Protesters in Hong Kong now firing arrows at police
Demonstrators in Hong Kong have taken to the streets for yet another day of protests against the government, firing arrows at police, clogging roads, and disrupting transport links.
On Thursday, schools and businesses were also closed for a fourth straight working day over safety fears in the international hub, which has been crippled by protest rallies over the past several months.
Groups of black-clad, mainly student protesters blocked key roads with brick and bamboo barricades and shut down bus services, as the city of 7.5 million people suffers from an unprecedented travel chaos.
The rioters, meanwhile, have upgraded their arsenal from makeshift catapults and Molotov cocktails to bows and arrows taken from sports departments, which they used to fire at police.
Police said in a statement that the rioters were shooting “arrows at several police officers who were patrolling” in the vicinity of Polytechnic University early in the day.
The Hong Kong Education Bureau said in a statement on Thursday that all schools in Hong Kong would suspend classes from Friday to Sunday due to transportation disruptions, urging students to stay away from violence.
Universities have also been closed for the past few days, and hospitals deferred non-emergency operations, with the government, led by Chief Executive Carrie Lam, urging employers to be flexible with workers trapped in the gridlock.
Violence has intensified across Hong Kong this week, leaving several people in critical condition.
Since June, the semi-autonomous Chinese territory has been beset by unrest — initially over a contentious extradition bill that would have allowed the extradition of suspects to mainland courts for trial.
The bill was eventually shelved, but the protests have continued and taken on an increasingly violent form, with masked individuals vandalizing public and private property and attacking security forces and government buildings.
The protesters now want complete separation from mainland China.
The Chinese government says Western countries, mainly the United States and Britain, have been provoking the protesters by issuing statements of support. Beijing has asked those countries to stop meddling in Hong Kong’s affairs.
Hong Kong has been governed under a “one-country, two-system” model since the city, a former British colony, was returned to China in 1997.
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