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Phila Siu

Ernest Kao

A split among protesters in Admiralty deepened after a radical faction stepped up its action by blocking a key road and forcing the shutdown of government headquarters.
The flashpoint was Lung Wo Road, a highway linking Central to the Cross-Harbour Tunnel and, by extension, Kowloon. It is also a heavily used east-west route on Hong Kong Island.
A row broke out early yesterday morning when a small group of protesters partially took over the section of the road outside the chief executive's office.
It happened soon after Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's media briefing late on Thursday.
The small group suddenly rushed into one of the two westbound lanes.
The majority of the protesters tried to stop them, fearing that a sit-in on the road might alienate residents going to work yesterday because other main roads on Hong Kong Island were already occupied.
"Calm down! Come back!" the majority shouted at their unruly counterparts.
An hour later, student leaders urged the crowd not to risk losing public support by paralysing Lung Wo Road.
Federation of Students deputy secretary general Lester Shum cited Leung's pledge that Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor would hold talks with protest leaders.
"It is the first time since August 31 that a minister has agreed to talk to students and residents. This is a critical moment," Shum said, referring to the day Beijing unveiled a restrictive framework for the city's electoral reform.
"If we occupy Lung Wo Road, all the support we have garnered in the last week will go to waste. Now is the time we need residents to back and fight with us."
But by 1.40am, both westbound lanes had been blocked.
One of the occupiers, student Kenny Cheung, 20, said it was the only thing he could do.
"We have occupied so many areas, so why stop now?" Cheung asked. "We need to continue blocking this road until the meeting with Lam is over."
Volunteer marshals helped divert westbound traffic to one of the two eastbound lanes and formed human cordons to stop people from entering those lanes.
About 10 hours later, protesters clashed again when official vehicles sought to go in and out of Leung's office entrance.
Arguments broke out shortly before noon, as the driver of an ambulance on standby inside the office asked to take to hospital a police officer who was said to have fainted. Protesters gave way when it left and then returned.
But they debated whether and how they should let emergency vehicles through. Lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung helped mediate the dispute.
They also made way when another ambulance tried to enter the office, purportedly to transport medical supplies.
But a truck labelled "food for police" was denied entry because protesters did not trust it was carrying only food. On Thursday, they stepped aside when police claimed to be carrying food into the office - but suspicions arose that the officers might be transporting ammunition.


	The radical protester beholden to no one and willing to risk all
Rico Lo Yui-chi is adamant - he answers to no one during the protest and is even prepared to lose his place at university.
He is one of the "new protesters" who refuse to be represented and who see Occupy Central as an issue of personal choice. Lo, 21, a Chinese linguistics student at a university in Guangzhou, is in the more radical camp that on Thursday night wanted to occupy Lung Wo Road, a key route in Admiralty, and the bridge leading to the government headquarters.
"We believe that escalating our actions will see greater results - we voted just now that by blocking this path, it will help the Hong Kong Federation of Students' dialogue with Carrie Lam," he said. "We could've blocked the whole of Lung Wo Road but we didn't. But we could if we wanted to."
He became involved after seeing police use tear gas on protesters on Sunday - "My sister was there. She is 16 years old". The group he has stuck with - most of them new friends he made while sitting on Lung Wo Road - donned scarves covering their faces. They yelled rude comments, but many were unwilling to be interviewed.
With Lo was his secondary school classmate, who only gave his surname, Choi. Aged 22, he is studying environmental studies at Baptist University.
"This is all [Leung Chun-ying's] fault. If [employees] are not getting paid, they need to look to him, not us. This is CY's responsibility," said Choi, who shouted at employees trying to get to work yesterday.
However, Choi soon clammed up and when Occupy co-founder Benny Tai Yiu-ting started to talk with those involved, he slunk to the back.
"I wasn't all that involved," he said with a laugh, despite being there from the beginning.
Jennifer Ngo
 


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Disputes among protesters over whether to step up Admiralty blockade

A row broke out early yesterday morning when a small group of protesters partially took over the section of the road outside the chief executive's office. Photo: Reuters

Police and protesters, one of them on the ground, square off outside
the government offices in Admiralty yesterday. Photo: Sam Tsang

Government headquarters closed as protesters block bridge in Admiralty

Weeping contract staff who lost a day's pay because of the Tamar blockade. Photo: Sam Tsang

News

Hong Kong

A split among protesters in Admiralty deepened after a radical faction stepped up its action by blocking a key road and forcing the shutdown of government headquarters.
