Hong Kong police end dramatic 12-day siege of university

Hong Kong police pulled out of a university campus Friday after a 12-day blockade during which they sought to arrest pro-democracy activists holed up inside.

The standoff at Hong Kong Polytechnic University was one of the most dramatic episodes in almost six months of unrest that began with a massive march against an extradition bill seen as an erosion of freedoms promised when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

China denies interfering, says it is committed to the “one country, two systems” formula put in place at that time. Beijing has warned Washington of “firm counter measures” after President Trump signed legislation supporting the protesters this week.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam tried to reassure the Thai government and businesses during a trip to Bangkok that her city was still an attractive financial hub.

“I and my government are listening to our people with a view to resolving some deep-seated problems in Hong Kong through dialogue,” she said. “I have every confidence that Hong Kong can bounce back, as we always do.”

Dozens of officers first entered the campus Thursday to collect evidence and remove dangerous items, including 3,989 gasoline bombs, 1,339 explosive items, 601 bottles of corrosive liquids and 573 weapons, police said.

No protesters were found, although a masked man told local media the night before police came in that about 20 people were still in hiding to avoid being arrested.

They apparently were the holdouts from perhaps 1,100 who had retreated inside after battles with riot police.

More than 1,300 people were arrested during the turmoil at the university, senior police officials Kwok Ka-chuen told reporters Friday, according to Reuters.

A total of 5,890 people have been arrested since early June, he added.

At one point Friday, a man and woman emerged from the campus wearing black face masks and walked out hand-in-hand, with no sign of police.

The university estimated it would take five to six months to repair damage to the battered campus.

“Many classrooms, laboratories and library were destroyed. Even so, there’s been no loss of life. We insisted on adopting a humane way to solve the crisis,” university President Teng Jin-Guang told reporters, saying the next semester would go ahead on time, according to Reuters.

After increasingly violent demonstrations, the city has enjoyed relative calm since local elections Sunday delivered an overwhelming victory to pro-democracy candidates.

Activists are still trying to keep up momentum, after winning backing from President Trump that has renewed global attention on the Asian financial hub and enraging Beijing.

A few hundred demonstrators gathered at the British consulate Friday to urge London to extend citizenship to Hong Kong residents born before the 1997 handover to China and classified as overseas British nationals.

They chanted “We are all Simon,” referring to a former consulate employee, Simon Cheng, who said Chinese secret police beat him up and deprived him of sleep seeking information about activists.

With Post wires