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SCMP Reporters

Hundreds of masked radicals and police officers remain locked in a stand-off at a Hong Kong university following more than 24 hours of unprecedented clashes, which saw live rounds being fired at two locations.
Radicals who stayed at the Polytechnic University campus in Hung Hom, despite repeated warnings to leave, started a massive fire at the school entrance to fend off police, who briefly stormed the campus and detained a few at around 5.30am on Monday.
After 8am, the mob decided collectively to leave the campus en masse, but were quickly met by rounds of tear gas fired by police at several entrances. Some managed to escape, while others were forced to retreat.
On Sunday night, police urged everyone to leave the campus or risk “taking part in a riot”, and also vowed to resort to lethal weapons if protesters continue to attack officers. Those that did leave were arrested immediately. 
This is how it happened.
Reporting by Ng Kang-chung, Sum Lok-kei, Danny Mok, Karen Zhang, Chris Lau, Chan Ho-him, Brian Wong, Kathleen Magramo, Lilian Cheng, Martin Choi, Alvin Lum and Jeffie Lam.


As it happened: Hong Kong protesters drop onto highway from footbridge on university campus and escape on motorcycles

Photo: Felix Wong

Hong Kong protests: riot squads surround university campus occupied by radicals after day of fierce clashes, shooting of officer with arrow and live round fired at car trying to ram police line

News

Hong Kong

Politics

Radical protesters and police clashed throughout the day. Photo: Sam Tsang

A police armoured vehicle has been set on fire on the flyover where a massive breaks out during clashes between riot police and students protesting at the bridge of the Cross Harbour Tunnel besides Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hung Hom. 17NOV19 SCMP / Winson Wong

Two water canon trucks and an armoured vehicle arrive as clashes break out between riot police and students protesting at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hung Hom as tear gas and petrol bombs are exchanged. 17NOV19 SCMP / Winson Wong

In this photo released by the Hong Kong Police Department, police prepare to remove an arrow from the leg of a fellow officer during a confrontation with protestors at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2019. Police fired tear gas at protesters holding out at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University as overnight clashes resumed Sunday, and opposition lawmakers criticized the Chinese military for joining a cleanup to remove debris from streets. (Hong Kong Police Dept. via AP)

Protestors extinguish tear gas canisters outside PolyU. 17NOV19 SCMP / Winson Wong

Residents clear bricks at Austin Road and Chatham Road South, near to PolyU. Photo: Phila Siu

Two water canon trucks and an armoured vehicle arrive as clashes break out between riot police and students protesting at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hung Hom as tear gas and petrol bombs are exchanged. 17NOV19 SCMP / Sam Tsang

The Cross Harbour Tunnel remains shut due to roadblocks meanwhile clashes break out between riot police and students protesting at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hung Hom as tear gas and petrol bombs are exchanged. 17NOV19 SCMP / Winson Wong


Protesters trapped inside Polytechnic University make several attempts to flee
Tear gas fired in Jordan and Tsim Sha Tsui, as lunchtime protest returns to Central



Some of those trapped inside Polytechnic University attempt to flee, but are driven back as tear gas is fired by police surrounding the exits.


Hong Kong protests

Live

At the junction of Nathan Road and Argyle Street in Mong Kok, bricks and railings are strewn everywhere after overnight clashes, blocking traffic completely.
Around 40 riot police are deployed to clear the roads for vehicles, and there are no protesters in sight. However, the police search the bags of three females dressed in black outside Langham Place.



Major cleanup under way

Residents in Sai Wan Ho place a box of fresh white flowers near the spot where 21-year-old college student Chow Pak-kwan was shot by police last week. As of Friday, his condition had improved to stable.
Vehicles drive cautiously as traffic lights are broken, and chipped pieces of brick and litter are strewn across the road.
“Hong Kong has been destroyed. I saw the whole thing happen right in front of my eyes when the police shot the student last Monday,” a roadside vegetable market vendor says to a customer on Tai On Street while he lays out fresh produce.   


