Police officers cleared barricades while others tore down tents and carried away gear in the Mong Kok district of Hong Kong on Wednesday.
VINCENT YU / ASSOCIATED PRESS
By MICHAEL FORSYTHE and AUSTIN RAMZY
NOVEMBER 26, 2014
HONG KONG — Seven police officers were arrested in Hong Kong on Wednesday, accused in the beating of a pro-democracy protester last month.
The officers, who were not identified, were arrested on charges of “assault occasioning actual bodily harm,” a police statement said. In the predawn hours of Oct. 15, Ken Tsang, a social worker, was kicked and beaten by a number of police officers in an incident that was filmed by a television crew and heightened animosity between the Hong Kong police and protesters after it was shared on social media.
The Hong Kong government and the police have come under criticism for moving slowly to prosecute the officers. The police statement issued Wednesday said there had been no delay. “Police reiterate that if any Force member commits illegal acts, Police will handle this seriously and investigation will be conducted in a fair and impartial manner,” the statement said.
The move to arrest the officers came after the police successfully cleared one of Hong Kong’s busiest shopping streets of encamped protesters on Wednesday. But only hours later, demonstrators gathered in force again in the Mong Kok neighborhood, only a short distance away from the original encampment on Nathan Road.
Video | Hong Kong News Cameras Capture BeatingA local television news crew showed video of police officers in Hong Kong beating a handcuffed protester, who has been identified as Ken Tsang.
Late in the evening, hundreds of police officers and demonstrators faced off on Sai Yeung Choi Street, just one block east of Nathan Road, which had been closed to traffic almost continuously for the past two months as protesters settled in a tent city.
In a pattern seen again and again during these protests, the police action during the day was countered by a surge of boisterous demonstrators after darkness fell. Hundreds of people shouted “I want true universal suffrage” in Cantonese, with their chants echoing off the tall buildings in the area, amplifying their voices. Several people were seen being arrested by police officers.
“They’ve already cleared the site; I have nowhere else to go,” said Viktor Chu, 26, a leasing officer who was wearing a face mask and safety goggles as he stood with the crowd of protesters on Shantung Street. “I must come out and show my opinion.”
Mr. Chu said the protesters hoped to retake some part of Mong Kok to continue pressuring the government. The demonstrations began two months ago in response to a decision by China’s legislature to set strict guidelines for elections for Hong Kong’s chief executive. Scholars and pro-democracy advocates say the rules ensure that only people approved by Beijing will be allowed to appear on the ballot.
Police tried to stop protesters from blocking a road in Mong Kok on Wednesday.
KIN CHEUNG / ASSOCIATED PRESS
“The occupation is only a means to a goal,” Mr. Chu said. “We’re not just here to occupy something. We’re occupying something to give pressure to the government.”
The streets filled with the protesters are lined with stores catering to mainland tourists, particularly jewelry shops and pharmacies.
The protesters, in a nod to the commercial significance of the location, chanted “Shopping! Shopping!” in Mandarin after the police demanded to know why they were there.
Alan Wong contributed reporting.
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