Protesters fight on to maintain control over major transport tunnel, call for more action Monday
An officer was struck in the leg by an arrow shot by an activist on Sunday amid fierce clashes at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, as police sought to drive demonstrators off a key bottleneck in the city’s transport system.
A statement said he was taken to hospital in “a conscious state, while Police deployed water cannon and tear gas against protesters occupying the campus in the Hung Hom area of Kowloon, a key battleground.
The hardline protesters retaliated with petrol bombs amid calls for more action on Monday as a viral post on social media urged residents to “squeeze the economy”, pressuring the administration.
Dozens of government supporters had gathered in the area earlier to clear barricades near the university campus, which was the scene of more violence overnight as riot police clashed with protesters.
Residents were pushed back as protesters descended on the area to rebuild the barricades, keeping their grip on the Cross Tunnel Harbor.
Earlier on Saturday, Chinese troops based in Hong Kong cleared the area near the Hong Kong Baptist University of debris in a move seen by some as a warning from Beijing.
Last week, China’s President Xi condemned the protests as a threat for the “one country, two systems” principle, which holds Hong Kong as part of China but with more rights and freedoms than the mainland.
Xi said he fully backed Hong Kong’s law enforcement, which stands accused of police brutality in cracking down on the pro-democracy protesters.