‘Hong Kong has been destroyed’

In Sai Wan Ho, an 80-year-old newspaper vendor, surnamed Lo, says he has difficulty walking to his shop as the sidewalks are bumpy.
“I’m old but I still need to sell newspapers to make a living. I really hope someone helps to clean up the roads,” Lo says, as another resident helps put down cardboard and wooden planks to fill in holes in the pavement destroyed by the mob.
“Many elderly people live in Sai Wan Ho, it’s dangerous to have the pavement broken. The dust and smell of rubbish is also not good for health,” he says.
  


Elderly residents try to go on as normal

Dozens of commuters and residents who pass by Nathan Road start removing bricks cemented to the road. Together with the cleaners’ efforts, the whole path is almost cleared in 30 minutes. One volunteer, who did not wish to be named, says he is heartbroken by destruction caused in the city.
Volunteers attempt to remove bricks cemented on Nathan Road by protesters. It took about half an hour to clear the area in Mong Kok
  Video: SCMP/Lilian Cheng pic.twitter.com/hxp45Dr3FM
  — SCMP Hong Kong (@SCMPHongKong) November 18, 2019
Meanwhile, at a nearby newspaper stall, shopkeeper Jody Chan says she’s been delayed getting to work because she has to walk from another district since the minibus cannot reach Mong Kok. “Some newspapers are unable to deliver to us due to the traffic,” she says. “I have a sense of helplessness, I no longer know if the protests are good or bad for the future of Hong Kong”.
She says these days, stalls have had to shorten opening hours and react to the what’s going on around them. “Sometimes when I saw youngsters start changing into their black costumes, then we will close the businesses immediately. I hope things could return to normal, if it could,” she says.


‘I have a sense of helplessness’

Former British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind has urged Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, to order police to show restraint in handling the protests at Polytechnic University, and for radicals to stop their violent acts.
“Hong Kong’s chief executive has the responsibility to do everything possible to prevent a massacre. She must order the police to exercise restraint and not to use live ammunition or other forms of lethal force,” Rifkind says in a statement issued by UK-based group Hong Kong Watch.
“A bloodbath on a Hong Kong campus would be devastating for Hong Kong as a whole. I also urge those students who have engaged in violence to stop. I condemn violence on all sides and I call on both sides to show restraint and pull back from the brink.”   


‘A bloodbath on a Hong Kong campus would be devastating for Hong Kong’

Around 100 masked radicals have regrouped and rebuilt roadblocks with bricks and debris at the junction of Nathan Road and Jordan Road - which was earlier cleared - on Monday morning. 
Black-clad masked protesters regroup and rebuild roadblocks at the junction of Nathan and Jordan Roads that was earlier cleared
  Video: SCMP/Lilian Cheng pic.twitter.com/9BTmojjAIH
  — SCMP Hong Kong (@SCMPHongKong) November 18, 2019


Radicals back building walls

In Tsim Sha Tsui, about 100 people have been subdued and arrested by police. An officer says they were arrested for fleeing from Polytechnic University, blocking roads, and unlawful assembly. 



Police make arrests

Angelo has lived in Hong Kong for the past 25 years, and says he does not understand what the protesters are looking for.
“Democracy is, even when you have different opinions with me, I still respect you,” he says, while helping to remove railings that are blocking a road in Mong Kok. “And what the protesters doing now is simply not civilised.”



‘What the protesters are doing is not civilised’

The Open University of Hong Kong announces the cancellation of its congregation, which was scheduled for Monday, because of the “current situation and the disruption of public transport services”.


Open University cancels event

A PolyU alumnus, surnamed Chan, says he is among those who stayed overnight in the campus and will continue to do so. 
“I can’t tell you how many people are still here now. Half of us want to leave , half of us want to stay,” he says on a radio programme. “It’s not that we don’t want to leave, but there is no way for us to leave. There will be arrests whether you leave or not. We are staying behind ... to buy time.” 
He adds that police did not allow anyone, including lawmakers and their president to enter the campus.


