A sea of umbrellas in Admiralty on Oct. 28, 2015. (Laurel Chor/Coconuts Media)
The last remnants of the Occupy tent city was cleared away by the authorities today.
The camp of around 150 tents outside LegCo – complete with flower pots, a study area and large colourful banners – was a final outpost of the former Admiralty rally site that was cleared in December.
By this morning, all that remained were some ramshackle tents and piles of unwanted belongings, from sofas and mannequins to mugs, toys and slippers.
Dozens of government officials moved in with brooms and saws to dismantle the tents, while trucks waited to transport the debris away.
“The deadline has expired. I now announce that officers… will… remove the persons, tents, marquees and other properties,” an official announced over a loudspeaker.
One male protester carrying a yellow umbrella – the symbol of the democracy movement – was seen by an AFP reporter being led away from a tent by what appeared to be plain clothes police officers.
Police would not immediately confirm the man had been arrested.
A small group of protesters looked on through the grey morning drizzle and uniformed police also watched from the sidelines.
Some protesters said they disagreed with the clearance of what the authorities said was an “illegal” camp.
“I feel very helpless – there are still a lot of issues at stake… there’s no reason to clear it all,” said Qing Lam, in her 30s.
Benny Mok, 51, who works as a surveyor, said he had been at the site for 270 days and called the clearance “suppression without reason”.
“[It is] a PR show to make it appear we are disturbing the people,” said Mok.
But he added that the protests had galvanised younger generations.
“Youths are now becoming more involved in political issues. You would have never imagined that in the past,” he said.
Words: AFP
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