Hong Kong police clear pro-democracy demonstrators’ protest site

Описание: HONG KONG — Police cleared demonstrators from one of Hong Kong’s largest protest sites Wednesday and arrested two student leaders at the forefront of the pro-democracy movement that has gripped the Asian financial hub for two months.

Crowds gathered near the protest site in the city’s Mong Kok shopping district cheered and clapped as the final protesters were removed from the site that has become a flashpoint between protesters and those intent on breaking up the protests.

Although scuffles broke out when the riot police moved against the protesters after clashes overnight, there was no serious violence Wednesday, according to news reports.
Traffic flowed freely in the busy area for the first time since protesters took to the streets in late September to demand greater democracy in the former British colony.

Police Wednesday also arrested Joshua Wong and Lester Shum, two of the leaders of the protest movement that has posed the biggest challenge to China since Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule in 1997.