Protesters Block Tolo Highway After A 7-hour Break

Protesters at Chinese University attempted to block all lanes of Tolo Highway again at around 7.30pm, shortly after the Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung said the government would never accede to their demands.

The highway – a key artery linking the northern New Territories with Kowloon – had been completely blocked for more than two days before it partially reopened on Friday.

Protesters had cleared one lane of the highway in each direction at 6am, and set a 24-hour deadline for the government to agree to set up an independent inquiry into the policing of the protests, release all arrested protesters, and promise to hold the district council election as scheduled on November 24.

At a press conference, Cheung had said the deadline isn’t very meaningful because the government would not accept their demands in any case.

He accused the protesters of holding the public hostage.

Protesters then tossed debris back onto the previously open lanes, completely blocking traffic for a time.

Bus passengers were forced to leave their vehicles and walk back towards Tai Po, or the Science Park, while private vehicles turned around.

However, some cars managed to find some space to squeeze past the debris, even as protesters threw petrol bombs onto the highway.

Several police vans are at the scene, but officers have been taking no action so far.

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