Hong Kong: For almost three months, anti-government protests has been a regular scene in Hong Kong. Transport to and from was halted for hours as protesters barricaded roads, leaving traffic gridlocked and stranding hundreds of tourists at the terminal. The protesters blocked roads near Hong Kong’s airport with burning barricades and vandalized a subway station after a night of violent clashes with police. Train and some bus service to the airport on the outlying island of Chek Lap Kok were suspended. Some passengers had to walk to the airport carrying luggage.
The protesters threw petrol bombs and set fires and police responded with water cannon and tear gas. Police were also seen rushing into a subway station to make dozens of arrests. The government said some protesters threw objects at police. It also said iron poles, bricks and rocks were thrown onto tracks of the airport train. At least 26 flights from Hong Kong and 17 to the city had been cancelled.
After protesters began to flee from the airport, some attacked a train station in the adjacent Tung Chung area. They used metal bars to smash lights and broke open a fire hose valve, sending water gushing across the floor. Protesters set up barricades on two adjacent streets and set fire to some of them. Protesters left the area after busloads of riot police flooded into the train station.
Activists arrested, protest march banned
Well-known activist Joshua Wong and another key player of a pro-democracy group were taken in custody by the police. The authorities did not grant permission for a major march in what appears to a harder line on this summer's protests. The organizers of the march said they were calling it off after an appeals board denied permission. "The first priority of the Civil Human Rights Front is to make sure that all of the participants will be physically and legally safe. That's our first priority," said Bonnie Leung, a leader of the group. "And because of the decision made by the appeal board, we feel very sorry but we have no choice but to cancel the march."
It was unclear whether some protesters would still demonstrate on their own. Police have been rejecting many applications for rallies and marches, citing violence at or after earlier ones. They also are arresting people for protests held earlier this summer. Andy Chan, the leader of a pro-independence movement, was arrested at the airport. Three others were taken earlier this week for vandalising the legislature offices on July 1.
Police said that Wong and Agnes Chow are being investigated for their role in a June 21 unauthorized protest outside a police station. Both face potential charges of participating in the demonstration and inciting others to join it. Wong, secretary-general of Demosisto, also is being investigated on suspicion of organizing it. He was one of the student leaders of the Umbrella Movement, the major pro-democracy demonstrations in 2014.
