News Digest

Hong Kong students brave pepper spray in clashes with riot police

Hong Kong riot police used pepper spray on Saturday to disperse dozens of students who had stormed government headquarters, but an equal number held their ground in protests against Beijing’s tightening grip on the city. Hundreds of students had forced their way past a police cordon and scaled perimeter fences at government headquarters, close to Hong Kong’s financial district, on Friday in the culmination of a week-long rally to demand free elections in the former British colony. Riot police clashed several times throughout Friday night with protesters who had forced their way through a gate and scaled high fences into a courtyard in front of government offices. Some students had dispersed before police resorted to pepper spray on those remaining. On Saturday, protesters continued to occupy Civic Square at the government’s headquarters and clash with police.

We don’t care if we get hurt, we don’t care if we get arrested, what we care about is getting real democracy.

Protester Wong Kai-keung

Student leader Lester Shum, along with Hong Kong Federation of Students leader Alex Chow, were among a group of about 30 protesters who remained in a square outside government headquarters overnight. Police arrested six people, including teenage student leader Joshua Wong, who was dragged away by police kicking, screaming and bleeding from his arm. Many protesters held up umbrellas to protect themselves against the pepper spray and called on police to stand down. The scenes were the most heated so far in a series of demonstrations to oppose Beijing’s decision in late August to rule out fully democratic elections for the city’s leader in 2017, by limiting elections to a handful of candidates loyal to Beijing. The decision prompted threats from pro-democracy activists to shut down the Central financial district in the so-called Occupy Central campaign.

I paid my highest respect to every soldier who defends till the last moment … civil disobedience, it continues to happen.

Student leader Lester Shum on his Facebook page