International
0

HK Police Clear Last Protest Site

HK Police Clear Last Protest Site
HK Police Clear Last Protest Site

Hong Kong authorities arrested several pro-democracy activists on Monday as they cleared the last of three protest sites, marking the closure of demonstration camps in the city that have blocked streets for more than two months.

About 100 police swept into Causeway Bay, a shopping district popular with mainland Chinese tourists, to remove barricades as protesters scrambled to pack up their belongings from the smallest of the three main sites, according to Reuters.

Authorities dragged away tents and other belongings and dumped them in trucks and the site was mostly clear by noon. Police had announced on the weekend they would take action to clear the area.

On Thursday, police cleared most of the main protest site in the Admiralty district next to government headquarters..

Hong Kong, a former British territory, returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that gives the city more autonomy and freedom than the mainland and a goal of universal suffrage.

The protesters are demanding open nominations in the city’s next election for chief executive in 2017. Beijing has said voters will only be able choose from pre-screened candidates.

 

Financialtribune.com