene," said police in a statement, accusing protesters of firing petrol bombs and metal balls at their lines.

On Sunday the government announced that all schools would be shut again on Monday as protests were expected to continue across the city.

Protests escalate

With the both the government and the protesters refusing to back down, there is no immediate end in sight to the Hong Kong demonstrations.

Showing his dissatisfaction with the situation, Chinese President Xi Jinping made rare public comments on the demonstrations Thursday.

He said that "radical" protesters had trampled the city's rule of law and that "stopping the violence and restoring order" was Hong Kong's most "urgent task."

It came just hours before a 70-year-old man, who was struck by a brick during clashes between protesters and their opponents, died of his injuries. Police blamed protesters for throwing the item which killed him.

For the first time since the start of the demonstrations in June, China's People's Liberation Army hit the streets of Hong Kong on Saturday but only to clear up barricades and debris.

Even that incursion was enough to spur pro-democracy lawmakers in Hong Kong to push for an explanation from the city's government.

Chinese soldiers' efforts to clear road blocks outside their barracks in Kowloon Tong was "purely a voluntary community activity initiated by themselves," the Hong Kong SAR government said in a statement to CNN.

CNN's Eric Cheung, Maisy Mok, Sandi Sidhu and Brad Lendon contributed to this report.

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2019-11-17 10:26:00Z
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Hong Kong police officer shot with arrow during university siege - CNN

Hundreds of protesters with bricks, petrol bombs and makeshift barricades have held off riot police on roads surrounding the campus in the city's Hung Hom district, just across Victoria Harbor from Hong Kong Island, for hours. The authorities have responded with tear gas and water cannons in skirmishes that heated up Sunday afternoon.

As violence has escalated in recent days, protesters have begun using bows and arrows against the police, and authorities said a media liaison officer was hit in the leg with an arrow during a skirmish Sunday afternoon.

in a fiercely worded statement, the police labeled the group holding the university "rioters," a loaded term in Hong Kong's protests which carries a heavy prison sentence if convicted.

The man who was shot with an arrow is conscious and has been sent to hospital for treatment, according to the police statement.

Hong Kong's Polytechnic University is just one of a number of university campuses being used in the past week as a rallying point for Hong Kong's protest movement.

But unlike other campuses such as the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Polytechnic University sits in the center of the city, close to a number of major roads including a cross harbor tunnel.

In the past week, protesters have blocked these roads, severely disrupting the city's public transport system.

Polytechnic University is also less than 164 feet (50 meters) from a Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) base. So far there has been no sign that the country's military will be used to crack down on protesters.

University campuses fortified

The protests in Hong Kong have now been raging for almost six months after they began in June over a controversial China extradition bill, which sparked huge marches across the city.

When the government suspended but didn't withdraw the bill, the movement's focus quickly expanded to focus on complaints of police brutality and wider calls for democracy.

The protests took a turn in early November after the protest-related death of a 22-year-old student, the first since the demonstrations began. Protesters began to fortify university campuses across the city, holding off police with weapons ranging from bows and arrows and petrol bombs.

On Saturday night police attempted to clear the roads around Polytechnic University but were forced to back down after protesters started fires on the street and threw petrol bombs.

"They showed total disregard for the safety of everyone at scene," police said in a statement Sunday, confirming they tried to disperse the group using tear gas.

A 23-year-old protester and Polytechnic University alumni told CNN Sunday that they didn't have a plan and were just waiting to see how the police would react. "If we don't come out, no one will come out and protect our freedoms. Polytechnic University is my home," he said.

Protesters on Sunday were using catapults to launch bricks and other hard objects at police lines from the university's balconies. Their hold on the high ground made it difficult for police vehicles to advance under a hail of bricks and petrol bombs.

"Such attacks pose a grave threat to the safety of police officers, reporters and first aiders at the scene," said police in a statement, accusing protesters of firing petrol bombs and metal balls at their lines.

On Sunday the government announced that all schools would be shut again on Monday as protests were expected to continue across the city.

Protests escalate

With the both the government and the protesters refusing to back down, there is no immediate end in sight to the Hong Kong demonstrations.

Showing his dissatisfaction with the situation, Chinese President Xi Jinping made rare public comments on the demonstrations Thursday.

He said that "radical" protesters had trampled the city's rule of law and that "stopping the violence and restoring order" was Hong Kong's most "urgent task."

It came just hours before a 70-year-old man, who was struck by a brick during clashes between protesters and their opponents, died of his injuries. Police blamed protesters for throwing the item which killed him.

For the first time since the start of the demonstrations in June, China's People's Liberation Army hit the streets of Hong Kong on Saturday but only to clear up barricades and debris.

Even that incursion was enough to spur pro-democracy lawmakers in Hong Kong to push for an explanation from the city's government.

