Publications
Partners
A heavy Hong Kong police presence on Saturday prevented protesters from paralysing transport to and from the airport for a second week, while protesters blocked off a main road and burned a barricade near Mong Kok police station.
Riot police guarded stations and rail service to the airport was restricted as flash mobs roamed streets and held sit-ins in malls. In Mong Kok, the police station was surrounded by barriers as officers issued repeated warnings for crowds to disperse.
On Friday night, tear gas was deployed in a populated area to disperse protesters who dismantled traffic lights and started fires. Chief Executive Carrie Lam earlier this week scrapped the extradition bill that sparked the ongoing wave of demonstrations, which deteriorated last weekend into some of the worst violence in the former British colony since its return to Chinese rule in 1997.
Police issue warnings, protesters burn barricade
The besieged Mong Kok police station was surrounded by police barriers after being the target of repeated protests. Firefighters rushed in to put out a blazing street barricade set up by protesters in the area and lines of riot police advanced down the streets, driving the demonstrators away from the busy shopping and residential area.
Police dismiss claims
Hong Kong police again dismissed claims that there had been a death at Prince Edward train station in August, rejecting the allegations as "totally false and unfounded". In a statement, the police said that both the Fire Services Department and Hospital Authority confirmed that seven people were escorted by ambulance staff to hospital and that there were no records of fatalities.
Rail station closed
MTR, operator of the city's rail network, shut down its Prince Edward station in Kowloon because a crowd had gathered there. Service at the station was suspended on Friday night after protests and it was re-opened Saturday morning. Demonstrators are demanding the company release CCTV footage of police actions inside the rail station in August.
Sit-ins at stations
Groups of protesters staged sit-ins at malls near train stations but the civil action failed to match the mass demonstration of last weekend that halted traffic to and from the airport.
Riot police and uniformed officers were out in large numbers, making their presence felt at stations and at the airport building. One man, who would only identify himself as Wong, was ejected from the bus terminus at the airport where he had been sitting on a bench.
Court bailiffs, a lawyer and Airport Authority Hong Kong officials read him an injunction preventing obstructions or operations at the airport. They escorted him on to a bus.
Class action
Secondary-school pupils will boycott classes in September, student organisers said at a press conference on Saturday. The group will apply for a permit, they said. The action follows a walkout of classes in September. "We don't rule out the possibility of further escalation," said Isaac Cheng, vice chairman of political party Demosisto.
Airport rail suspension
MTR said it shut down the Kowloon, Tsing Yi and AsiaWorld-Expo stations from 9am to control flows into and out of the airport. The "stress test" of transportation to the international facility by protesters is scheduled to kick off at 1pm.
Protest permit
The Civil Human Rights Front, organizer of some of the protests, said it applied for a permit to march in September in a call for universal suffrage. The planned civil action is scheduled to start in Causeway Bay at 3pm.
Tear gas deployed; fires started
Police fired tear gas in Mong Kok, one of Hong Kong’s most densely populated areas, after protesters dismantled railings and traffic lights, and started blazes. The demonstrators demanded that MTR release CCTV footage of police actions inside the Prince Edward rail station in August.