Trapped in Polytechnic University

Chung Kim-wah, assistant professor at PolyU’s Department of Applied Social Sciences, says he has been in contact with some of the students who remain on the campus and understands a number of them are having emotional breakdowns. 
“The younger ones are breaking down while the more radical ones, who tried to leave but failed, are in panic,” he tells a radio programme.
“There is nothing we can do. I hope the PolyU management can be more proactive. Had they been more proactive, the matter would not have dragged on.”
Chung also accuses police of labelling as rioters all those who stayed behind.
“I know the students. Some of them are rather peaceful although they have strong views,” he says. “But they are labelled as rioters before there is sufficient evidence.”


Students suffering emotional breakdown, in panic: PolyU academic

Democratic Party lawmaker Ted Hui Chi-fung, who has stayed on campus since Sunday, says most students and radicals are already very tired after previous confrontations with police, and their supplies are running low. 
“The confrontations have paused for now, police can’t come in, but protesters can’t go out either,” Hui tells the Post. “The students are all very tired and some are tying to make some calls in case they get arrested. Food and drinking water are starting to get less and less, maybe they can’t stand another day.”
He says protesters have not considered surrendering, despite 50 protesters already being injured. According to Hui, most were hit by pepper spray, with some hit by tear-gas canisters in the head. 
“They will either flee or get arrested with dignity, they won’t leave easily,” Hui says, adding he is prepared to be arrested too.


Protesters running out of food, morale low, says lawmaker

A group of hard-core protesters have set barricades at the junction of Nathan Road and Jordan Road. Some throw bricks at vehicles which do not stop at the roadblocks.
The radicals extend their lines in Jordan Road to the junction with Cox’s Road. They have started to prepare projectiles, shielding their activities with umbrellas, pictured below.
One of them shouts: “Those who know how to make ‘fire magic’ please come forward. We need more people.”



Bricks thrown at cars in Yau Ma Tei

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) announces it is to close five of its branches on Monday because of “recent circumstances”. The affected branches are located in Sai Wan Ho, East Tsim Sha Tsui, Jordan, Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok.
Chinese bank ICBC has become a target of radical mobs bent on vandalising any business with links to mainland China. 


Bank announces branch closures

A Hospital Authority spokesman says some hospital and clinical services, including elective surgeries, might be affected on Monday as staff cannot report for duty on time because of traffic disruption. Services at the Accident and Emergency Departments and inpatient services at public hospitals are largely normal at the moment, he says.
He calls on patients who are not able to attend their scheduled consultations to reschedule, and there is no need for them to worry or rush for consultation appointments. “If patients do not have medication on hand, please call the clinics concerned,” he adds.


Hospital Authority: some services may be affected

The MTR Corporation says the East Rail line connecting Hung Hom and Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau is running a limited service. The section between Mong Kok East station and Hung Hom station is temporarily suspended after smoke is seen rising from the track, and objects were thrown onto the track near Mong Kok station. 
The West Rail line is only running between Tuen Mun station and East Tsim Sha Tsui station, and is skipping Hung Hom station. Two other stations – University and Whampoa - remain closed while Yau Ma Tei station has reopened. All MTR train services, except the Airport express line, will close at 11pm based on the corporation’s risk assessment.


MTR update

Vandals caused carnage at a Starbucks in Jordan Road overnight. They smashed glass and sales equipment. 
In recent months, diehard activists have targeted shops and bank branches for their perceived links to mainland China and pro-Beijing views.
Among them is Starbucks, which is run under the Maxim’s franchise in Hong Kong.




Starbucks smashed up in Yau Ma Tei

An 84-year-old is among the 38 injured in relation to the disturbances since the start of Sunday. Five are in serious condition.
According to the Hospital Authority, 14 people were sent to hospital for treatment on Sunday in relation to the protests.
They are aged between 22 and 57. A man is in serious condition while three men and a woman are stable. The rest have been discharged.
Between midnight and 7.30am on Monday, 24 people were taken to hospital. They ranged in age between 16 and 84 years old.
Four people of those are in serious condition, 14 stable and six of them have been discharged.


38 injured at protests since Sunday

Traffic lights in Tai Po damaged in the violence over the past week has been a cause for concern for the elderly.
“The [damaged] traffic lights are very dangerous and have quite a big impact on the daily lives of older people like us,” says a 60-year-old man who gave his surname as Lam and works in the transportation industry. “It’s been quite chaotic over the past few days. I think that there are problems with both sides.”



