Thousands Block Streets Of Central For A Second Day

Thousands of protesters swarmed the streets of Central for the second day in a row on Tuesday, bringing traffic through part of the financial district to a standstill.

Office workers joined in the lunchtime action, blocking the junction of Des Voeux Road Central and Pedder Street, just like they had on Monday.

Connaught Road Central was also blocked by debris and abandoned vehicles and protesters had littered the area with improvised tyre spikes.

A protester sprayed paint over the windshield of a bus, writing "3x9mm" – an apparent reference to the shooting in Sai Wan Ho on Monday that left a student critically ill in hospital. The traffic officer involved in the incident had fired three shots.

A bus window was also smashed and someone had sprayed "sorry" next to the damage.

A tram was also caught up in the protest, with passengers forced to disembark, while firefighters were called to deal with a wooden pallet that was ablaze in the road.

Meanwhile, riot officers raced along another road in Central, kicking away traffic cones that had been strewn around to block traffic.

The frontline demonstrators crouched down and huddled behind umbrellas after the police came closer to them.

Officers raised black and orange flags, warning the demonstrators they could be shot or tear gassed, but the crowd refused to disperse.

One protester held up a sign referring to police action on university campuses, joking that officers had finally managed to get into uni and are now able to work in Central.

A middle-aged man was lying in the road with a bleeding head as people around shouted abuse at him. The man's T-shirt was also covered in blood, but it wasn't clear what led up to the apparent dispute.

David Allardice, who has lived in Hong Kong for 30 years, said he joined the protest even though he is ill, as he wanted to show his disapproval of the government’s inaction to end the current impasse.

"When you have this number of people out at lunchtime on a Tuesday... clearly the level of feeling, the strength of emotion is so high... this is going to continue day after day after day," he said.

A man in his 50s, who gave his name as Julian, said he had travelled from his workplace in West Kowloon to join the protest, donning just a surgical mask for protection.

"I want to take part to support the youngsters," he said, adding that he wasn't afraid of tear gas because he has experienced it a few times already.

The crowd eventually began to thin out somewhat. But protesters then moved back to Connaught Road Central, throwing bricks across the road and forcing vehicles emerging out of a tunnel to do a U-turn and head back towards Sheung Wan.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people marched in Kwun Tong, as others dragged various objects into the middle of a road junction there to block traffic.

Police soon arrived at the scene, raising a blue flag warning those present that they were taking part in an illegal assembly. People shouted abuse at the officers but no physical clashes were seen.

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