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| Protesters Push Back On Police in Hong Kong | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| HONG KONG — Protesters demanding democracy in Hong Kong delivered a stinging rebuff to the government late on Friday by reclaiming parts of a street that police had forcibly cleared earlier in the day. Hundreds of demonstrators cheered ecstatically when, after hours of mounting tensions, the outnumbered police were ordered to retreat rather than risk an escalating confrontation. | |
| But tense standoffs continued for hours in other areas, as police cordons struggled to hold back crowds of demonstrators. At least 15 officers were injured, the police said; there were reports of injuries to protesters as well, but no overall tally was immediately available. The police said 26 people had been arrested. | |
| Much of the action was centered on Nathan Road in the volatile Mong Kok neighborhood, an area teeming with shops and neon signs that is known for its night life. Demonstrators there had blocked streets with barriers and tents and had snarled traffic for nearly three weeks, demanding a democratic ballot for choosing Hong Kong’s next leader. | Much of the action was centered on Nathan Road in the volatile Mong Kok neighborhood, an area teeming with shops and neon signs that is known for its night life. Demonstrators there had blocked streets with barriers and tents and had snarled traffic for nearly three weeks, demanding a democratic ballot for choosing Hong Kong’s next leader. |
| The police moved in early Friday morning and swiftly reopened all but a small area to traffic. But by evening the move had backfired, drawing the biggest crowds in weeks to the area and forcing the police to deploy hundreds of officers, many of them in full riot gear with helmets, batons and shields. As they have several times recently, the police used pepper spray to help quell the restive crowds, but their cordons eventually gave way and they were overwhelmed. | The police moved in early Friday morning and swiftly reopened all but a small area to traffic. But by evening the move had backfired, drawing the biggest crowds in weeks to the area and forcing the police to deploy hundreds of officers, many of them in full riot gear with helmets, batons and shields. As they have several times recently, the police used pepper spray to help quell the restive crowds, but their cordons eventually gave way and they were overwhelmed. |
| Minutes after the police withdrew from a section of Nathan Road, people began rebuilding barricades. “We feel great, because we have won it back,” said Ted Leung, a middle-aged office worker who was among the jubilant protesters. “For us, Mong Kok is a small Hong Kong.” | Minutes after the police withdrew from a section of Nathan Road, people began rebuilding barricades. “We feel great, because we have won it back,” said Ted Leung, a middle-aged office worker who was among the jubilant protesters. “For us, Mong Kok is a small Hong Kong.” |
| The joy in the street was soon accompanied by anxiety and fears of a new confrontation with the police, who remained nearby, exhausted and sullen. “We kind of won, but it’s a little bit, because this is just one road we occupied,” said Lai Chow-yan, a recent university graduate. “The police couldn’t handle us now, but they will rearrange their force and come back.” | The joy in the street was soon accompanied by anxiety and fears of a new confrontation with the police, who remained nearby, exhausted and sullen. “We kind of won, but it’s a little bit, because this is just one road we occupied,” said Lai Chow-yan, a recent university graduate. “The police couldn’t handle us now, but they will rearrange their force and come back.” |
| The police made another partial retreat at an intersection on Nathan Road around 3 a.m. Saturday, to further cheers from the crowd there. Protesters said that the victories over the police, however transitory, sent a warning to the Hong Kong government. “We are not stepping back,” said Felix Wong, a doctor in his 20s who said he had come to Mong Kok to help any injured protesters. “This is an important place, because it’s close to ordinary citizens,” he said of the neighborhood, standing next to a barricade abandoned minutes before by the police. | |
| The standoff continued at two intersections of Nathan Road as dawn approached on Saturday, both sides refusing to give ground but also appearing too weary to press forward. Hundreds of protesters slept on the road or on sidewalks, but their numbers had thinned, leaving the newly retaken protest site vulnerable to a police counteroffensive. | |
| Before the last three weeks, clashes between police and angry crowds were uncommon in Hong Kong, one of the world’s richest cities. It has a reputation for stability and good governance, and is home to the Asia headquarters for scores of multinational corporations, law firms and banks. | Before the last three weeks, clashes between police and angry crowds were uncommon in Hong Kong, one of the world’s richest cities. It has a reputation for stability and good governance, and is home to the Asia headquarters for scores of multinational corporations, law firms and banks. |