A cause for concern

The Hang Seng benchmark index jumps 300 points, or 1.14 per cent to 26,268, at 11am despite the civil unrest in Hong Kong. Traders say the market has been partially boosted by excitement at the secondary listing in the city next week of internet giant Alibaba, the company that owns the South China Morning Post.


Hang Seng jumps on Alibaba optimism

Four student reporters from City University are searched when they leave the Polytechnic University campus, some are asked by police if they were involved in making petrol bombs. 
One, Parco Cheung, is accused of being a “fake reporter”.
“They said I smell of lacquer thinner, and asked if I have a hand in making petrol bombs,” Cheung says. 
He is also asked to unlock his cell phone to prove he has taken photos as a journalist. “They told me, unlock the phone or you face 10 years in jail,” he says.



Student reporters searched by police

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announces that some facilities in the Yau Tsim Mong district will be closed.
These included all facilities in Kowloon Park, Kwun Chung Sports Centre, King’s Park Hockey Ground, tennis courts at King’s Park Playground, the Hong Kong Museum of History, the Hong Kong Science Museum, the Hong Kong Space Museum, Tsim Sha Tsui Public Library, Yau Ma Tei Public Library, the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and Yau Ma Tei Theatre.
“Subject to the situation, more cultural and leisure facilities in the same district and any other districts which may be affected will also be closed early and at short notice to ensure the safety of venue users,” the department says in a statement.


City’s museums closed for the day

Overnight, the Communist Party’s mouthpiece, People’s Daily, publishes a hard-hitting commentary stating that there is “no room” for compromise in the struggle with the rioters.
“What we are faced with today is a struggle between safeguarding ‘one country, two systems’ and destroying it,” the commentary says. “On this issue that involves national sovereignty, and the future of Hong Kong, there is no middle ground and absolutely no room for compromise.”
The commentary also reiterates that Beijing would not hesitate to crush any attempt to challenge national sovereignty, security and unity. “Any attempts to challenge these ‘three bottom lines’, and interfere and sabotage ‘one country, two systems’ are just delusional, and futile and doomed to fail,” it says.
However, it also makes clear clear that Beijing remains committed to abiding by one country, two systems, in spite of the chaos and violence in Hong Kong.
“Facts have proven that one country, two systems is the best option in resolving the legacy problems of Hong Kong, and the best system that can enable Hong Kong to maintain long-term prosperity and stability after its reunification with the country,” it says. “One country, two systems is feasible, executable and welcomed by the people.”


‘No room for compromise on Hong Kong’

The mother of a protester trapped inside Polytechnic University arrives in Jordan, trying to get close to the campus and save her son.
“I warned him to leave last night at around 10pm when some protesters fled successfully,” says Mrs Chan, whose son studies at the Institute of Vocational Education, and was at  Polytechnic University to support others. “Better [to] be a hero than a martyr, that’s what I told him.”
She says her son has food and is able to keep in contact with her. “He said that their efforts don’t bring them any returns, but as a mother, I just want my son back,” she says.


A mother’s anguish

Ken Woo Kwok-wang, the acting president of Polytechnic University’s student union who is on campus, tells the Post between 600 and 700 people are still there. More than half of them are believed to be PolyU students, he says.
Woo says dozens of them tried to leave the campus through different entrances on Monday morning, but almost all of them were forced to retreat in the face of the tear gas fired by police. He believes only one of them managed to flee.
“Hong Kong police are creating a humanitarian crisis inside PolyU,” he says. “We are trapped. There is insufficient food and the number of injured is on the rise and the hygiene situation is getting worse. They are trying to push the students to a dead end, forcing them either to surrender or resist by putting their lives at risk.”
More than 50 first aiders are still on campus to take care of the injured, Woo says. “Many people have been hurt by the water cannon fired by the police overnight. The water has hit their heads and skin, causing dizziness and rashes,” he says, adding some also suffered from hypothermia.
Woo also calls on different organisations, including international groups, to offer humanitarian assistance to PolyU.


