HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong police made fresh attempts today to unblock streets that have been occupied for two weeks by pro-democracy protesters, removing more barricades a day after clashes broke out as opponents of the protest movement tried to reclaim roads.
Police, criticised for using tear gas and batons in the first 24 hours of the protests, have adopted a more patient approach, counting on protesters to come under public pressure to clear some of the Chinese-controlled city’s major arteries.
Pro-democracy protesters believe yesterday’s clashes, which occurred after police removed some barricades, were co-ordinated and involved triad criminal groups.
They said some police stood by or did not act quickly enough as hundreds of people, some wearing surgical masks and armed with crowbars and cutting tools, dismantled barricades.
Students reinforced barricades late yesterday, erecting bamboo scaffolding four metres high along one major thoroughfare, while others mixed concrete to pour over the foundations of their road blocks.