(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Hong Kong police have arrested 209 people for refusing to leave roads during its clearance of the main protest sites, the city's government said, following a 75-day pro-democracy movement led by student groups.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Cheung Tak-keung said that police cordoned off the occupied areas in the Admiralty district, where government headquarters are located, on Thursday afternoon and two hours later started to arrest 209 people who refused to leave despite repeated warnings. They were arrested for unlawful assembly and obstructing police officers, the government said in a press release.
As for the occupied roads in Causeway Bay, a major shopping district, Cheung said police will remove obstacles and reopen them at an appropriate time. "People should not gather at the occupied area, and stay away from radicals and troublemakers," he said. Police will boost patrols in Admiralty to prevent radicals from trying to block roads again, and will take resolute actions against such illegal actions, the government warned. Meanwhile, China's central government in Friday said it supports the Hong Kong government and police's decision to disperse and clear the "Occupy Central" movement sites, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported from Beijing.
The central government "fully agrees and firmly supports" the Hong Kong government and police's decisions to stop these illegal activities, thereby maintaining social order and safeguarding the rule of law, said a statement from the State Council Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, carried by Xinhua. The statement reiterated that the central government will continue implementing the policies of "one country, two systems" and the Basic Law as well as supporting Hong Kong's democratic progress. The "Occupy Central" movement started on Sept. 28 and blockaded several main roads and streets in busy areas.
The main appeal of the protesters is to oppose a framework decided on Aug. 31 by China's top legislature on the election of Hong Kong's next chief executive by universal suffrage slated in 2017. China's National People's Congress Standing Committee decided on Aug. 31 to restrict candidates for the 2017 chief executive election to those approved by a pro-Beijing nominating panel.
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