Hong Kong police surround university as violent standoff with students continues

At an ongoing press conference, police said officers had fired live rounds twice in the past two days.

Last night, protesters used a vehicle to attack a police officer, said a spokesperson. The officer saw the car approaching, and felt their life was at risk, so fired one round.

Then in the early hours of this morning, an ambulance was dispatched to deal with an urgent injury in Kowloon’s Mong Kok district, the spokesperson said. When the ambulance arrived, the road was blocked so the paramedics had to approach on foot.

They retrieved the injured woman – an arrested protester – and began taking her back to the ambulance on a stretcher, but a crowd of protesters began heckling the paramedics, the spokesperson said. Once they were inside the ambulance, the crowd began to throw bricks and push the ambulance from side to side – leading an officer to fire a live round, after which the crowd dispersed. Nobody was injured.

The police also condemned violence committed against officers in the field, pointing to the case of an officer hit by an arrow yesterday.

He added that these attacks were “terrorist-like,” and that the protesters were “intent on murdering” the officers.

Police officers at a press conference on November 18, 2019.

The Hong Kong police are urging protesters still inside the Polytechnic University to “come out and surrender,” while officers outside the university fire tear gas.

The standoff is now in its second day, with protesters barricaded on campus refusing to back down.

“Anyone entering the Polytechnic University campus is taking part in a riot,” said a police spokesperson at an ongoing news conference.

The police also accused the protesters of “causing destruction for the sake of destruction,” and said they had only used tear gas because protesters had “suddenly attempted to leave the campus” while holding petrol bombs.

“This is chilling behavior,” said the spokesperson, pointing to acts of vandalism across the city like smashed traffic lights. “Just who is disrupting citizens’ daily life?”

Meanwhile, riot police stationed outside the university on an overpass have just begun firing tear gas at protesters below, who are hiding behind umbrellas.

Both the government and the protesters are refusing to back down after over five months of unrest – and there is no immediate end in sight.

Showing his dissatisfaction with the situation, Chinese President Xi Jinping made rare public comments on the demonstrations last Thursday, days after reiterating his support for Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam.

He said that “radical” protesters had trampled the city’s rule of law and that “stopping the violence and restoring order” was Hong Kong’s most “urgent task.”

It came just hours before a 70-year-old man, who was struck by a brick during clashes between protesters and their opponents, died of his injuries. Police blamed protesters for throwing the item which killed him.

There is regular speculation that the Chinese government might send in the People’s Liberation Army to restore order in the city but so far that appears to not be an option for Beijing.

Over the weekend the specter of military intervention was once again raised after soldiers from the PLA barracks were seen helping local residents clean up surrounding streets. 

The presence of the troops on the streets despite being en unarmed and wearing workout gear – unnerved many Hong Kong residents and pro-democracy legislators, even as it was cheered by pro-Beijing newspapers and on Chinese social media. 

Analysts agree that a military intervention could severely damage Hong Kong’s economy and might spark an exodus from the city. Police have repeatedly denied any need for assistance from the PLA, and have not yet had to use live rounds as a routine matter.

Cat-and-mouse clashes are continuing in Kowloon, with sporadic rounds of tear gas and protesters running back and forth.

Gascoigne Road, which lies a few hundred meters (up to a thousand feet) from the Polytechnic University, has been the focus of today’s clashes. Protesters there are determined to distract the police and aid the escape of students still inside PolyU.

“We cannot trust the police anymore. They say they won’t arrest students outside the campus but they did and always use tear gas,” she added.

Earlier this afternoon, protesters trying to flee the university were beaten and arrested by police, who had previously asked them to leave “in an orderly manner.”

The teacher told CNN she would be fired if her employer knew she was out there with the protesters – but like the protesters, she is frustrated that the government hasn’t taken action after almost six months of unrest.

It remains unclear precisely how many students and protesters are still barricaded inside Polytechnic University, with estimates from those on campus ranging from between 100 to 1,000.

A source inside the maze-like university grounds told CNN that most of the remaining protesters are now spread out in small groups, making it difficult to gage exact numbers.

Throughout the day, groups of protesters have attempted to leave the campus, only to be met with tear gas, water cannons and projectiles from waiting police.

Democratic Party Legislative Councillor Ted Hui, who is also inside the university, told CNN there could be up to 1,000 people trapped on campus, many of whom are young students.

“No one wants to see people get hurt, no Hong Konger would want that,” said Hui.  

Protesters form a human chain to pass along supplies in Kowloon, Hong Kong, on November 18, 2019.

As the standoff continues between the remaining protesters and police at Polytechnic University, demonstrators are still working to distract authorities in nearby districts.

