Police will clear Hong Kong’s main pro-democracy protest camp on Thursday and urged demonstrators not to resist, after more than two months of rallies for free leadership polls brought parts of the city to a standstill.
But some protesters have said they are determined to stand their ground until their demands are met, as they have failed so far to wring any concessions out of the authorities in Hong Kong or Beijing, which have branded the demonstrations “illegal”.
Bailiffs will clear parts of the Admiralty protest site covered by an injunction order on Thursday morning, and the police will then move in to dismantle the rest of the camp, which sprawls across a multi-lane highway that runs through the heart of the business district.
“After assisting bailiffs with the execution of the injunction order on Thursday, we will remove other obstacles on the carriageways and pavements,” along the main stretch of the protest site and surrounding roads, assistant commissioner of police, Cheung Tak-keung, told reporters. The aim is to reopen roads to traffic, he said.
Cheung asked protesters to leave in a “peaceful and orderly manner” and said police would take “resolute action” to clear those who resist, warning members of the public to stay away from the site Thursday.