‘Police are creating humanitarian crisis at PolyU’, says student president

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor arrives at Kwong Wah Hospital to pay a visit to the injured police officer shot with an arrow on Sunday at the conflict outside Polytechnic University.
The city’s leader, accompanied by Secretary of Security John Lee Ka-chiu, stays for approximately 15 minutes, and leaves without answering questions concerning the status of the injured officer. Her visit to the hospital was not announced to the media and riot police standby outside throughout.
 



Carrie Lam visits injured police officer

Riot police on the flyover across the West Kowloon Corridor fire tear gas into a crowd of protesters walking on the west-bound lane towards the them. Petrol bombs are seen thrown towards police.
A masked protester is bleeding badly after being hit by a projectile in his forehead. He is lying on Gascogne Road outside Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei, and a group of people are giving him first-aid.


Tear gas fired in Yau Ma Tei

Nathan Road near the Kowloon Mosque in Tsim Sha Tsui is blocked with bamboo scaffolding, as is the junction towards Haiphong Road. A courier, surnamed Wong, says he made a delivery in the area at around 11am and has been stuck on the road.
“I’m waiting for my colleague so we can head back to our office in Kwun Tong,” he says. “It’s inconvenient but at least there’s no clashes between protesters and police here.”



Roadblock in Tsim Sha Tsui

Responding to an appeal by Polytechnic University president Teng Jinguang for protesters to surrender and leave the campus peacefully, Ken Woo Kwok-wang, the acting president of the university’s student union, describes it as not helpful, and says the students who stay do not wish to be arrested.
Students leaving the campus on Sunday after being told to do so by police were immediately arrested, and one who remains inside accuses police of breaking their promise. Some radicals interpreted the police plea for them to come out, as meaning they would not be taken into custody.
But, in a Facebook video on Sunday night, Superintendent Louis Lau Siu-pong called on everyone to leave the campus because of the “extremely dangerous” situation, and said they should leave via the exit at Core Y, and follow police’s instructions. There is no mention of whether they will or will not be arrested in the video.


Polytechnic University president’s appeal ‘not helpful’

Protesters retreat down Nathan Road, between Jordan and Yau Ma Tei, after police fire tear gas in Jordan. Some suggest attacking government offices nearby, while others stay to build another barricade outside the Eaton Hotel.



Clashes on Nathan Road

Police advance along Gascoigne Road, firing rounds of tear gas. The radical protesters are 100 metres away and respond with at least one petrol bomb.
There is major traffic disruption in the area. Access is blocked to Jordan Road between Gascoigne Road and Ferry Street.
All lanes are blocked in Gascoigne Road near to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, as well as both sides of Nathan Road between Gascogine Road and Humphreys Avenue.
A stand-off erupts between protesters and police near Diocesan Girls School in Jordan. Protesters had earlier retreated slightly after rounds of tear gas were fired
  Video: SCMP/Lilian Cheng pic.twitter.com/QuER7JfnWv
  — SCMP Hong Kong (@SCMPHongKong) November 18, 2019



Tear gas fired during police advance in Jordan

In a statement issued at about noon, police say “a large group of masked rioters” holed up in Polytechnic University charged cordons set up by officers at around 8am on Monday.
Police say many of them were holding petrol bombs, adding rounds of tear gas were fired after repeated warnings to disperse were ignored.
The force urges everyone on campus to “drop their weapons and dangerous items, remove their gas masks” and leave the university in an orderly manner, via the top level of Cheong Wan Road South Bridge.
 


‘Masked rioters’ charge officers at PolyU: police

Police clear roadblocks built with bamboo in the Tsim Sha Tsui section of Nathan Road, near Kowloon Mosque.
They threaten to fire at bystanders if they do not leave. Police are advancing in the direction of Jordan.
Further up Nathan Road in Yau Ma Tei, several rounds of projectiles, thought to be rubber bullets and tear gas canisters, are fired at radical protesters, pictured below, after warning flags are raised.
They flee in the direction of Mong Kok. Police make a new defence line outside Chung Hwa bookstore.

