Police pull down tents and haul off demonstrators at Hong Kong protest site
Police clearing Hong Kong protest site
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Police begin dragging away protesters who refused to leave the site
- NEW: "I want real democracy, I want universal suffrage," one demonstrator chants
- Police and bailiffs dismantle barricades and pull down tents at the main site
- "We will be back," say signs at the camp, which has blocked a major highway for weeks
Down came the rows of
colorful tents that had populated a stretch of highway running through
the heart of the city's financial district. Down came the works of protest art that had sprung up during the occupation, including the movement's emblematic umbrella sculptures.
Police began dragging out the last remaining demonstrators one by one.
The clearance of the site
heralded the end of more than 10 weeks of street demonstrations that
challenged China's Communist-ruled government and captured the world's
attention.
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The protests blocked off
parts of the city for weeks, led to sporadic clashes, and appeared to
serve as a political awakening for many young Hong Kong citizens.
After bailiffs dismantled
barricades at the site, following a court injunction requested by a bus
company, waves of police officers moved in.
They met little
resistance as they yanked down tents and used box cutters and chainsaws
to cut through improvised barriers of metal, wood and plastic.
Broken umbrellas
Bailiffs carried off
broken umbrellas that had also formed part of the barricades -- wilted
versions of the protest movement's emblem.
The protest site, next
to the city's government headquarters, had once drawn tens of thousands
of people. But on Thursday, only a few hundred remained. Many people had
packed up and left before the deadline set by authorities.
"If it's a test of
force, there's no possibility that we can win," said Jamie Ng, a
21-year-old protester who vowed to stay until the end.
The Chinese government,
which has ultimate control over Hong Kong, has steadfastly rejected the
protesters' demand for open elections in the territory, calling the
street occupation illegal and letting local authorities deal with the
situation on the ground.
Deepening divisions
In recent weeks,
divisions have deepened among different groups within the protest
movement, numbers have thinned and public support for the street
occupations has fallen away.
But demonstrators have said that even after the protest site is cleared, they will continue their campaign.
"We will be back," read some signs around the site before the clearance started. "It's just the beginning," warned another.
"We'll do more civil disobedience actions. We'll go talk to local communities," Ng said.
'I want real democracy'
Leaders of the student
groups that have spearheaded the demonstrations said they would remain
at the main protest site but wouldn't physically resist the police.
About 150 to 200 people,
including politicians and students, sat on the road of the main site
Thursday, saying they were ready to be arrested.
After giving the group a
final warning, police began escorting the protesters one at a time to
vans parked nearby, carrying those people who wouldn't walk.
"I want real democracy, I want universal suffrage," one demonstrator chanted as they hauled him away.
'The next generation'
Alex Chow, secretary
general of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, said that members of
the organization would stay on the front lines but wouldn't use
violence.
Clearing out the protest area doesn't solve the underlying problem, he said, addressing the crowd before authorities moved in.
Joshua Wong, the student figure who has become the face of the protest movement, has also urged protesters to remain peaceful.
Wong, a leader of the
student group Scholarism, abandoned a hunger strike at the weekend that
was aimed at getting the Hong Kong government to hold talks with
protesters.
The day before the
clearance, a 24-year-old protester, Jerry Lam, told CNN that he thought
the occupation's legacy would live on.
"Before the Umbrella
Movement, Hong Kong people didn't really pay attention to politics. But
now, everyone cares," he said. "Our generation will pass this story onto
the next generation, and they'll know what we did."
Source: CNN