Chinese soldiers' efforts to clear road blocks outside their barracks in Kowloon Tong was "purely a voluntary community activity initiated by themselves," the Hong Kong SAR government said in a statement to CNN.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/17/asia/hong-kong-protests-november-17-intl-hnk/index.html

2019-11-17 09:42:00Z
52780435950054

Hong Kong police officer shot with arrow during university siege - CNN

Hundreds of protesters with bricks, petrol bombs and makeshift barricades are holding off riot police on roads surrounding the campus in the city's Hung Hom district, just across Victoria Harbor from Hong Kong Island. The authorities have responded with tear gas and water cannons in skirmishes that heated up Sunday afternoon.

As violence has escalated in recent days, protesters have begun using bows and arrows against the police and authorities said a media liaison officer was hit in the leg with an arrow during a skirmish Sunday afternoon.

He is conscious and has been sent to hospital for treatment, according to a police statement.

Hong Kong's Polytechnic University is just one of a number of university campuses being used in the past week as a rallying point for Hong Kong's protest movement.

But unlike other campuses such as the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Polytechnic University sits in the center of the city, close to a number of major roads including a cross harbor tunnel.

In the past week, protesters have blocked these roads, severely disrupting the city's public transport system.

Polytechnic University is also less than 164 feet (50 meters) from a Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) base. So far there has been no sign that the country's military will be used to crack down on protesters.

The protests in Hong Kong have now been raging for almost six months after they began in June over a controversial China extradition bill, which sparked huge marches across the city.

When the government suspended but didn't withdraw the bill, the movement's focus quickly expanded to focus on complaints of police brutality and wider calls for democracy.

The protests took a turn in early November after the protest-related death of a 22-year-old student, the first since the demonstrations began. Protesters began to fortify university campuses across the city, holding off police with weapons ranging from bows and arrows and petrol bombs.

On Saturday night police attempted to clear the roads around Polytechnic University but were forced to back down after protesters started fires on the street and threw petrol bombs.

"They showed total disregard for the safety of everyone at scene," police said in a statement Sunday, confirming they tried to disperse the group using tear gas.

A 23-year-old protester and Polytechnic University alumni told CNN that they didn't have a plan and were just waiting to see how the police would react. "If we don't come out, no one will come out and protect our freedoms. Polytechnic University is my home," he said.

On Sunday the government announced that all schools would be shut again on Monday as protests were expected to continue across the city.

Protests escalate

With the both the government and the protesters refusing to back down, there is no immediate end in sight to the Hong Kong demonstrations.

Showing his dissatisfaction with the situation, Chinese President Xi Jinping made rare public comments on the demonstrations Thursday.

He said that "radical" protesters had trampled the city's rule of law and that "stopping the violence and restoring order" was Hong Kong's most "urgent task."

It came just hours before a 70-year-old man, who was struck by a brick during clashes between protesters and their opponents, died of his injuries. Police blamed protesters for throwing the item which killed him.

For the first time since the start of the demonstrations in June, China's People's Liberation Army hit the streets of Hong Kong on Saturday but only to clear up barricades and debris.

Even that incursion was enough to spur pro-democracy lawmakers in Hong Kong to push for an explanation from the city's government.

Chinese soldiers' efforts to clear road blocks outside their barracks in Kowloon Tong was "purely a voluntary community activity initiated by themselves," the Hong Kong SAR government said in a statement to CNN.

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2019-11-17 08:45:00Z
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Hong Kong police officer shot with arrow during university siege - CNN

Hundreds of protesters with bricks, petrol bombs and makeshift barricades are holding off riot police on roads surrounding the campus in the city's Hung Hom district, just across Victoria Harbor from Hong Kong Island. The authorities have responded with tear gas and water cannons in skirmishes that heated up Sunday afternoon.

As violence has escalated in recent days, protesters have begun using bows and arrows against the police and authorities said a media liaison officer was hit in the leg with an arrow during a skirmish Sunday afternoon.

He is conscious and has been sent to hospital for treatment, according to a police statement.

Hong Kong's Polytechnic University is just one of a number of university campuses being used in the past week as a rallying point for Hong Kong's protest movement.

But unlike other campuses such as the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Polytechnic University sits in the center of the city, close to a number of major roads including a cross harbor tunnel.

In the past week, protesters have blocked these roads, severely disrupting the city's public transport system.

Polytechnic University is also less than 164 feet (50 meters) from a Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) base. So far there has been no sign that the country's military will be used to crack down on protesters.

The protests in Hong Kong have now been raging for almost six months after they began in June over a controversial China extradition bill, which sparked huge marches across the city.

When the government suspended but didn't withdraw the bill, the movement's focus quickly expanded to focus on complaints of police brutality and wider calls for democracy.

