Joshua Wong: Students won’t try to retake Mong Kok after police show of strength

The two student groups which lead Occupy Central protests will not attempt to retake Mong Kok, Scholarism convenor Joshua Wong Chi-fung said today, as such a plan is not likely to succeed under a heavy police presence.

Speaking during a Commercial Radio programme this morning, Wong also urged other protesters not to try to reoccupy Mong Kok, as police were using unnecessary force on people in the district.

He said that now even passers-by in Mong Kok could be hit by police batons.

“The police are over the top in the degree of force they are using. Their attitude is bad,” he said.

Wong said that by not retaking Mong Kok, protesters would also show the Occupy campaign had good intentions to reduce its negative impact on residents’ lives while pressing the government to meet their demands.

“It is the government – not the public – that we want to pressure,” he said.

Wong has been barred by a court from entering areas surrounding the previous protest site in Mong Kok. He is on bail and charged with obstructing a public officer in performing his duty when bailiffs and police cleared the protest site in the district on Wednesday. A previous charge of contempt of court against him has been dropped.

READ MORE: After Mong Kok Occupy clearance, students vow to target government buildings

Wong said the student groups will insist on their demands that the central government retract its August 31 decision on the city’s political reform and that Hong Kong start over its consultation on political reform.

Speaking on the same programme was a man who was shown on video being hit by a senior police officer with a baton.

Watch: Senior police officer hitting people with baton as they move from occupied zone

A video by broadcaster DBC showed police marshalling people who appeared to be leaving the occupied zone peacefully. The video showed a superintendent using his baton to hit two people walking by on their back and waist, and another using a shield to push a man.

The man, who identified himself as Osman, said he was not a protester and was “just passing by” at the time.

“I said at the time: ‘Don’t hit us. We are just passers-by. Here are members of the public and many girls’. Then I was hit twice,” he said.

Osman said his neck was injured and that he doubted if the police in Mong Kok were now fit to carry out their duty.

“I seriously doubt if they can control their emotions well. If they cannot, can they fully discharge their duty? I really doubt it,” he said.

Osman said he would refrain from going to Mong Kok now.

“Mong Kok is actually a good place for leisure to me. But after that incident I am now a little scared of Mong Kok,” he said.