South China Morning Post - Hong Kong feedToday, 09:11
Student protesters pre-empted an operation to clear a section of the Occupy Central camp in Admiralty this morning, packing up their tents before bailiffs moved to tear down barricades blocking access to Citic Tower.
Bailiffs began clearing barriers blocking the tower's car park on Tim Mei Avenue shortly before 9.30am, enacting a court order authorising removal, which also permits police to assist in the clearance.
Under the order by Justice Thomas Au Hing-cheung, police officers can remove or arrest people who insist on breaching the court order.
The injunction was requested by Golden Investment, the joint-venture controlled by the Chinese state-owned Citic Group which owns the 33-storey tower.
The court order comes as democracy protest sit-ins enter their eighth week in Hong Kong, and some roads in Admiralty, Mong Kok and Causeway Bay remain covered with tents and artwork in defiance of previous court injunctions.
Justice Au reasoned that the protesters had blocked the car park entrance to Citic Tower and two fire exits. “This has exposed the occupants of Citic Tower to a serious risk of safety as important escape routes have been denied to the occupants,” the ruling read. The judge also said that the company had lost income from renting out parking space there.
In a statement, police said they would render full assistance to bailiffs in executing the court order. Police warned officers would take “resolute action” against anyone who obstructs or “violently charges” the bailiffs.
Some protesters have said they will not resist the clearance operation, but will move somewhere else.
Protester Jason Fung, a garment worker, said: "We'll just go protest somewhere that the injunction doesn't cover."
Meanwhile, Federation of Students secretary general Alex Chow Yong-kang said students would not allow the three protest sites in Admiralty, Mong Kok and Causeway Bay to be fully cleared. They would stay there even at risk of being arrested, he said. “Our members will stay with other protesters to the last minute,” he said.
A police source said the force would later this week help bailiffs clear blockades in Mong Kok where similar injunctions have been issued.
Previous clearance attempts by police in riot gear have failed. The injunction against democracy protesters in Kowloon had been requested by Chiu Luen Public Light Bus and two representatives of the Hong Kong Taxi Association and the Taxi Drivers and Operators Association, Lau Hoi- ping and Tam Chun-hung.
Justice Au also said he would hand down a decision as soon as possible on a third clearance application from two bus companies on Hong Kong Island.
The injunction request was made by Kwoon Chung Motors and All China Express, which are subsidiaries of Kwoon Chung Bus. They seek the removal of blockades on Connaught Road Central, Harcourt Road and Cotton Tree Drive.
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1642742/live-students-pack-tents-bailiffs-move-clear-occupy-area-outside -- gReader
