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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 HK student leader, others arrested
Protesters using umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun face police officers in riot gear outside Hong Kong Government headquarters yesterday. Photo: AFP
/ AP, HONG KONG
Riot police yesterday arrested dozens of students who stormed the Hong Kong Government headquarters compound during a night of scuffles to protest China’s refusal to allow genuine democratic reforms in the territory.
However, hundreds of other protesters showed no sign of leaving the area next to a courtyard in the government complex that the students had entered and chanted at police to release their colleagues. The standoff between pro-democracy protesters and authorities looked set to drag on into a second night, as a steady stream of supporters arrived at the demonstration zone throughout the day.
The dispersal followed a night of confrontations between police and about 150 protesters who forced their way into the compound, some scaling a tall fence. Police on Friday night responded with pepper spray to push them back, but about 50 had remained inside the gated premises by early yesterday afternoon, when police moved in to clear them out.
At least 29 people have been injured and 61 arrested since Friday night, police said.
Hong Kong Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok （黎棟國） told reporters that police acted appropriately and gave students sufficient warning before starting the process of clearing the square.
The scuffles came at the end of a week-long strike by students demanding that Chinese Communist Party leaders organize fully democratic elections in 2017. Thousands of university and college students who had spent the week boycotting classes were joined on Friday by a smaller group of high-school students.
Tensions over Hong Kong’s political future have risen significantly since control of the former British colony passed to China in 1997.
China’s leaders have promised universal suffrage for the city, but last month ruled out letting the public nominate candidates, instead insisting that they be screened by a committee of Beijing loyalists.
Hong Kong’s young people have become vocal supporters of full democracy in recent years, fueled by anger over widening inequality and Beijing’s tightening grip on the city.
“We really want real democracy, so we will stay here and fight to get what we want,” 28-year-old teacher Jo Tai said. “We do not want everyone else to decide our future; we want the right to decide our future for this generation and the next generation.”
She and others said they were prepared to be arrested.
Protesters chanted slogans such as “Fight to the end” and “Free the protesters,” while carrying placards calling for civil disobedience. Volunteers passed out donated goggles and umbrellas to protect against police pepper spray, while others used plastic wrap and surgical masks for protection. Supporters dropped off bottles of water and energy drinks, bread, chocolate, biscuits and other provisions.
Organizers said those arrested included Joshua Wong （黃之鋒）, a 17-year-old leader of the activist group Scholarism, who was dragged away by four officers.
“Our movement is peaceful and does not use aggression,” University of Hong Kong students’ union president Yvonne Leung （梁麗幗） said. “Students who decided to storm inside [the government complex] knew about their legal responsibility.”
The student protest was organized independently of Occupy Central with Love and Peace, an alliance of pro-democracy activists planning to blockade Hong Kong’s financial district to call for genuine democratic reforms.
Yesterday, several Occupy Central members joined students protesting outside the square.
Benny Tai （戴耀廷）, a key leader of the Occupy Central movement, told reporters that the group would “stay with the students until the end and risk getting arrested ourselves.”
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
A protester is taken away by policewomen after storming into the government headquarters in Hong Kong yesterday. Photo: Reuters
