Police use water cannon outside the Hong Kong Polytechnic University to disperse protesters in Hong Kong on November 17, 2019. Picture: ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP
Huge fires had lit up the sky at the university in the heart of Kowloon district overnight as protesters hurled petrol bombs, some by catapult, and police fired volleys of tear gas to draw them on to the open podium of the red-brick campus. Clashes also broke out on the artery of Nathan Road in the Kowloon district of Mong Kok, a frequent venue for unrest,
"We are not afraid," said a year-three student Ah Long, who chose not to disclose his full name."If we don't persist, we will fail. So why not all in," he said. Hong Kong did not request assistance from the PLA and the military initiated the operation as a"voluntary community activity", a spokesman for the city's government said.