Anti-police Protest Swells, Officials Remain Mum

Thousands of demonstrators continued to surround police headquarters in Wan Chai as night descended in Hong Kong on Friday, with more people arriving to join those who started the siege well before noon.

The entire area was filled with protesters, mostly clad in black, who are demanding that the Police Commissioner Stephen Lo address them, stop labelling the June 12 protests as a riot and clear all those arrested over the clashes.

Even after the siege continued – with some protesters barricading a door with umbrellas, a broom and metal road blocks with officers looking on from inside – into the night, there was no official response from the top government and police officials.

Protesters had also disabled most of the security cameras around the complex and at one point pelted the building with eggs.

Some of the protesters said they were enraged by Security Secretary John Lee's comments that some officers failed to display ID numbers during the June 12 clashes, which prompted them to join the protest.

On its official Twitter account, the police department lamented its inability to attend dozens of emergency calls that came from Wan Chai District and appealed to the protesters to leave.

But that didn't stop some from joining the protest after office hours. Anson Pang, a property manager in his 40s, arrived at the site after work to support the students.

He said he will stay there for hours to show his solidarity.

"The action is mainly related to the misuse of force by the police. Most of the anger of the youngsters is because of that. So I just stay here and see what's the response of the police," he said.

One third-year university student who was at the protest slammed the police for being irresponsible for not responding to the protesters.

"They have not apologised and stayed in the police station the whole day," she said.

She said the police don't follow any rules now, and did a lot of wrong things.

Reverend Lau Chi-hung, who was among the crowd, said he feared the situation may get out of control if police stay silent.

"Police have used violence to attack the protesters before and until now have not answered their requests, and the situation may get worse because of the police attitude," he said.

The reverend also said the occupation of roads by young protesters is an expression of their anger against the government.

Meanwhile, Catholic Bishop Joseph Ha issued a statement, asking young protesters to shun violence. Police and people should not confront each other as both sides are on the same boat, he said.