Calm returns to streets around Hong Kong police headquarters following six-hour siege by extradition bill protesters
- Police begin clean-up operation at station after protest by some 1,000
- Entrance to Department of Justice headquarters closed on Thursday morning ahead of planned gathering by protesters
As calm returned, Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung urged protesters to express their opinions peacefully.
“Hong Kong greatly respects expressing different opinions through peaceful rallies, but we will absolutely not tolerate illegal or violent acts,” Cheung said. “The police have been highly tolerant faced with current challenges.”
Cheung called for mutual understanding and compromise from all citizens and cautioned against further non-cooperative movements that cause inconvenience to the public.
By 7am, roads near the headquarters in Wan Chai that had been blocked during the night, including Arsenal Street at the junction with Lockhart Road, and Harcourt Road in Admiralty, were reopened for traffic.
All public bus services affected were restored by 7am and MTR trains were operating as normal.