Police clear off part of the bamboo roadblocks on Nathan Road. They threaten to fire at bystanders if they do not leave
  Video: SCMP/Kathleen Magramo pic.twitter.com/egk4fWLKhx
  — SCMP Hong Kong (@SCMPHongKong) November 18, 2019


Police threaten those gathered at Nathan Road barricades

Chinese defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian says stopping the violence and restoring order is the most urgent task for Hong Kong.
Wu makes the remarks after a meeting between Chinese defence minister Wei Fenghe, and US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper, at a regional security forum in Bangkok on Monday.
Wu says the PLA Hong Kong garrison is committed to obeying the demands of the Central Military Commission, and is capable of carrying out their mission imposed by the Basic Law and the garrison law.
“The PLA Hong Kong garrison is determined, confident and capable of protecting national security, development interest, and the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong,” he says, adding the Chinese soldiers’ move to clear roadblocks and debris left by radical protesters was welcomed by the Hong Kong public.


Chinese defence ministry: restoring order the most urgent task for Hong Kong

While Hong Kong police urge everyone on the Polytechnic University campus to drop their weapons and leave, a police source says those people would still be arrested.
“We may record that they leave peacefully for future court reference,” the source says. 
When asked why lawmakers and university management were not allowed to enter the campus to help negotiate, the source says: “It’s for safety reasons. What if they are taken hostage?”


No free pass for Polytechnic University radicals

PolyU council chairman Lam Tai-fai tells the Post that the university requested a meeting with the force’s senior management on Monday morning to discuss how to resolve the incident as peacefully as possible. They say they are waiting for a reply.


Polytechnic University seeks police meeting to resolve crisis

Lunchtime protests return to Central as several people dressed in black use traffic cones to block the junction of Pedder Street and Des Voeux Road Central. After blocking the road, dozens of people wearing masks stand chanting, “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times”.
Some people hold up posters urging the United States to pass the Human Rights and Democracy Act. Introduced in June by Representative Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican, the legislation paves the way for sanctions against individuals deemed responsible for actions to undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy, such as the rendition to mainland China of anyone exercising “internationally recognised human rights in Hong Kong”.



Protesters return to Central

The Special Tactical Squad, also known as Raptors, invite residents and reporters to help them clear the bricks that have been strewn across Nathan Road, in Jordan, by radicals.
One officer says: “If you love Hong Kong, don’t just stand there and watch, everyone can pick [up] 10 bricks if you have the ability.”
Riot police invite residents and reporters nearby to clear bricks with them. One officer says: "If you love Hong Kong, don't just stand there and watch"
  Video: SCMP/Lilian Cheng pic.twitter.com/0F6XGS3oti
  — SCMP Hong Kong (@SCMPHongKong) November 18, 2019


Elite police ask residents to help

A Hong Kong court has declared the government’s anti-mask law unconstitutional. Justices Anderson Chow Ka-ming and Godfrey Lam Wan-ho of the High Court on Monday ruled in favour of the 25 pan-democrats challenging two laws that effected the ban against wearing masks since October 5.
Read our breaking news story here.


BREAKING: anti-mask law ruled unconstitutional

Civic Party lawmaker Tanya Chan, the convenor of the pro-democracy bloc, says the pan-democratic lawmakers have asked for an urgent meeting with Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on how to de-escalate the situation at Polytechnic University.
“I hope we can receive a positive response. It is a humble request,” she says.
Chan says Lam’s administration should send injured people inside the university campus to hospital, and allow those underage to leave the campus safely in the company of social workers. “All these things can de-escalate the tension in society. It is the duty and obligation of Lam to do it as soon as possible,” she says.
Lawmaker Joseph Lee Kok-long, who represents the health services sector in the legislature, says it is utterly unacceptable for the police to arrest the first aiders who tried to leave the campus on Sunday night.



Lawmaker Tanya Chan asks for Carrie Lam meeting

A 40-year-old saleswoman, surnamed Au Yeung, passes out masks to protesters in Tsim Sha Tsui after the Hong Kong High Court declares the anti-mask law unconstitutional. “Whether it’s illegal or not we’re going to wear face masks anyway,” she says. “We will fight back. The court should have ruled against it earlier anyway.”
In Tsim Sha Tsui, a 25-year-old masked protester, who calls himself Ken, welcomes the court’s ruling. “The anti-mask law has always been unreasonable,” Ken says. “We still have a glimpse of hope with the rule of law.”



