Hong Kong Protests: Standoff Continues Protesters Escape Through The Sewers
Posted On November 20, 2019
The standoff continues, Hong Kong protesters and police have been intensely battling for weeks now. It seems the tide is swaying a bit in the police’s favor.
About 100 protesters still remain barricaded in at Polytechnic University. Their food supplies are depleting and their routes of escape are narrowing. Police have the campus completely surrounded.
The protesters situation is bleak. They have taken to sewer tunnels to escape, but the police are just waiting on the opposite side and arrest them on site.
On Tuesday at a news conference police say they have arrested nearly 1,100 people in the past 24 hours. The crimes being committed include taking part in riots and weapons possession.
Protesters Pleading For Help
Protest leader Joshua Wong posted this message from an unidentified woman who is a student at Polytechnic University. The masked woman had this to say:
The South China Morning Post, has reported that police have fired 1,458 rounds of tear gas, 1,391 rubber bullets, 325 beanbag rounds and 265 sponge grenades.
Julie McCarthy from NPR had this to say as she is on the front lines in Hong Kong.
“A lot of protesters have been injured during this weekend-long battle with police. They have eye injuries from tears gas, hypothermia from being doused with water cannons. Police basically surrounded the university and are arresting anyone who leaves.”
Police detain a protester as he tried to escape
Photo Credit: Wrve.org
Walls set up to keep police out
Photo Credit: Jimbakershow.com
Volunteers from Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders have been allowed to enter the university to tend to the injured protesters.
Chris Tang recently stepped into the leadership role for the Hong Kong police. The new commissioner entered at a very sensitive time.
Commissioner Tang Had This To Say To Reporters
“We have to maintain the law and order in Hong Kong and there is a massive scale of breaking of law in Hong Kong and there is a certain sector of the community that also condones these illegal activities.”
The standoff continues but seems to becoming to an end. It has been a 5 month long battle that has seen hundreds injured and thousands arrested.
(Cover image courtesy of PH News Yahoo, Videos courtesy of YouTube, Global News, Channel 4 News, Source NPR)
