Reports from various media sources, to include Reuters and The New York Times, indicate that Hong Kong riot police have warned they will use live ammunition against pro-democracy protesters if the violence continues to escalate.
The world’s focus was drawn to the campus of Polytechnic University over the weekend as police laid siege to the area, preventing anyone from escaping or from additional support entering. Fires and blockades have been set by protesters and Molotov cocktails and bows and arrows have been used by demonstrators to hold back advancing police in armored vehicles.
Incredible video of Hong Kong protestors repelling security vehicles with Molotov cocktails. pic.twitter.com/pZ0mwnKTW1
— Claude Taylor (@TrueFactsStated) November 17, 2019
“Police superintendent Louis Lau said that live rounds could be utilized as a ‘necessary minimum force’ against protesters,” The Hill reported.
Hong Kong police threaten to use live bullets as standoff with protesters escalates https://t.co/VsYh5Hfvbf pic.twitter.com/3P1GNJ6htr
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 17, 2019
#HongKongProtesters have fired arrows and used catapults to hurl petrol bombs at police who deployed tear gas and water cannon.
Officers have threatened to use live bullets if “rioters” carry out more violence.
Read more here : https://t.co/oNp9sBpolv pic.twitter.com/yduswvVA1Y
— Sky News (@SkyNews) November 17, 2019
Ongoing skirmishes have taken place throughout the weekend and with daybreak on Monday. There are some reports that exhausted protesters are being overrun and arrested. However, The Times is reporting that police at this point are still being held off …
Early Monday, the police tried storming the campus at the main entrance and made some arrests. But the occupiers fought back with dozens of firebombs and set barricades ablaze, forcing the police to retreat.
As day broke, the occupiers and the police were still locked in the standoff at Hong Kong Polytechnic University that began Saturday night, and smoke billowed from the grounds. Some protesters on Monday morning raced for the exits, only to be met with volleys of tear gas.
It’s five in the morning and police have started it up again. The siege of Poly U continues #HongKong pic.twitter.com/FyP9SwBcTf
— Bill Birtles (@billbirtles) November 17, 2019
Hong Kong police have stormed a university campus where hundreds of protesters had barricaded themselves for days. pic.twitter.com/DlU6nxdCoh
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) November 18, 2019
Students at the college have reported they are getting desperate as they are running out of supplies and are not equipped to do battle with the military weaponry being employed against them.
Reuters reported:
Dozens, choking on the tear gas, tried to leave the Polytechnic University by breaking through police lines after a night of mayhem in the Chinese-ruled city in which roads were blocked, a bridge set on fire and a police officer was shot by a bow and arrow.
Many protesters, dressed in regular clothes and without gas masks, made runs for it, dodging tear gas canisters and sponge grenades, only to be forced back inside.
Some were arrested, tackled to the ground, as others scrambled and tripped over barricades and fences as police pointed guns at them and threw punches.
Police had unsuccessfully attempted to breach barricades ringing the campus on Sunday using rubber bullets, water cannons, and armored vehicles.
Protesters set alight an armored truck outside #HongKong Polytechnic University https://t.co/TpCGEq8lb4 pic.twitter.com/ygqXsygaap
— RT (@RT_com) November 17, 2019
According to Reuters, police arrested 154 individuals over the weekend, age 13 to 54. Local hospitals reported at least 38 were injured, and witnesses said some protesters were suffering from chemical burns after being hit by police water cannons.
#HongKong: entire staircase burning down at #PolyUniversity pic.twitter.com/ecynMvgyXI
— Thomas van Linge (@ThomasVLinge) November 17, 2019
#HongKong: the entrance to #PolyUniversity is burning pic.twitter.com/wu17Duqqgw
— Thomas van Linge (@ThomasVLinge) November 17, 2019
Police admitted they fired three live rounds when “rioters” attacked two officers who were attempting to arrest a woman. No one was shot and the woman escaped.
Last week, Reuters reported that a Hong Kong police spokesperson said the city was on the “brink of a total breakdown.”
Protesters are obviously not passively standing around …
During the siege of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, protesters have used a range of weapons to hold off riot police: https://t.co/gXLOb59G93
At the fortified campus, CNN saw how protesters used a makeshift bamboo catapult to slingshot petrol bombs at police lines. pic.twitter.com/Lrk1HYRl6Z
— CNN (@CNN) November 18, 2019
Riot police in Hong Kong have broken the sanctity of university campuses and battled protesters at CUHK last week and now at PolyU, which has been in a showdown for the last 36 hours. Here’s the story of how we got to this point: https://t.co/rck7hMbgKq pic.twitter.com/dZpF6bIjqU
— KK Rebecca Lai (@kkrebeccalai) November 18, 2019
Pro-democracy protests have been growing in strength and intensity in Hong Kong over the last several months.
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Victor Rantala is an Army vet who lives in Minnesota, he is a former intelligence analyst and business owner, and is an NRA Life member who is officially retired but has yet to slow his roll.
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