Mask law ruling welcomed

Special Tactical Squad officers clearing blocks in Jordan make a sudden arrest and advance along Nathan Road towards Yau Ma Tei, catching at least one protester in the operation.
Protesters on Waterloo Road then start moving closer to the police cordon, and officers responded by firing at least five rounds of tear gas, before getting on their shuttle bus, leaving protesters to move forward in the Jordan area again.



Police make quick arrest, fire tear gas, and leave

Nearly 300 protesters march along Humphreys Avenue in Tsim Sha Tsui, chanting “Go to PolyU, save the students”. A mix of office workers and black-clad protesters are in the crowd. On Chatham Road South, protesters advance towards a police defensive line.
Hundreds of protesters go down Humphreys Avenue, chanting: "Save the students, off to PolyU"
  Video: SCMP/Kathleen Magramo pic.twitter.com/Ur8lEC5xCU
  — SCMP Hong Kong (@SCMPHongKong) November 18, 2019


Marching in support of Polytechnic University

Another 10 rounds of teargas are fired at protesters who try to advance on a police cordon along Gascoigne Road in Yau Ma Tei. Clouds of smoke mask the scene, while protesters have also reached Chatham Road South in Tsim Sha Tsui and riot police are advancing on them. Police fire tear gas and sponge grenades at 100 protesters advancing towards them at Polytechnic University.
Dozens of police arrive at Chatham Road South as reinforcements, as protesters retreat further down the street amid shots of tear gas and other ammunition.
Riot police fire tear gas at protesters on Chatham Road South heading to PolyU
  Video: SCMP/Kathleen Magramo pic.twitter.com/U76aUOCXDK
  — SCMP Hong Kong (@SCMPHongKong) November 18, 2019


Chaos in Kowloon

The Hospital Authority appeals to the public not to assemble in the authority’s workplaces and not to block roads nears hospitals to avoid disruption to patients services.  
“Patient conveyance, inter-hospital patient transfer and operation of individual hospitals have already been affected to a certain extent. The Hospitality Authoirty is also concerned about the possible impact to patient food, blood products and other supplies, and in particular urgent patient specimens due to the traffic disruptions,” a spokeswoman says.


Hospital Authority plea

Near the Polytechnic University campus, dozens gather and wait for updates, including anxious mother Cindy Hui, who is waiting for news about her 17-year-old son.  
“He really wants to come out, a lot of them are really tired, but they can’t,” Hui says. “Because police claimed there is an exit but following that they will immediately be arrested. So I do understand why he stays.”
Hui says she quarrelled with her son when he went to the PolyU campus on Thursday. 
“I told him, if you go to PolyU then don’t ever come back. I won’t bail you out,” she says. “But if I had to do it again, maybe I would come and bring him out on Saturday. He is still my son, although he has his own thoughts.”



Waiting for news at PolyU

In Central, more than 20 riot police come to clear roadblocks on Connaught Place from Man Yiu Street. Crowds retreat to nearby Jardine House.



Stand-off in Central

 All schools, including kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, as well as special schools, will remain closed on Tuesday, the Education Bureau announces. Classes have been suspended since last Thursday amid intensifying social unrest.
The bureau says classes may resume for primary and secondary schools, as well as some special schools, on Wednesday at the earliest, while kindergartens will remain closed until the weekend.


Schools to remain closed on Tuesday

Police fire tear gas at a group of radical protesters when they attempt to flee the Polytechnic University campus along Hong Chong Road. At least two are arrested.
Meanwhile, a group of seven are arrested while walking past an alley near Science Museum Road, which is also close to the campus. It is not immediately clear if they had come from the university, but they remain silent when asked where they have been by police.



