Siege of Hong Kong police headquarters ends without clashes after 6-hour drama by extradition bill protesters
- More than 1,000 protesters had surrounded the building in Wan Chai, sealing entrances, vandalising premises, and trapping police inside
- Remaining protesters disperse when police in riot gear emerge from headquarters to take over the road again
Protesters ended a six-hour siege of Hong Kong’s police headquarters – their second in a week over the now-suspended extradition bill – early on Thursday morning.
More than 1,000 were involved at the height of the protest, which began after 10pm on Wednesday. Around 100 were left at the end and dispersed without a fight when officers with riot shields emerged from the building in Wan Chai at 4am on Thursday.
After a peaceful rally attended by thousands earlier at Edinburgh Place in the Central business district, hundreds descended on Arsenal Street, blocking the junction with Lockhart Road to all traffic and sealing the entrances to the police base.
“Release the martyrs,” they chanted, referring to those arrested on June 12 after protesters clashed with police who fired tear gas and rubber bullets. Police remained barricaded inside the building throughout the night, once again making no attempt to disperse the protesters.
At one point during the height of the protest, a plainclothes policeman was chased by protesters who tried to grab him as he fled towards the building. He ran onto a balcony before legislators at the scene intervened and the police opened a gate to let the officer in.
In a Facebook post, Senior Superintendent Kong Wing-cheung of the force’s public relations branch said the report room of Wan Chai police station had been closed.