Police soften stance on PolyU arrests

Police soften stance on PolyU arrests

Police say they plan to enter the Polytechnic University along with independent mediators and medics to ask those holding out to leave - but no immediate arrests will be made and it's unlikely to happen tonight.



Commander Ho Yun-sing, of Yau Tsim district, said he believed there were dozens of people still in the campus, but played down fears of a confrontation. He said the priority was to ensure their health, and medical assistance would be provided where necessary. Ho said officers would pursue investigations later.



Police had previously arrested and detained suspects on sight. The apparent softening in stance came after Sunday's landslide win for the pro-democracy camp in District Council elections.



Meanwhile riot police blocked hundreds of people from advancing on the campus and calling for an end to the siege, which is now more than a week long



Earlier dozens of newly elected district councillors gathered in Centenary Garden after announcing their first priority is to get police to end their siege.



Michael Mo, who won a seat in Tuen Mun, said tens of thousands of people had asked the councillors to go to PolyU to tell the police to withdraw so "our brothers and sisters can leave peacefully".



Paul Zimmerman, who was re-elected in Pokfulam, called on the government to "save our children" and find a way out of theturmoil.



Sai Kung district councillor Gary Fan said the police would allow five of them to go inside the university, where an unknown number of people are still holed up. Hundreds have already been arrested on suspicion of rioting since the siege began there on November 17.