Dozens of Hong Kong protesters make daring campus breakout
Hong Kong: Dozens of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters dramatically escaped a two-day police siege at a university campus late Monday by shimmying down ropes from a bridge to waiting motorbikes, after Beijing again warned it could intervene to end the crisis engulfing the city.
Clashes rumbled into the early hours of Tuesday between protesters and police who had threatened to use deadly force to dislodge activists holed up at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). The university siege has become a battle of wills between Hong Kong's stretched police force and the constantly innovating protest movement.
Late Monday, dozens of black-clad protesters on a footbridge slithered down ropes several metres to a road below, where they were whisked away on motorbikes.
In an apparently co-ordinated effort, tens of thousands of Hong Kongers streamed towards the PolyU campus to break the siege, as clashes simultaneously raged with police nearby in Kowloon. Several dozen people remained on the campus, one protester told AFP, although a number of minors were allowed to leave after negotiations with lawmakers.
A new phase of violence and drama began last week and has led to chaos throughout the semi-autonomous city of 7.5 million people, with schools closed, train lines disrupted and major roads blocked by barricades.
China has refused to budge on any of the protesters' demands, and warned it will not tolerate dissent in the financial centre.
A brief appearance by Chinese soldiers on Hong Kong's streets over the weekend -- supposedly to clean up debris -- fuelled concerns that Beijing could intervene militarily. China's ambassador to Britain upped the ante on Monday.
"The Hong Kong government is trying very hard to put the situation under control," Liu Xiaoming said. "But if the situation becomes uncontrollable, the central government would certainly not sit on our hands and watch. We have enough resolution and power to end the unrest."
Earlier, police made dozens of arrests as protesters made a dash for it -- sometimes beating people with batons as they held them on the ground, or kicking their heads.
"Other than coming out to surrender, I don't see any viable option for them," Cheuk Hau-yip, the police commander in Hong Kong's Kowloon West district, told a press conference, before the daring breakout.
The campus has been designated a 'riot' zone -- a charge of rioting carries up to 10 years in prison -- and Cheuk reiterated that police will use "live rounds" against protesters if faced with deadly weapons. Desperation deepened overnight inside the campus, where exhausted and scared mainly young protesters rationed the remaining food and bottled water.
"I will run but never surrender. I don't want to get arrested," said a protester who gave his name only as 'W'. "We are like rats in a trap."
Protests started in June as a peaceful condemnation of a now-shelved China extradition bill, but have morphed into a confrontational action to defend the city's unique freedoms from perceived encroachment by Beijing. Even by recent standards, the last few days have stood out as particularly violent, with one police officer hit in the leg by an arrow, and an armoured police vehicle torched.
Officers fired live rounds on Monday, though said they did not think anyone had been hit.
This was probably the most surreal thing I have ever witnessed in the Hong Kong protests. Protesters just attempted a daring escape through a bridge at Polytechnic University. Volunteers on motorbikes came in drives to drive them out asap. Police fired teargas. #HongKongProtests pic.twitter.com/huhSo3Mxo9
— Michael Zhang 張雨軒 (@YuxuanMichael) November 18, 2019
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Annamalai's remarks about Mumbai misconstrued for political gains, says BJP MLA
Mumbai (PTI): BJP MLA R Tamil Selvan on Monday defended party leader K Annamalai's remarks about Mumbai, saying his statements, aimed at highlighting the city's global importance, had been deliberately misconstrued for political gains.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) last week demanded that Annamalai be arrested for his remark that "Bombay is not a Maharashtra city".
While campaigning for the January 15 civic body elections last week, former IPS officer and ex-Tamil Nadu BJP president Annamalai had said, "People want a triple engine government. This is the only metro city in the country where a triple engine is possible. Modi is in Delhi, Fadnavis is the chief minister, and now Mumbai will have a BJP mayor. Mumbai is not a Maharashtra city but an international city."
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Talking to reporters, Selvan, who represents the Sion Koliwada assembly constituency, said, "Our leader Annamalai described Mumbai as a city respected across the world. What he wanted to say was that Mumbai is becoming the world's number one city, mainly because of the blessings of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Be it the Metro project, road construction or the provision of services, Mumbai has emerged as an important city on the global front. Annamalai was talking in this context."
The BJP leader's words were being distorted for political gains, he said.
"How can anyone separate Mumbai from Maharashtra? Not even a prime minister will be able to do it. Annamalai did not say those words out of disrespect. He was only saying that Mumbai has a global identity," he said.
Responding to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray's "Rasmalai" jibe at Annamalai, Selvan said, "Raj Thackeray is a senior leader, and many respect him. I still respect him, but he should respect others as well. I am also from Tamil Nadu, but I have won the assembly elections thrice with the support of around 90,000 Marathi voters. They did not see my background."
The BJP gives tickets to people who serve the society, he said.
Selvan claimed that he had worked extensively in Maharashtra, even in rural areas, and invoked icons such as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and Lokmanya Tilak in his speeches.
In a dig at his critics, the BJP MLA said, "Now people have seen who uses foul language against our chief minister, who works for the people's welfare. We oppose such use of foul language. CM Fadnavis will take appropriate action against such people."
