Protesters Block Entrances to Chinese University of Hong Kong in Anticipation of Police Offensive

NTD Newsroom
By NTD Newsroom
November 13, 2019Hong Kong
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Protestors in Hong Kong have blocked all entrances to a major university in anticipation of another offensive by police.

Pro-democracy protestors were staked out the Chinese University of Hong Kong Tuesday night and Wednesday morning after an intense standoff with police.

“It was already very very intense. Many people got injured. Professors were terrified,” protester Jay told NTD.

Protests have been ongoing for five months but there are some things that make these protests unusual.

On Wednesday, the Chinese Communist Party ordered all Hong-Kong based mainland students back to the mainland.

The police also did not respond when protesters strategically blocked the main highway near the university.

“I think it’s weird that they retreated and allowed us to guard this bridge,” protester Wong said.

The police left the scene late Tuesday night local time after firing tear gas and rubber bullets at protestors.

Police said 1,500 tear gas canisters and 1,300 rubber bullets were fired within a 3-hour period at the university Tuesday.

It’s unclear why police targeted the protests at the university when protests were happening in other parts of the city at the same time.

Some see the university as a symbol of the pro-democracy movement. It houses Hong Kong’s internet exchange that facilitates much of the island’s internet traffic.

“It’s a campus, a university. How can do this to our students?” Chor, a lecturer at the university, said.

Students and lecturers lamented the Chinese communist party’s encroachment on the region which, many see as the root cause of the tensions.

“We want to keep the Hong Kong way of living, running a government,” Chor said.

As of Wednesday morning, protesters were still preparing for the police to return.

Reporting by Paul Greaney, NTD News

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