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SCMP Reporters

The city witnessed the strongest show of force yet by Occupy protesters and police in Admiralty late on Sunday and in the early hours of yesterday.
Student leaders wanted to blockade the government headquarters and the chief executive's office. Protesters twice occupied Lung Wo Road but police in riot gear managed to eject them. The protesters ended up where they started - back in their tents.
Students had also wanted to blockade the main footbridge leading to the government headquarters to prevent civil servants from getting to work. But this plan failed after police took control of the bridge.
The overnight scuffles led to 40 people being sent to hospital and 17 police officers being injured. Forty people - 35 men and 5 women - were arrested on suspicion of unlawful assembly, possession of offensive weapons, theft and disorderly conduct in a public place.

After 12 hours, the students returned to their main protest site in Harcourt Road.
The retreat came after police began charging them outside Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's office at 7am. Officers swept through Tamar Park, pushing the protesters back to Harcourt Road. It was all over in half an hour.
The night had begun on a high note at 9pm on Sunday, with Federation of Students representative Nathan Law Kwun-chung calling on protesters to escalate their action. Wearing hard hats, goggles and protective masks, hundreds of them headed towards the chief executive's office.
Although a police cordon on Lung Wo Road held them back outside Leung's office, the crowd grew gradually with reinforcements pouring in from the main base in Harcourt Road.
"Five, four, three, two, one, charge!" a protester shouted, before a group rushed at police.
The protesters then spilled over onto the road and occupied one section of the thoroughfare. Some moved metal barricades to block the police.
Police fired pepper spray and used batons to disperse the protesters. Some were pushed to the ground and subdued. At least one protester ended up with a bloodied face.
The standoff lasted until 1.30am when the police launched a major counteroffensive. More than 200 riot police swiftly moved in.
The protesters opened their trademark umbrellas and used wooden boards to shield themselves, but to no avail. One shot at police officers with a fire extinguisher. Others lobbed eggs, bottles and soft drink cans at the police as they fled.
The road was cleared and reopened - but only briefly. At around 3am, after most police officers had left Lung Wo Road, the protesters returned and retook the highway.
They quickly set up barriers again, using wooden boards, bricks and parts of water-filled plastic barriers they had obtained from a nearby construction site.
Calm returned for a few hours, as police and protesters, by now exhausted, retreated for a rest.
But by 7am, a new contingent of officers in riot gear appeared suddenly from the two sides of the chief executive's office and entered Lung Wo Road.
Using fire hoses to drench protesters outside the chief executive's office, the police surged forward and pushed the crowd back on to the pavements, and then to Tamar Park.
READ MORE: To view all the latest Occupy Central stories click here
Officers chased the protesters to the park and wielded pepper spray and batons to drive them further down Harcourt Road. Some demonstrators fell or were pushed to the ground before officers tied their hands with plastic strips.
Police also removed dozens of tents which had earlier been set up by protesters. The only trace of the protesters' presence were dried patches of grass.
On their way back to the main protest site, some protesters asked the police why they needed to use such a degree of force.
One young female protester broke into tears and said to reporters and police at the scene: "Why do you treat us this way? We didn't charge at police lines." Police officers nearby walked past without saying anything.
Danny Lee, Danny Mok, Shirley Zhao, Chris Lau, Alan Yu, Ernest Kao and Lai Ying-kit
 


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Hong Kong police thwart student plans to blockade government headquarters

Police fire water at protesters in Lung Wo Road. Photo: Sam Tsang

News

Hong Kong

Police thwart student plans to blockade government headquarters and CY's office


The city witnessed the strongest show of force yet by Occupy protesters and police in Admiralty late on Sunday and in the early hours of yesterday.
