Hong Kong protesters storm central business district and clash with riot police

Dramatic video shows woman being tackled by riot police, as protest movement claims she is pregnant

Office workers and pro-democracy protesters gather during a demonstration in Central in Hong Kong on Tuesday (AFP/Getty)

Protesters clashed with police in Hong Kong again on Tuesday, blocking some major roads, including in the central business district, and causing universities to suspend classes.

After a long day of chaotic scenes on Monday, the continued clashes shut many businesses and threatened further disruption well into the working week. Previously, most major rallies have been reserved for weekends and the evening.

Several thousand demonstrators took over a large portion of the central business district at lunchtime, briefly facing off with riot police as suited city workers in face masks looked on.

After the police retreated out of sight, dramatic videos showed black-clad protesters also leaving the scene to what appeared to be supportive chants and applause from members of the public.

Police took a more direct approach to handling a series of rallies outside universities, where violent clashes involving petrol bombs and the liberal firing of teargas led most institutions to call off all lessons for the day.

Streets inside and outside the Chinese University campus entrance were littered with bricks, other debris and small street fires as police tackled some protesters to the ground.

A van used as part of a street barricade was set ablaze. And the university briefly cautioned that a storeroom had been broken into and potential weapons such as bows, arrows and javelins had been taken. All were later retrieved, it said.

The Demosisto pro-democracy group shared video of an incident on what appeared to be an MTR station footbridge, during which a woman was pepper-sprayed and tackled to the ground by a group of riot police officers.

Demosisto said the woman was pregnant, though this could not be independently verified. The group’s secretary general, Joshua Wong, called it an “outrage”.

As on Monday, protesters used bricks and debris to block roads and disrupted train services in several places.

Social media videos showed train passengers being escorted along the tracks on foot, while on one major thoroughfare half a dozen of Hong Kong’s famous trams were lined up bumper to bumper, unable to move.

The words “Join Us” were spray-painted on the front window of a stopped double-decker bus, abandoned by its driver and passengers with one of its windows broken.

Chief executive​ Carrie Lam, speaking to reporters after a meeting with advisers, called the disruption to another day’s commute “a very selfish act”.

“People from different sectors in society are holding fast to their positions and refusing to concede to violence or other radical actions,” she said. “I hereby express my gratitude to those who are still going to work and school today.”

In the central business district, though, the protesters still appeared to conjure widespread popular support – in spite of the inconvenience caused.

One 24-year-old, who would not give his name, left his office at lunchtime and joined those filling the pavements to watch the action. He told the Associated Press that he was there to support the protesters and accused the police of using excessive force, a common complaint among the city’s 7.4 million people.

Emily, a woman in her thirties working in the finance sector, was carrying a black leather shoulder bag and wearing a black mask and swimming goggles.

In the bag was a bowl to cover tear gas canisters when they land on the street, and a gas mask.

“I won’t take part in the attacks, I am here to try to protect the kids,” she told Reuters.

Police said more than 260 people were arrested on Monday, bringing the total number to more than 3,000 since the protests escalated in June.

On a particularly violent day in the months-long unrest, a police officer shot a black-clad protester in the abdomen and, in another district of the city, a man was set on fire during what appeared to be a political argument.

The Hong Kong hospital authority said both were still receiving treatment on Tuesday, with the shot protester in a serious condition and the man who was burnt in a critical condition.