Hong Kong riot police fire tear gas at university campus amid unrest - The Straits Times

HONG KONG (REUTERS, BLOOMBERG) - Hong Kong riot police fired tear gas at City University campus in Kowloon Tong on Tuesday (Nov 12), a day after a protester was shot and a man set on fire in some of the most dramatic unrest to rock the Chinese-ruled city in more than five months.

Residents of the Asian financial centre struggled to get to work as territory-wide transport disruptions wreaked commuter havoc and activists planned flash protests.

There were chaotic scenes as people thronged metro stations, only to stream out shortly after, clogging footpaths as they queued for buses or alternative transport after some train services were disrupted or suspended.

Some roads were closed early in the morning with long traffic jams building during rush hour, a day after some of the worst violence to rock the former British colony.

Riot police were deployed at metro stations across the territory, while rail operator MTR Corp urged people to use other forms of transport.

“It is very inconvenient for me because I have a few meetings to go to in Central,” said a 38-year-old man who gave his name as Rodney and who works as a legal consultant for an international firm.

"Hopefully my partners will understand that my city is going through a tough period,” he said, adding that he blames Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam for the protests

Protesters urged people to gather in the Central business district on Hong Kong Island and the bustling Kowloon tourism and shopping area of Tsim Sha Tsui at noon.

Universities and schools cancelled classes, with students, teachers and parents on edge a day after police fired tear gas and students hurled petrol bombs on some campuses.

Passengers are assisted as they walk on the railway after train service was suspended in the Sha Tin area of Hong Kong, on Nov 12, 2019. PHOTO: NYTIMES

More than 260 people were arrested on Monday, police said, bringing the total number to more than 3,000 since the protests escalated in June.

In a regular briefing on Tuesday morning, Lam said protesters who are trying to "paralyse" the city were extremely selfish and hoped all universities and schools would urge students not to participate in violence.

She also praised residents who volunteered to clear roadblocks set up by protesters. She said she respected everyone who went to work despite the difficult conditions.

On Monday, Mrs Lam said that the violence roiling the former British colony exceeded protesters' demands for democracy and demonstrators are now the people's enemy.

"Violence is not going to give us any solution to the problems that Hong Kong is facing. Our joint priority now as a city is to end the violence and to return Hong Kong to normal as soon as possible," she said.

One man was shot by a police officer on Monday during the morning clashes, while another was set on fire by protesters.

The man who was set by fire has been identified by the Hong Kong media as Leung Chi-cheung, 57, a construction worker and father of two girls.

Reports say he was on the way to a medical examination when he went after protesters who vandalised Ma On Shan MTR station on Monday afternoon. He was subsequently attacked and set on fire.

Leung is currently hospitalised and "fighting for his life" with second-degree burns on his chest and arms, media reports said.

Police have classified the case as attempted murder.

The United States has expressed “grave concern” over the increasingly violent situation in Hong Kong and called for restraint by both security forces and protesters.

“The United States is watching the situation in Hong Kong with grave concern,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.

“We condemn violence on all sides, extend our sympathies to victims of violence regardless of their political inclinations, and call for all parties – police and protesters – to exercise restraint,” Ortagus said.

In a separate statement, Ortagus urged Beijing to honour commitments that “Hong Kong will ‘enjoy a high degree of autonomy’ and that the people of Hong Kong will enjoy human rights the freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly".

The flare-up in violence occurred after Hong Kong last week saw its first fatality linked to the protests that began in June against a bill that would’ve allowed extraditions to mainland China.

While the proposal has since been withdrawn, demonstrators have widened their demands to include an independent inquiry into police violence and the ability to nominate and elect their own leaders – both of which Beijing has rejected.

An editorial in the state-backed China Daily newspaper condemned the violence on Monday and took aim at the "leniency of Hong Kong judges".

"Allowing (protesters) to apply for bail on easy terms and handing down extraordinarily light sentences has also served to encourage inhuman terrorist acts," it said.