HONG KONG: Tear gas was fired in at least two places on Thursday morning (Nov 14), as protesters continued to paralyse parts of Hong Kong for a fourth day.
Protesters have torched vehicles and buildings, hurled petrol bombs at police stations and trains and vandalised prime shopping malls over the past week in some of the worst violence seen in more than five months of unrest.
Advertisement
Advertisement
READ: Elderly man fighting for life after being hit by brick during Hong Kong protest skirmish
After targeting the Chinese University of Hong Kong, which has been dubbed as "weapons factory", police closed in on Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HKPU) on Thursday.
Tear gas was fired at around 8am, according to HKPU Student Union's editorial committee.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Thousands of students barricaded themselves inside campuses with makeshift fortifications at several other universities, blocking entrances and occupying nearby roads, preparing stockpiles of food, bricks, petrol bombs and other makeshift weapons as they hunkered down for possible clashes with police.
READ: Protesters blockade universities, stockpile makeshift weapons as chaos grips Hong Kong
Activities came to a halt in the international financial hub as highways and other transport links were blocked, and schools ordered to close.
Black-clad protesters and university students maintained their blockades of major roads, including the entrance to the Cross-Harbour Tunnel that links Hong Kong island to the Kowloon area, and a major highway artery between Kowloon and the rural New Territories.
Police fired tear gas near the tunnel on Thursday morning to try to clear the protesters.
A number of major shopping malls also announced they would close on Thursday due to safety concerns as protesters planned further demonstrations throughout the day.
Commuters queued at metro stations across the city after some rail services were suspended. Some citizens, dressed in office wear, shouted at riot police who were deployed on station platforms.
One woman, a 24-year-old worker caught in the traffic gridlock who gave her name as Kristy, said: "The government and the police have escalated the violence."
"If the government wants the violence to stop they need to listen to our demands," she added.
READ: Frustration, safety fears at finance firms as protests paralyse Hong Kong
MAN DIES AFTER FALL FROM HEIGHT
The city's education bureau announced that all schools would be shut on Thursday due to safety concerns, a decision that typically only happens during severe typhoons or natural disasters.
Several universities also announced there would be no classes on campuses for the rest of the year from Thursday, meaning they would rely on online learning and other assessment methods for the remaining weeks of term.Read More – Source
