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Hong Kong Protesters Increasingly Desperate as Campus Standoff Continues

William Gallo

   HONG KONG - Waves of student protesters attempted daring escapes past
   police lines, while less than 200 others remain barricaded inside a
   Hong Kong University, which has been surrounded by riot police since
   Sunday.

   VOA Cantonese Service reporter Iris Tong, who was with students inside
   the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, described scenes of desperation,
   with at least two young teenagers threatening suicide.

   "I saw one boy (threaten) to use a knife on his neck," Tong says. "I
   didn't see any blood from his neck, but he just talked about how he
   wanted to kill himself. But other people said it wasn't necessary for
   him to do that and told him to put down the knife."

   "I can feel they are hopeless," she said. "It's quite sad."

   Since Sunday, police have ordered the protesters to drop their homemade
   weapons and leave the campus via a single exit, where they likely would
   face riot-related charges. As of early Tuesday, hundreds had agreed to
   leave the school following negotiations by local officials and
   community leaders.

   Many other students have attempted to escape to freedom -- some by
   sliding down ropes to waiting motorcycles, which tried to zoom past the
   security cordon that surrounds the campus. Police have fired tear gas
   and rubber bullets at those who attempt to flee.

   Last week, hundreds of students barricades themselves on the campus,
   collecting makeshift weapons including bricks, arrows, and molotov
   cocktails. Now, only "100-something" protesters remain, says Tong. "But
   less than half of them can go to the frontlines," she estimates.

   Lam comments

   Hong Kong's executive Carrie Lam on Tuesday made her first substantial
   remarks on the standoff, saying she is "extremely worried" and hopes
   the situation can be resolved peacefully.

   But the Beijing-friendly Lam also defended police actions, saying she
   was shocked that the students had turned the campus into a "weapons
   factory." About 600 protesters have left the campus so far, Lam said.

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