Students Say Tolo Highway Can Reopen On Friday

Chinese University students say they will allow the reopening of the Tolo Highway from 6am on Friday morning, as long as the government presses ahead with the November 24 district council elections.

The highway, a key transport link in the New Territories, had been closed since Monday, as students at CUHK set up barricades to keep police away from their campus.

In a 3am press conference, a group of students announced that they had agreed to allow one lane of the highway to open in each direction. They apologised for inconvenience caused, but said the blockade was needed to press home their demands.

The deal was, however, dependent on the government committing to hold the district polls on November 24 as scheduled. The students said that if no such commitment was offered, the highway would be blocked again within 24 hours.

Chinese University became a battlefield on Monday and Tuesday as police met fierce resistance as they attempted to enter the campus on a bridge across the highway.