Hong Kong Clashes as Cops Remove Protesters’ Barricades

The situation in Hong Kong is
heating up today. Pro-democracy protesters are struggling with both
the police and violent bands of masked men.

AFP
reports on law enforcement dismantling barricades set up by
demonstrators in the city’s financial district:

“There was no warning in advance whatsoever. It was nasty,”
[said] student protester Lanny Li.

Li said the occupied area is shrinking making it more
vulnerable.

“This is the last line of defense for the people near the
government offices,” said Cherry Yuen as she sat in front of metal
barriers 50 meters from police lines.

“The police just want to trick us again. We won’t move and I’m
ready to get arrested.”

“The police refuse to communicate with us, they just do what
they want,” said Wong King-wa, 25.

According to The New York Times, “More than 50
protesters rallied and prevented officers from taking down
barricades.”

Protesters want Leung Chun-ying, Hong Kong’s chief executive, to
step down and for mainland China to allow the people of Hong Kong
to vote for their representatives. Leung has promised talks with
the protesters, but has since cancelled them. He
insists that the protests are “out of control” but have “almost
zero chance” of changing China’s control over Hong Kong’s
leadership.

Protest leaders issued a joint statement
countering that “in fact, it is our government that is out of
control—a government that fires tear-gas at unarmed citizens and
unilaterally terminated dialogue with the students.”

But, the government isn’t the only problem for protesters today.
After the police cleared some barricades, people opposed to the
students’ demonstrations began attacking.

The Economist
reports that “masked men” and “a cavalcade of taxi drivers,
angered by loss of business, drove up to the barricades and honked
their horns, accusing student protesters of ‘chilling out in tents’
while the working class struggle to make a living.”

“Hundreds of people opposed to the pro-democracy demonstrations
here attacked the protesters’ main camp on Monday, trying to tear
down street barricades,” says the Times.

By contrast, the pro-democracy students’ civil disobedience has
been, well, pretty civil: They clean up messes, recycle, and
stay
off fresh-cut public grass. Although their numbers waned last
week, they surged again on Friday, and are in the “tens
of thousands.” 

AFP got some footage of today’s scuffles: