Tense Protest Outside Police HQ Continues

A large number of demonstrators continued to surround police headquarters in Wan Chai on Friday where tensions soared at times, with police raising a yellow flag as a warning at one point when some tried to rush into the complex.

Thousands were laying siege to the police building, demanding that charges against all those arrested in relation to the anti-extradition bill protests be dropped and that Police Commissioner Stephen Lo come out and address them.

At one point a police van was trapped at the scene, with demonstrators setting up a road block as it tried to enter the complex. After negotiations, the van was let in. But as the gates opened to allow the van in, some protesters also tried to rush in. Officers then raised the yellow flag, forcing them to retreat.

The siege also saw some protesters trying to disable security cameras placed at the complex. An egg was pelted at two policemen who tried to stop a man from disabling one of the cameras.

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.

Lee had said the ID numbers were not displayed because there is no space on the uniform of the Special Tactical Squad, although pictures taken just days before the clashes showed officers of the same unit clearly showing their ID numbers.

This had generated a lot of criticism and scorn on social media, with some posting pictures of beauty pageant contestants in skimpy bikinis that still allowed them to display a number.

In a tweet, the police department said as of 3.35pm, they were unable to attend 28 emergency calls that came from Wan Chai District due to the ongoing protest outside the headquarters. It once again appealed to the protesters to leave.

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