HK police clear Occupy sites, traffic resumes in Admiralty  

香港中环金钟全面清障基本完成 港府将追究违法者

Workers in safety vests and helmets dismantle barricades set up by protestors in an Occupy site in Admiralty of Hong Kong on Thursday, December 11, 2014. [Photo/ China News Service/ Hong Shaokui]

Hong Kong authorities cleared occupy sites in Admiralty on Thursday and got the traffic in front of the government headquarters moving again before midnight.

The clearance began in the morning at around 10:30 local time ( 2:30 GMT) after bailiffs read out to protesters injunction orders issued by the High Court of Hong Kong.

The bailiffs and their aides successfully cleared tents, fences and other barriers in the occupied areas banned by the court's injunction around noon, which was followed by a comprehensive clearing action in Admiralty taken by the police in the afternoon.

Police Senior Superintendent Kwok Pak-chung said earlier there was enough manpower to maintain order and they would not hesitate to intervene if the protesters resort to violence to interfere with the bailiffs' work.

The clearance barely met resistance and many protesters left the Occupy sites peacefully. But still a large crowd of protesters ignored the police's appeal to withdraw from the protest sites and sat on the ground, shouting slogans.

After repeated warnings, the police started to take away the sit-in protesters from around 16:30. According to Cheung Tak-keung, assistant police commissioner, the police arrested a total of 209 protesters during Thursday's clearance operation.

The arrested protesters included Alex Chow, a key member of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, and several Legislative Council members.

The police also collected personal ID information of more than 900 protesters who stopped sit-in and left after the police cordoned off the illegal occupy areas. Those protesters may face criminal prosecution in the future.

"If anyone attempts to occupy any roads again, the police will take resolute action for law enforcement," Cheung told a press conference late in the evening.

As of 22:00, the police completed clearing all barriers in Connaught Road Central, Harcourt Road, Tim Wa Avenue, Tim Mei Avenue and Gloucester Road. Traffic had been resumed in the Connaught Road Central and Harcourt Road, the main thoroughfares in Hong Kong Island, before midnight.

The police said they would start clearing the last remaining Occupy site at Causeway Bay in Hong Kong Island at an appropriate time.

The chaotic scenes have raised worries and irritation among Hong Kong citizens. Small venders close to the Occupy sites in Admiralty said that getting the traffic running again would help their businesses and they were concerned that the Occupy movement would affect consumer sentiment.

"We have lost much sales in the past two months and only hope the society could restore order," a florist's shop owner in Admiralty told Xinhua.

The Occupy protest in Hong Kong started on Sept. 28 and blockaded several main roads and streets in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, which has resulted in serious traffic disruption, less tourists, temporary closure of schools and banks and a slump in local stock market trading. There had also been a series of clashes between protesters and police.

A survey regarding the Hong Kong's economic outlook for 2015 reveals that 40 percent of the respondents were pessimistic about Hong Kong's future economy, while many said the Occupy protest stifles the its economic growth.

Simon Wong, president of the Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, told the media on Wednesday that more than 3 billion HK dollars (about 387 million U.S. dollars) of business loss was recorded in major business centers of Admiralty, Mong Kok and Causeway Bay, the main occupy sites, since the Occupy protest started in September.

Hong Kong police assisted bailiffs in clearing the protest site in Mong Kok on Nov. 25 and 26.

The main appeal of the protesters is to oppose a framework set by China's top legislature on the election of Hong Kong's next chief executive by universal suffrage slated for 2017.

Under the Basic Law, the top legislature has decided that chief executive candidates to run the universal suffrage must be nominated by a 1,200-member nomination committee.