The protests took a turn in early November after the protest-related death of a 22-year-old student, the first since the demonstrations began. Protesters began to fortify university campuses across the city, holding off police with weapons ranging from bows and arrows and petrol bombs.

On Saturday night police attempted to clear the roads around Polytechnic University but were forced to back down after protesters started fires on the street and threw petrol bombs.

"They showed total disregard for the safety of everyone at scene," police said in a statement Sunday, confirming they tried to disperse the group using tear gas.

A 23-year-old protester and Polytechnic University alumni told CNN that they didn't have a plan and were just waiting to see how the police would react. "If we don't come out, no one will come out and protect our freedoms. Polytechnic University is my home," he said.

On Sunday the government announced that all schools would be shut again on Monday as protests were expected to continue across the city.

Protests escalate

With the both the government and the protesters refusing to back down, there is no immediate end in sight to the Hong Kong demonstrations.

Showing his dissatisfaction with the situation, Chinese President Xi Jinping made rare public comments on the demonstrations Thursday.

He said that "radical" protesters had trampled the city's rule of law and that "stopping the violence and restoring order" was Hong Kong's most "urgent task."

It came just hours before a 70-year-old man, who was struck by a brick during clashes between protesters and their opponents, died of his injuries. Police blamed protesters for throwing the item which killed him.

For the first time since the start of the demonstrations in June, China's People's Liberation Army hit the streets of Hong Kong on Saturday but only to clear up barricades and debris.

Even that incursion was enough to spur pro-democracy lawmakers in Hong Kong to push for an explanation from the city's government.

Chinese soldiers' efforts to clear road blocks outside their barracks in Kowloon Tong was "purely a voluntary community activity initiated by themselves," the Hong Kong SAR government said in a statement to CNN.

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2019-11-17 08:32:00Z
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China's PLA soldiers on Hong Kong streets in 'voluntary' clean-up - Al Jazeera English

Soldiers belonging to China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) have briefly left their barracks to help Hong Kong residents clean up debris left over from anti-government demonstrations in a rare and highly symbolic troop movement unsolicited by the city's embattled government.

Saturday's action saw scores of soldiers from the garrison sporting crewcuts and identical gym kits conduct a lightning-quick removal of bricks and debris near their base, the AFP news agency reported.

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Confirming the brief deployment on Weibo, China's Twitter-like social media platform, the PLA said it acted to open a debris-strewn road outside their Kowloon Tong barracks to traffic, winning "applause from residents" in the process.

A city spokesman meanwhile said the Hong Kong government did not request assistance from the PLA, which has previously stayed confined to its garrison during months of protests, but the military initiated the operation as a "voluntary community activity".

The presence of PLA troops on Hong Kong's streets could stoke further controversy over the Chinese-ruled territory's semi-autonomous status. 

Demosisto, a pro-democracy organisation, said Saturday's clean-up operation could set a "grave precedent" if the city's government invites the military to deal with internal problems, the Reuters news agency reported.

The developments followed some of the worst violence seen during more than five months of anti-government demonstrations after a police operation against protesters at the Chinese University of Hong Kong on Tuesday.

The authorities have since largely stayed away from at least five university campuses that had been barricaded by thousands of students and activists who stockpiled petrol bombs, catapults, bows and arrows and other weapons.

Many protesters appeared to have left the campuses by late Saturday, though some remained behind to man barricades. Hong Kong's Cross-Harbour Tunnel was still blocked by protesters occupying Polytechnic University.

Months of unrest

The months-long protests that have rocked Hong Kong have been fuelled by widespread anger at the perceived Communist Party meddling in the former British colony, which was guaranteed its freedoms when it returned to the Chinese rule in 1997.

The protests started against a now shelved bill to allow extradition to China but have billowed into wider calls for democracy.

Beijing, for its part, denies interfering in Hong Kong and has blamed the unrest on foreign influences.

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Chinese state media repeatedly broadcast comments made on Thursday by President Xi Jinping, in which he denounced the unrest and said "controlling chaos while restoring order" was the territory's "most urgent task".

Carrie Lam, Hong Kong's chief executive, has meanwhile condemned protesters as the "enemy of the people".

In recent weeks, clashes between protesters and police have become increasingly violent. 

Two people have died this month as the clashes intensified, while the financial hub has been pushed into a recession by the turmoil.

A 70-year-old street cleaner died on Thursday after being hit on the head by brick police said had been thrown by rioters. On Monday, police blamed a rioter for dousing a man in petrol and setting him on fire. The victim is in critical condition.

On the same day, police shot a protester in the abdomen. He was in a stable condition as of Saturday.

Several streets remain strewn with debris, barricades and scarred by scorch marks from petrol bombs thrown during the demonstrations.

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2019-11-16 15:03:00Z
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