Update | ‘Civic Square’ to reopen to public in Hong Kong – but with restricted access for demonstrations
Symbolic protest site outside the government headquarters was the setting for clash which later sparked 2014 Occupy movement
A fenced-off square outside the Hong Kong government headquarters that played a critical role in the city’s 2014 Occupy protest reopens to the public on Thursday – but with restricted access for demonstrations.
Officially called the East Wing Forecourt, but renamed “Civic Square” by pro-democracy protesters, the forecourt will reopen to vehicles as a drop-off point from 6am until 11pm. Permits to demonstrate at the site in Admiralty will only be granted on Sundays or public holidays.
The forecourt has been cordoned off since it became the flashpoint for repeated high-profile sit-ins including a 10-day demonstration against a proposed Beijing-backed education curriculum policy in 2012.
The area was stormed by protesters in 2014, led by student leaders Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Nathan Law Kwun-chung and Alex Chow Yong-kang, which sparked a clash with police that became a prelude to the Occupy movement.
One organisation, Civil Human Rights Front, has applied to march to the area for its annual New Year’s Day rally. Its chairman, Sammy Ip Chi-hin, was not optimistic about being able to use the site on January 1 as competing parties – including pro-government groups – were also vying for its occupation.
“The public area should be free for the people,” Ip said. “There [used to be] no restriction to using the area.”