Hong Kong Occupy protesters won't resist clearance

elite

Occupy protesters say they will not resist a clearance operation due to start in Admiralty today but will move somewhere else.


They were speaking as bailiffs prepared to clear the barriers obstructing access to Citic Tower this morning in pursuit of injunctions granted last week - and police said they were ready to give their "fullest support".


Former chief justice Andrew Li Kwok-nang called on the protesters to retreat, saying that the rule of law would otherwise be impaired. He said everyone understood the youngsters' pursuit of democracy but "the occupying movement has lasted for a period, and the injunctions issued by the court have not yet been respected".


Ben Chan, a designer in his 20s, said outside Citic Tower yesterday that they would not resist.


"If the bailiffs explain what they're doing, ask us to leave and don't start charging us from the start, then we'll cooperate fully," Chan said. "If they don't follow the usual procedures, then we'll ask them what the protocol is or get legal advice."


Fellow protester Jason Fung, a garment worker, said: "We'll just go protest somewhere that the injunction doesn't cover."


In a statement last night the police said that if anyone obstructed or "violently charges" the bailiffs, officers would take "resolute action".


A police source said the force would later this week help bailiffs clear blockades in Mong Kok where similar injunctions have been issued.


The injunctions, granted to taxi and minibus groups and the owner of Citic Tower, authorise the police to arrest people who try to obstruct the bailiffs' work.


In Mong Kok, protesters said their valuables and tools for self-defence such as helmets had been packed and they would leave their tents when the clearance started.


"If no violence is used, we will stay a bit longer to make sure the bailiffs make a detailed record of what they take away," said warehouse worker Anthony Chan, 25, who has been camping in Mong Kok for more than three weeks.


Federation of Students secretary general Alex Chow Yong-kang said members would remain at protest sites in Admiralty, Mong Kok and Causeway Bay until their arrest. "Our members will stay with other protesters to the last minute," he said.


Meanwhile, a High Court judge said he would hand down a decision as soon as possible on a clearance application from two bus companies.


The injunction request, heard by Mr Justice Thomas Au Hing-cheung, was made by Kwoon Chung Motors and All China Express, which are subsidiaries of Kwoon Chung Bus. They seek the removal of blockades on Connaught Road Central, Harcourt Road and Cotton Tree Drive.