Hong Kong students barricade campuses

An anti-government protester at a makeshift gate during a standoff with riot police at the...
An anti-government protester at a makeshift gate during a standoff with riot police at the Chinese University of Hong Kong on Thursday. Photo: Reuters
Anti-government protesters have paralysed parts of Hong Kong for a fourth day, forcing school closures and blocking highways and other transport links to disrupt the financial hub amid a marked escalation of violence.

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.

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 highway between Kowloon and the rural New Territories.

Police fired tear gas near the tunnel early on Thursday to try to clear the protesters. Roads were strewn with bricks and other debris leading to widespread traffic jams.

Thousands of students barricaded themselves inside campuses at several universities overnight, preparing stockpiles of food, bricks, petrol bombs and other make-do weapons as they hunkered down.

Dozens of riot police gathered outside several universities early on Thursday as students fortified their positions with metal poles, bricks and chairs.

Masses of commuters queued at metro stations across the city after some rail services were suspended and roads closed. Some people, dressed in office wear, shouted at riot police who were deployed on station platforms.

More protests are planned for later in the day including in the business district, home to some of the world's most expensive real estate, and around its glittering shopping malls.

The demonstrations were initially spurred by what many residents see as the stifling of freedoms guaranteed under a "one country, two systems" formula put in place when the territory returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

In particular, people were alarmed by a proposed law, now dropped, that would have seen criminal suspects liable to prosecution in mainland courts. As the protests intensified, anger grew about what many see as police brutality.

China denies interfering and has blamed Western countries, including Britain and the United States, for stirring up trouble. Police deny using excessive force.

Protesters in the central city on Thursday. Photo: Reuters
Protesters in the central city on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

'DANGEROUS, EVEN DEADLY'

Police said on Wednesday that the violence had reached a "very dangerous and even deadly level".

Authorities said 64 people were injured during Wednesday's clashes, which left two men in critical condition. There were no further details about their injuries.

Police said a man had died after falling from a height on Wednesday, but gave no further details.

Hong Kong's embattled leader, Carrie Lam, met senior officials late on Wednesday, media reported, amid speculation of new emergency measures to deal with the crisis.

"The government and the police have escalated the violence," said a 24-year-old worker caught in the traffic gridlock who gave her name as Kristy.

"If the government wants the violence to stop they need to listen to our demands," she said.

The city's Education Bureau announced on Thursday that all schools would be shut through this week due to safety concerns, which usually only happens during typhoons.

Several universities also announced there would be no classes on campuses for the rest of the year, while several shopping malls said they would close on Thursday.

BOTH SIDES 'AT FAULT'

Lam said this week protesters paralysing the city were "selfish" and were now the people's enemy.

While protests have usually taken place on weekends, with the city getting back to business during the week, the demonstrations are now taking place on week days, bringing huge disruption to the city of 7.4 million.

Pinky Lau, a 29-year-old finance executive who was among hundreds of people waiting for a train at a station in the government district, said protesters were disrupting transport because the government was not listening.

"I'm hoping that the government will become a real government - a government that can help its citizens and listen to them."

Hong Kong's metro operator MTR Corp said several train lines, stations and bus routes would remain shut due to damaged facilities, with the whole network shutting more than two hours early, by 10 pm.

The early closures and termination of transport services has further weakened the city's economy, which fell into recession for the first time in a decade in the third quarter. Retail and tourism have been hit hard by a fall in visitor numbers.

"Both sides play a role in creating this result," an office worker surnamed Chan said waited for a train to get to work.

She said she had initially supported the protesters but they had now gone too far.

"I hope things will return to normal as soon as possible."

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