Hong Kong protests: cold and hungry radicals start to surrender as Hong Kong leader says police have been told to let minors go home
- Group of 50 radicals emerge from Polytechnic University after evacuation of hundreds of their peers overnight
- Chief Executive Carrie Lam says she hopes for peaceful end after police surround campus for more than 36 hours in bitter stalemate
Tired, cold and hungry, half of the few remaining radicals still holed up at Polytechnic University surrendered on Tuesday morning, and Hong Kong’s leader said she hoped the stand-off with police could be brought to a peaceful conclusion.
The two sides have been locked in a violent confrontation since Sunday, with sporadic clashes over the past 24 hours interspersed with those inside making increasingly desperate bids for freedom.
Hundreds were evacuated overnight from inside the university campus after politicians and education figures cut deals with police allowing them to leave. Around 10am, another 50 protesters emerged, with some suffering from hypothermia and leg injuries.
Paramedics treated them at a temporary station outside the campus, before they were sent to five city hospitals. Another group of 50 were treated inside the campus in the Lee Shau Kei Building, and would be sent to hospital when ambulances could be arranged to take them.
A protester covered with a blanket, who did not disclose his identity, said he had endured sleepless nights and panic attacks during his time inside, brought on by not knowing when police would break in.
“We decided to come out due to hunger and cold, and many of us got hurt without enough medical supplies inside,” he said.