PolyU protester defiant as police operation looms

The masked protester, who gave his name as Ah Bong, said they did not rule out stepping up their action. Photo: RTHK

Protesters holed up inside Polytechnic University say they are extremely angry with a police decision to enter the campus on Thursday morning. One has read out a defiant statement, saying that around 20 still remain.



The masked protester, who gave his name as Ah Bong, said they did not rule out stepping up their action if police stormed the campus.



Ah Bong said they did not have any confidence in the police and they wanted them to respect the wish of the University management by not entering the campus.



He repeated their demands that police retreat from the area around the campus, that no arrests be made and that their ID cards should not be registered. He said people would leave the campus after police retreated.



Ah Bong appeared alone and there were no signs of any other protesters.



Police are planning to go inside the campus to collect evidence after an eleven-day siege. But Ah Bong said there was no point in the police doing that as many people had come and gone over the past few days.



He proposed instead that the dangerous goods on the campus be handled by the Fire Services Department and that the campus then be reopened to the public.



He said some protesters were in a state of panic and deprived of sleep. He said they would not get in contact with the University and they would not follow police officers and leave.



A team from the university searched the campus on Tuesday and Wednesday but only found one person, a woman, on Tuesday.