So far, Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters have remained clam in the face of the removal of part of their camp by bailiffs.
Our Associate Editor Laurel Chor, who is live Tweeting from the site around CITIC Tower in Admiralty, reports that student leader Joshua Wong has just been let through to the front of the crowd, and is asking the police why they are clearing away parts of the protests site that are not blocking the road.
“If goal is to let cars come in and out, that’s accomplished. Why are you clearing barricades that don’t touch CITIC at all?”, the 18-year-old asked.
Last week an injunction was granted on behalf of the Golden Investment group, which claims the safety of its workers in CITIC Tower has been compromised by the occupation.
The removal operation started at around 10am this morning, with a police officer using a loudspeaker near the Umbrella Bauhinia art installation to ask for the protesters to clear away their belongings and cooperate.
Lawmaker Albert Ho was also at the scene, saying: “We fear that it [the injunction] may open the possibility of clearing the whole Tim Mei Road where there are still people occupying.”
At one point reporters became sandwiched as barricades were removed, but otherwise the scene has so far been markedly calm.
Lawmaker Albert Ho questions whether the removals will extend beyond the injunction’s limitsSpeaking in a media session just now, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive CY Leung said:
“I think it is abundantly clear by now that the occupiers are and have been breaching the law of Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a law-abiding society and the rest of Hong Kong expect the occupiers, like everyone else in Hong Kong, to follow the law. The demand on the part of the occupiers when it comes to the constitutional development, especially universal suffrage to elect the Chief Executive in 2017, is also very clear, so I don’t see any point in resisting the court order.”
Photos: Laurel Chor, Coconuts Media
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