China coronavirus: Hong Kong police, protesters clash in Fanling as anger erupts over proposal to use housing block as quarantine site
- Protesters respond to quarantine proposal by blocking roads, setting fire to newly constructed block with petrol bombs
- Government pledges to quell concerns at upcoming district council meeting
Protesters in the New Territories town began blocking Wah Ming Road, close to the newly constructed Fai Ming Estate, on Sunday afternoon after a speech the night before in which Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor suggested the estate could potentially be used as a quarantine site or a dormitory for medical staff fighting the epidemic.
While the government swiftly clarified on Sunday there was no firm plan to use the facility and that the Department of Health was renovating it only to serve as a reserve option, tensions were already boiling over.
By evening, about 200 residents and masked protesters were on the streets, shouting angrily as they went about putting bricks in the road. At about 8pm, men tossing petrol bombs set fire to ground floor areas of the new estate’s Sing Fai House and Tai Fai House. Firefighters rushed in to douse the flames, leaving the empty premises charred.
Riot police had moved in on the estate a couple of times during the day in an attempt to clear the roads, and by nightfall, were back to confront demonstrators.