Hong Kong’s police have confirmed they helped mainland Chinese students leave the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) using a vessel.

Photos began to circulate online on Wednesday appearing to show a crowd at Ma Liu Shui Ferry Pier – near the Sha Tin-based campus – preparing to board a police vessel. The group were speaking Mandarin, Stand News reported.

Photo: Stand News.

The police confirmed on social media that the group were mainland students who wanted to leave the campus owing to safety fears, however, roadblocks prevented them from doing so. The group then asked the police for assistance.

The force said a marine vessel was sent to take the groups to a safe location.

A witness told Stand News that parents and students walked along Cheung Shue Tan Road towards Science Park before arriving at the pier. The police asked each person to display their mainland China identity card before boarding, the witnesses said.

Ma Liu Shui Ferry Pier. Photo: Apple Daily.

The witness added that when police saw other CUHK students from afar they shouted: “The cockroaches are coming! The cockroaches are coming!”

Photo: Kaiser/United Social Press.

CUHK was the epicentre of fierce clashes on Tuesday as protesters and police fought for control of No. 2 bridge in the Sha Tin-based campus. Police had accused protesters of throwing items onto the Tolo Harbour Highway, a key traffic route of New Territories East. Multiple rounds of tear gas were fired by police at protesters who threw Molotov cocktails and bricks.

The unrest followed a citywide strike the day before which brought parts of Hong Kong to a halt as MTR stations closed and multiple roadblocks were erected. Several masked groups remained in CUHK on Wednesday.

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