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About 30 protesters clashed with the police yesterday as they attempted to stop the demolition work on Wedding Card Street in Wan Chai.
The protests  began about 4.30pm when activists presented flowers to workers at the construction site in Lee Tung Street -  commonly known as Wedding Card Street - urging them  not to continue with the demolition.
Scuffles broke out when police tried to remove the protesters.  They began shouting, 'I want to see [Secretary for Development Carrie] Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor'  as they were taken away by the police. Eleven men and four women were arrested. Their ages ranged from 17 to 42.
At  6pm, two protesters climbed  onto a steel structure with a banner reading 'Preserve the social network'. One of them was  17-year-old Ah Cho,   who staged an hour-long standoff against the police on the Queen's Pier rooftop in August. The pair descended voluntarily at  7.10pm.
The protest caused a severe traffic jam on  Johnston Road.
Tse Pak-chai, a protester, said the demonstration was started by  a group of people  concerned about the 'democratisation of urban planning'. He said the group was upset by the way the government had handled  the redevelopment of Lee Tung Street,  formerly the home of many wedding-card shops and publishers.
Asked why  they decided to obstruct the demolition work after it had begun,  he said it was not too late. 'The project in Lee Tung Street will have an impact on how the authorities handle other redevelopment projects, such as the one in Kwun Tong, and Sneaker Street in Mong Kok,' he said.
Kam Fok Lai-ching,  of the H15 Concern Group,  which represents former shop owners and residents, said she did not know about the protest. 'As a resident, I respect anyone who expresses their concern,'  said  Mrs Kam, the last shop owner to sell her property last October.
Three high-rise residential towers  are  to be built on the site by a joint venture of the Urban Renewal Authority and a winning bidder. Three pre-war buildings with Grade II historic status are to be preserved.
The  authority said last night the blueprint of the project in Lee Tung Street had been passed after a comprehensive consultation.



Protesters clash with police over Wedding Card Street demolition