About 200 protesters were still inside the sealed-off Hong Kong Polytechnic University campus, raising fears of bloody clashes with no resolution in sight.
The former British colony appointed a new head of police, Chris Tang, on Tuesday to oversee the city’s force of more than30,000 officers. Tang said the force was not able to end the protests alone.Dozens of mask-wearing protesters staged a dramatic escape from the Polytechnic University on Monday night by shimmying down plastic hosing from a bridge and fleeing on waiting motorbikes as police fired projectiles.
“Some people just don’t give a shit. They just want to sit back and wait for a successful result,” he said. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday she hoped the university standoff could be resolved peacefully, although she was shocked that campuses had been turned into “weapons factories”.The number of people demonstrating has fallen in recent weeks but clashes have worsened since early last week, when police shot a protester, a man was set on fire and the city’s financial district was filled with tear gas in the middle of the workday.
Jasper Tsang, a pro-Beijing politician who is the former head of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, told Reuters there could be bloodshed if the police entered the Polytechnic University campus by force and would meet strong resistance.Thousands of black-clad protesters have taken to the nearby commercial and tourist district in Tsim Sha Tsui in support of those still inside.