Arrests as radicals attempt university escape

In Connaught Place, police and protesters are in a tense stand-off. Some have thrown projectiles at police and shout abuse.
Riot police, who number about 15 in that street, warn the crowds to leave or they will be dispersed.
Hundreds of protesters still occupy Connaught Road and Pedder Street.
In Central, riot police and protesters have been in a stand-off for 20 minutes on Connaught Place
  Video: SCMP/Karen Zhang pic.twitter.com/9QRvls53jx
  — SCMP Hong Kong (@SCMPHongKong) November 18, 2019


Central: radicals throw stones in stand-off with police

More rounds of tear gas are fired at masked radicals trying to flee PolyU, this time via Hong Tat Path. They try to protect themselves with umbrellas and makeshift shields but are forced to retreat and several are arrested as smoke engulfs the area. One is seen with a head wound.
Several of those arrested have their hands zip-tied by riot police and are taken away, while officers are seen firing unknown rounds at the legs of journalists in the area as they urge them to leave the scene.
Elsewhere on the campus, a fire is started and multiple explosions can be heard.
 



More radicals try to escape from Polytechnic University

Riot police fire volleys of tear gas at protesters who are holding a line with umbrellas opened in Chatham Road South.
At least three people have been arrested.
Riot police fire volleys of tear gas at the protest line set up with umbrellas, then charge at the crowd
  Video: SCMP/Kathleen Magramo pic.twitter.com/3T7bf0q53R
  — SCMP Hong Kong (@SCMPHongKong) November 18, 2019


Police charge protest line near PolyU

The police water cannon vehicle is in Cheong Wan Road, near the main entrance of Polytechnic University.
It releases a jet of transparent liquid into the campus, where radicals have been holed up since Sunday.


Water cannon deployed at PolyU campus

The cat and mouse game between protesters and riot police continues in Yau Ma Tei and Jordan, with police firing sponge bullets and tear gas when they advance, and protesters advancing when police retreat. New rounds of tear gas are fired outside Yau Ma Tei MTR station.
New rounds of tear gas are fired outside Yau Ma Tei MTR station as the cat-and-mouse game between police and protesters continues
  Video: SCMP/Lilian Cheng pic.twitter.com/2tTFqgWlqk
  — SCMP Hong Kong (@SCMPHongKong) November 18, 2019


Game of cat and mouse

More than a dozen taxis and private cars have stopped in the middle Chatham Road South, on the side of the road heading towards Hung Hom and To Kwa Wan.
A driver passing by believes the motorists are trying to block the road to prevent more police from getting to the Polytechnic University campus in Hung Hom, where radicals are surrounded by police.



Vehicles park in road ‘to obstruct police’

The Judiciary announces that all hearings of the Lands Tribunal and Labour Tribunal scheduled on Monday would be adjourned to a date to be fixed because of the situation in Jordan. The registries and offices of the two tribunals have also been closed on Monday until further notice, it says.


Lands Tribunal and Labour Tribunal closed

In Central, protesters retreat slowly from Connaught Place towards Pedder Street, using umbrellas as shields. They argue about whether to stay or leave, many leave, and police advance, slowly clearing roadblocks as they go.



Protesters retreat in Central

Police fire at least another 10 rounds of tear gas outside Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei. It is one of the largest acute hospitals in the city.
Some people, including the elderly, are outside the hospital and hoping to enter, but struggling because of the unrest.
In an urgent appeal earlier, a hospital spokesman said all patients in the hospital had been asked to stay indoors “due to special circumstances in the vicinity of the hospital”.
Patients of the specialist outpatient clinic were asked not to visit the hospital on Monday and to call the clinic later to reschedule appointments.


Tear gas fired near hospital in Yau Ma Tei

Dr Pierre Chan, the lawmaker representing the medical sector, says all voluntary first-aiders who provided medical assistance to protesters inside Polytechnic University have been arrested.
Meanwhile, an ambulance arrives at the campus, and is made to wait at the police cordon for four minutes.
An ambulance has arrived outside PolyU and is believed to be there to treat the injured protesters. But the police officers have waited for more than four minutes before letting it in
  Video: SCMP/Alvin Lum pic.twitter.com/Cu6wu1oY4Z
  — SCMP Hong Kong (@SCMPHongKong) November 18, 2019


Medical volunteers all arrested, lawmaker says

Another protester is arrested in Chatham Road South, Tsim Sha Tsui. He has blood running down his face.

   
