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Tear gas fired on campuses for first time as student protesters battle police at Chinese University, Polytechnic University and University of Hong Kong
- More than 100 tear gas rounds, sponge grenades and rubber bullets were fired by police, while student protesters hurled bricks and petrol bombs
- Protests and transport chaos prompt 11 universities to cancel classes – 10 will continue to suspend classes on Tuesday
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Hong Kong police fired tear gas in tertiary institutions for the first time on Monday, with Chinese University turned into a smoking battlefield where student protesters and officers were locked in a tense stand-off for seven hours.
The widespread traffic disruption in the morning, caused by anti-government protesters calling for a citywide strike, also prompted 11 universities to cancel classes. All but one of them would continue to suspend classes on Tuesday.
On Monday morning, police entered Chinese University (CUHK), Polytechnic University and the University of Hong Kong (HKU) to take action against protesters, firing tear gas on the first two campuses.
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The confrontation at CUHK in Sha Tin started at 8am, after objects were seen thrown onto MTR tracks at a nearby station. Police then entered the campus through a bridge from an entrance near Tolo Harbour and set up a defensive perimeter there.
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Another group of officers, who were clearing barricades on Tai Po Road, fired the first volley of tear gas into the campus at 11am. Dozens of students guarded the entrance along that road, shielding themselves with umbrellas.
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