HK police clear main protest camp near government headquarters

World Today

Life is returning to normal the day after police cleared the main protest camp near the Hong Kong government headquarters. Rush-hour traffic is passing through Admiralty for the first time in more than two months and business is gradually resuming. CCTV America’s Zhu Dan reported the story from the cleared streets of Hong Kong.

The road in Admiralty leads to Central, the city’s busiest financial district.  Over the past two and a half months, that stretch of road was occupied by protesters, blocking traffic.

On Thursday, about 7,000 police officers were deployed in two shifts as part of an operation to clear all barricades in the area. The majority of demonstrators left voluntarily before the operation began, but over 200 others were arrested for obstructing police and assembling illegally.

After about seven hours, most signs of the occupation were gone. Bus lines resumed normal service, with only two lines serving the Hong Kong Island still suspended.

A government spokesman said the protest was a “severe blow to Hong Kong’s economy, politics, society and people’s livelihood.”

Business owners and workers affected by the protest blockades expressed relief at the return to order, but they also worried it could just be temporary. One of the main protest organizers, the Hong Kong Federation of Students, vowed to continue their cause in other ways after Christmas.