HK protests hit universities, business district

HONG KONG: Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters clashed with riot police in the city’s upmarket business district and on university campuses on Tuesday, extending one of the most violent stretches of unrest seen in more than five months of political chaos.

The confrontations followed a particularly brutal day on Monday, when police shot a protester and a man was set on fire, prompting calls from western powers for compromise but further fury in China against the challenge to its rule.

“Hong Kong’s rule of law has been pushed to the brink of total collapse,” police spokesman Kong Wing-cheung told a press conference on Tuesday as he defended the force against seething public anger.

In Central, a district that is home to many blue-chip international firms and luxury shops, thousands of office workers occupied roads for hours on Tuesday chanting: “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong!”.

Hundreds of hardcore protesters, dressed in their signature black clothes and masks, then used a bus to barricade a key road in the area. They threw bricks and other objects before retreating when riot police fired tear gas in the shadows of high-end stores.