| In the agreement that returned Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 after more than 150 years of British rule, China promised to preserve the city’s British-based legal system and civil liberties for 50 more years. But the national legislature angered many residents in late September when it effectively gave Beijing a veto over who may run for the city’s top office, the chief executive, in the elections scheduled for 2017. Even more residents were angered by the police’s treatment of demonstrators who objected to the new guidelines. | In the agreement that returned Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 after more than 150 years of British rule, China promised to preserve the city’s British-based legal system and civil liberties for 50 more years. But the national legislature angered many residents in late September when it effectively gave Beijing a veto over who may run for the city’s top office, the chief executive, in the elections scheduled for 2017. Even more residents were angered by the police’s treatment of demonstrators who objected to the new guidelines. |
| Police in riot gear also found themselves outnumbered in the Admiralty area of central Hong Kong overnight. More than 1,000 protesters, mainly young people, demonstrated in a park next to a tunnel at Lung Wo Road, the scene of a violent clash two days earlier, while the police guarded the median of the four-lane avenue or mustered on the grounds of the chief executive’s office nearby. | Police in riot gear also found themselves outnumbered in the Admiralty area of central Hong Kong overnight. More than 1,000 protesters, mainly young people, demonstrated in a park next to a tunnel at Lung Wo Road, the scene of a violent clash two days earlier, while the police guarded the median of the four-lane avenue or mustered on the grounds of the chief executive’s office nearby. |
| The boisterous crowd, taunting the police, briefly blocked one eastbound lane of the road, until a charge by police sent protesters into a panicked retreat. When a police dog barked, the crowd chanted in English, “Sit! Sit! Sit!” | The boisterous crowd, taunting the police, briefly blocked one eastbound lane of the road, until a charge by police sent protesters into a panicked retreat. When a police dog barked, the crowd chanted in English, “Sit! Sit! Sit!” |
| “The police are in a very difficult situation,” said Kevin Chung, 27, a product designer who has been visiting the main protest site here in the evenings to show his support but has not taken part in the sit-ins himself. | “The police are in a very difficult situation,” said Kevin Chung, 27, a product designer who has been visiting the main protest site here in the evenings to show his support but has not taken part in the sit-ins himself. |
| Mr. Chung said word of the police’s retreat in Mong Kok had emboldened the crowd at Lung Wo Road, but as the night wore on, the situation in the Admiralty became a tense standoff. “I don’t think we are getting momentum,” Mr. Chung said. After a few hours the crowds dwindled, and by 4 a.m. Saturday only a handful or protesters remained. | Mr. Chung said word of the police’s retreat in Mong Kok had emboldened the crowd at Lung Wo Road, but as the night wore on, the situation in the Admiralty became a tense standoff. “I don’t think we are getting momentum,” Mr. Chung said. After a few hours the crowds dwindled, and by 4 a.m. Saturday only a handful or protesters remained. |
| At the other end of the tunnel, demonstrators chatted amiably and laughed with police officers in an atmosphere noticeably more relaxed than that in Mong Kok, where the police struggled through the night to control crowds near Nathan Road. | At the other end of the tunnel, demonstrators chatted amiably and laughed with police officers in an atmosphere noticeably more relaxed than that in Mong Kok, where the police struggled through the night to control crowds near Nathan Road. |
| Alex Wong, a bank worker in his 20s who joined the protesters in Mong Kok there with a medical mask, goggles and towel on his head to protect from pepper spray, said he came out to show his anger at the police operation to clear the tents and barriers away. | Alex Wong, a bank worker in his 20s who joined the protesters in Mong Kok there with a medical mask, goggles and towel on his head to protect from pepper spray, said he came out to show his anger at the police operation to clear the tents and barriers away. |
| “I’m very scared,” Mr. Wong said. “But I’m here to fight for the future of Hong Kong. The price of democracy and freedom is not cheap."” | “I’m very scared,” Mr. Wong said. “But I’m here to fight for the future of Hong Kong. The price of democracy and freedom is not cheap."” |
| Like many other protesters in the Mong Kok area, he said he did not trust established political parties and student groups to negotiate effectively with the government. “Mong Kok is more the true voice of Hong Kong citizens,” he said. | Like many other protesters in the Mong Kok area, he said he did not trust established political parties and student groups to negotiate effectively with the government. “Mong Kok is more the true voice of Hong Kong citizens,” he said. |
| Nearby, on Argyle Street, crowds held back by police lines chanted “Open the road” and “Cross the street,” and they roared with disapproval when officers hauled away several young men. | Nearby, on Argyle Street, crowds held back by police lines chanted “Open the road” and “Cross the street,” and they roared with disapproval when officers hauled away several young men. |