Hong Kong police to clear last protest camp

HONG KONG — Hong Kong officials will clear the last occupation site in pro-democracy protests today, ending more than two months of road blockades in the city that have disrupted traffic and sparked violent clashes between the police and demonstrators.

The police will “exercise powers conferred by the law to remove the obstacles” in the popular shopping area of Causeway Bay, Police Chief Superintendent Hui Chun-tak said. They will give a media briefing at about 9.30am today before proceeding, Mr Hui said.

“I now urge the illegal road occupiers to remove the obstacles, take their personal belongings and leave the occupied area in a peaceful and orderly manner,” Mr Hui said.

“If the illegal road occupiers refuse to leave, the police will take action to disperse them and may arrest those who attempt to obstruct officers in the execution of duty.”

The street protests were kick-started on Sept 26 when student leaders stormed the premises of the government headquarters and drew as many as 100,000 people after the police used tear gas in an attempt to disperse the demonstrators on Sept 28. They became the biggest challenge to China’s rule over Hong Kong since it resumed sovereignty over the former British colony in 1997.

Demonstrators demanded China reverse its decision to vet Chief Executive candidates in the elections in 2017 through a nominating committee, a mechanism that the pro-democracy camp said will select only prospective leaders favoured by Beijing.

The protest site in Causeway Bay has been the smallest since demonstrators started occupying key roads in the city in late September.

The police removed the roadblocks at the main Admiralty district protest site near the government offices with little interference on Dec 11, after clearance of another site in Mong Kok resulted in some clashes last month.

Public support for the pro-democracy protests waned after weeks of traffic and business disruption, while disagreements over tactics grew among the protest leaders. About 68 per cent of 513 people surveyed by the University of Hong Kong said the government should act to end the protests, a poll conducted on Nov 17 and 18 showed.

“Street protests and clashes coming to an end doesn’t mean the people have reconciled after the split, nor has the political reform outlook become brighter,” Hong Kong Financial Secretary John Tsang wrote in a blog yesterday.

Student leaders have to understand that consensus from the majority is needed in order to implement democratic elections, he said.

The government will likely start the next round of consultations on the 2017 Chief Executive elections inext month, the Mingpao newspaper reported yesterday, citing Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam. The consultations could last as long as two months, the newspaper cited Mr Tam as saying. BLOOMBERG