Hong Kong police on Thursday entered a ransacked university campus where authorities faced off for days with barricaded pro-democracy protesters, looking for petrol bombs and other dangerous materials left over from the occupation.

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University became the epicentre of the territory's increasingly violent protest movement when clashes broke out on November 17 between police and protesters armed with bows and arrows as well as Molotov cocktails.

The standoff settled into a tense stalemate during which hundreds fled the campus -- some making daring escapes, others caught and beaten by officers during failed breakouts -- leaving a dwindling core of holdouts surrounded by police cordons.

But in recent days, the last few people barricaded in the campus seemed to disappear.

University staff said they were only able to find a single protester on campus and reporters there struggled to see any major presence in the last 48 hours.

Late Wednesday, a lone masked man spoke to reporters inside the campus saying some 20 protesters remained.

But there was no sign of them on Thursday morning when police and firefighters moved in, 11 days after the siege began, for what was billed as an operation to secure dangerous objects now littering the once placid campus and to collect evidence.

During the November 17 battle, the sheer volume of petrol bombs thrown by protesters succeeded in stopping police officers and crowd control vehicles from breaking through the barricades, forcing the stalemate that led to the siege.

- Molotovs and smashed Starbucks -

Throughout Thursday riot police in tactical gear began gathering hundreds of discarded petrol bombs and bottles of chemicals that had been looted from the university laboratories as well as archery bows.

Explosives experts went from room to room followed by a gaggle of reporters, passing walls daubed with graffiti insulting the city's police force and calling for greater freedoms under Chinese rule.

Officers gathered a rapidly growing pile of items in a courtyard, from half-full jerry cans of petrol, to Molotovs made out of wine bottles and various chemicals in brown glass bottles.

They were carefully labelled and placed in boxes before being taken away.

Police spokesman Chow Yat-ming said the priority for Thursday's operation was not the arrest of any holdouts who might still be hiding.

"The objective is not about people, it's about the dangerous items on campus," he told reporters. "But if we encounter any protesters or any person remaining inside then we'll try to convince them to seek medical treatment or even a body check-up."

The university now faces a mammoth clean-up operation.

Swathes of the red-brick campus just a stone's throw from the city's famous harbour resemble an abandoned battleground covered in debris, barricades and the shattered bottles of Molotov cocktails.

A foul odour from rotting food in a canteen and overflowing garbage bins permeated parts of the campus.

A Starbucks on site has been trashed, its windows broken and counters daubed with graffiti. The coffee chain has become a target for protesters because it's local subsidiary is owned by a family conglomerate perceived to be close to Beijing.

On Wednesday, university leaders called for the police to end their siege and for the government to help with the disposal of dangerous materials.

Hong Kongers have protested in huge numbers over the last six months fuelled by years of growing fears that authoritarian China is stamping out the city's liberties.

Violence spiralled as Beijing and local leaders refused major concessions and the police were used to break up rallies on a daily basis.

Arrests have skyrocketed in recent weeks.

On Wednesday, security minister John Lee told lawmakers that some 5,800 people have been arrested since the protests first began in early June, with 923 charged so far.

In October, 1,189 people were arrested. But that figure has more than doubled to 2,619 up to November 21 at the height of the university siege.

Beijing and Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam have argued that a "silent majority" still supports the establishment and abhors the increased violence of radical protesters.

But that narrative was smashed by community-level council elections on Sunday which saw a landslide win for pro-democracy candidates across the city.

On Hong Kong campus, elusive protesters and an uncertain future
Hong Kong (AFP) Nov 27, 2019 - Staff at one of Hong Kong's top universities picked through the chaotic aftermath of a violent occupation by protesters for a second day Wednesday as the school searches for elusive holdouts -- and a way forward for a devastated institution.

Compared to the city's more hot-house campuses, Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) had a more relaxed vibe, its students known for parties and light-hearted hazing as they pursued degrees in design, engineering, and other technical disciplines.

But the school, a stone's throw from Hong Kong's dramatic harbour, now resembles a disaster zone 10 days after the start of a violent siege that saw clashes between police and protesters during the latest flare-up in the city's political turmoil.

The first task before a police cordon can be dismantled and normality can return is to determine whether any hidden protesters remain.

But sweeps through the campus by university personnel have been inconclusive.

Just one young female protester was found by university officials -- though AFP journalists saw another suspected holdout -- suggesting that the dozens of hardcore protesters who had held their ground in recent days may have melted away.

Either way, a university that regularly makes lists of top-ranked Asian institutions faces a massive clean-up and uncertain future.

Its entrance is scarred with the charred evidence of a savage fight last week when protesters armed with bows, arrows, and petrol bombs held their ground against police wielding tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannon.

AFP journalists at the site found a battleground covered by brick fragments -- flung at police by protesters -- and the shattered bottles of Molotov cocktails.

Helmets, gas masks, and goggles are among the debris, as well as discarded clothing stained with the blue dye fired by police water cannon.

- Liberty or death -

A foul odour from rotting food in a canteen and overflowing garbage bins permeates parts of the campus, and defiant graffiti has been scrawled everywhere by protesters, part of a movement resisting a perceived Chinese encroachment on Hong Kong's freedoms.

"Give me liberty or give me death," read one, not far from where a makeshift Statue of Liberty stood.

Others denounced Beijing as "Chi-Nazis", and declared "I will only marry a brave fighter in my life".

In a gymnasium, the floor was covered by dozens of yoga mats, discarded clothing, shoes and face masks, underneath a huge group photo of student athletes lined up and smiling during happier times.

A nearby room was turned into a triage unit, strewn with supplies such as disinfectant, bandages, and asthma inhalers.

A major concern for university authorities is widespread vandalism to PolyU's laboratories and other technical facilities.

"A large number of facilities at the site, including many laboratories, were damaged to varying degrees, and some chemicals and dangerous goods were also missing," university officials said in a statement Wednesday.

"At the same time, many scientific research projects were interrupted due to the incident, which will seriously affect PolyU's teaching and research."

The school already has cancelled on-campus classes for the remainder of the year, moving some to online instruction.

Executive Vice President Miranda Lou told reporters Wednesday: "We hope PolyU's campus can be reopened so that the university can begin repair projects immediately."

Related Links
China News from SinoDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

China fans desert K-pop star for 'liking' Hong Kong tweet
Beijing (AFP) Nov 26, 2019
A South Korean pop star has become the latest celebrity to spark anger on the Chinese internet after he "liked" a tweet about the divisive issue of pro-democracy unrest in Hong Kong. Choi Siwon, a member of popular K-pop boy band Super Junior, was forced to apologise twice after liking a post on Twitter by South Korean newspaper The Chosun Ilbo about the Hong Kong protests. Twitter is blocked in China, but opinions that rile Beijing regularly make their way across the "Great Firewall" of censors ... read more