Rats in a Trap

Earlier, police made dozens of arrests as protesters made a dash for it — sometimes beating people with batons as they held them on the ground, or kicking their heads.

“Other than coming out to surrender, I don’t see any viable option for them,” Cheuk Hau-yip, the police commander in Hong Kong’s Kowloon West district, told a press conference, before the daring breakout.

The campus has been designated a ‘riot’ zone — a charge of rioting carries up to 10 years in prison — and Cheuk reiterated that police will use live rounds against protesters if faced with deadly weapons.

Desperation deepened overnight inside the campus, where exhausted and scared mainly young protesters rationed their remaining food and bottled water.

“I will run but never surrender. I don’t want to get arrested,” said a protester who gave his name only as ‘W’.

“We are like rats in a trap.”