Hong Kong police clear barricades in Mong Kok area, meet little resistance (updated)

Vior Gold

17/10/2014 24:15

(Adds details) 
    HONG KONG, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Hong Kong police carried out a 
dawn raid to remove barricades and other obstacles erected by 
pro-democracy protesters around the bustling area of Mong Kok, 
moving in while many demonstrators were still asleep. 
    Friday's operation, across the harbour from the main 
demonstration site near the office of Hong Kong's leader, was 
the latest to dismantle barricades after nearly three weeks of 
protests that have paralysed parts of the Asian financial hub. 
    Police encountered little resistance, unlike recent days 
when there has been violent clashes at other protest sites. 
    The protesters have been demanding full democracy for the 
former British colony and calling on the city's leader, Leung 
Chun-ying, to step down. 
    Leung on Thursday sought to defuse tensions with 
demonstrators, saying he hoped the two sides could talk next 
week. 
    "I am so furious. The government said it would talk to the 
students about these issues, then it came and cleared our base. 
This is no way to do this," said Cony Cheung, 21, a skin care 
products saleswoman. 
    In August, Beijing offered Hong Kong people the chance to 
vote for their own leader in 2017, but only among candidates 
selected by a screening committee filled with pro-Beijing 
figures. 
    Large numbers of police vans were blocking access to the 
protest site in Mong Kok to bar other protesters from entering. 
    No arrests were made, according to a chief superintendent 
helping to lead the operation. About 800 officers were involved 
in the move, he added.  
    Some protesters were packing up their supplies and aiming to 
head to the main demonstration area in the Admiralty district. 
Authorities were loading small trucks with metal barricades and 
belongings left by the protesters.  
    The surprise raid came just days after hundreds of police 
used sledgehammers and chainsaws to tear down barricades erected 
by protesters to reopen a major road. 
 
 (Reporting by Clare Baldwin, James Pomfret and Bobby Yip; 
Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Dean Yates) 
 ((annemarie.roantree@thomsonreuters.com; +852 97387151; Reuters 
Messaging: annemarie.roantree.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: HONGKONG CHINA