Long human chains have formed down Gascoigne Road in Yau Ma Tei, north of the university, and protesters are passing umbrellas, cardboard, bamboo poles, bricks and other materials to front line protesters who are confronting police near the flyover.

Police keep responding with tear gas that disperses them but the protesters come back. Shouts ring out for certain supplies which are hurried to the front.

Confrontations between police and protesters have been raging for most of Monday across Kowloon, ever since pro-demonstrator groups called for assistance in distracting authorities early in the day.

The subway stations for Tsim Sha Tsui and Yau Ma Tei have closed, the subway operator just announced.

Both districts are in Kowloon, where police have been clashing with protesters all day, with heavy tear gas fired and petrol bombs thrown.

The announcement said the closures were due to “damage to station facilities.”

Parts of the West Rail Line and East Rail Line are also suspended, with trains skipping over the stops where the unrest is concentrated.

It’s not just the subway disrupted – roads near the Polytechnic University have also been closed off, and the crucial cross-harbor tunnel is also shut.

Protesters walk with bows and arrows near the Hong Kong Polytechnic University on November 16, 2019.

During the 24-hour siege of Polytechnic University, protesters have used a range of potentially lethal weaponry to hold off riot police.

The demonstrators have set up production lines of petrol bombs filled with a napalm-like substance, which they’ve then throw at police lines or at barricades to set them on fire.

Dramatic images from Sunday night showed enormous blazes started from huge numbers of petrol bombs being thrown at once.

Protesters also used a variety of bows and arrows, which were being fired from the balconies of Polytechnic University. One struck a police officer in the leg on Sunday, leading to his hospitalization.

Most dramatically, there have been makeshift catapults built out of bamboo and elastic, which protesters have used to slingshot objects at police lines.

At the fortified campus, CNN saw how protesters would first use bricks in the catapults to test their range, then switching to petrol bombs when they were hitting their targets.

Spotters on the roof also provided information to held the crews on the ground.

Last week’s violent confrontations between police and protesters were met with condemnation from the international community.

US Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee tweeted Sunday night that the actions of police officers at the Polytechnic University were “disturbing.”

“The Chinese and Hong Kong government need to deescalate. We’ve had enough bloodshed,” she wrote.

Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Jim Risch of Idaho, and Rick Scott of Florida have also expressed concern online about the violence and criticism toward the city government.

It’s not just American politicians – Sen. Penny Wong of South Australia also posted about the protests on Friday, urging the city authorities to “engage in a genuine dialogue with the public that addresses widespread concerns, including police conduct, and builds trust between all parties.”

Pro-democracy lawmaker Charles Mok, who was among those who filed a legal case against the Hong Kong government’s mask ban which resulted in it being ruled unconstitutional today, said he felt vindicated by the decision.

“The judgment shows that the government clearly has overstepped the limit in its invocation of the emergency regulations ordinance to set up this anti-mask law, which is ruled to be unconstitutional and incompatible with the Basic Law,” Mok told CNN.

“Once again it demonstrates the excessive abuse of administrative power of the government, to have pushed an unconstitutional law, circumventing the normal legislative process, only to be ruled unconstitutional by the court.”

Mok added that the ruling “shows that the judiciary in Hong Kong is still independent and fair.”

“However, one must worry that Beijing may clamp down further on our courts as it would see the judgment as an example of ‘non-cooperation’ with the administration,” he said.

After months of it feeling like the Hong Kong protests were almost settling into if not a lull, then at least some kind of routine, the last week has been nothing but escalation.

Only a week ago, a Hong Kong university student was shot by a police officer; later in the same day a man was set on fire following a dispute with protesters. A 70-year-old man was struck on the head with a brick and later died. Protesters fortified multiple campuses and police launched intense clearance operations.

This week shows no signs of slowing down. Today has already seen dramatic clashes at Polytechnic University, where a siege of the campus is still ongoing and police are cracking down on all those who leave, even as protests spring up elsewhere across the city in an attempt to relieve the pressure.

Throughout clashes Sunday night into Monday morning, protesters used petrol bombs and flaming arrows, as police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon.

Both sides seem to be preparing for greater violence, with protesters making Molotov cocktails filled with a napalm-like substance and even apparently setting explosive booby traps on the PolyU campus. Meanwhile police have deployed snipers and officers could be seen patrolling with assault rifles after the force said it may use live rounds if the dispute continues.

It seems inevitable that images coming out of PolyU will further exacerbate anger and fuel more protests, even as the last major misstep by the government – a ban on the wearing of masks using a colonial era law – was ruled unconstitutional by a court this morning.

After almost six months of unrest, everything seems to be speeding up, and we may be on the verge of a turning point. The protests have not been bloodless, but those deaths which have occurred did so on the edges of the unrest – the last week seems to indicate that we may be getting towards the point where fatalities become routine.

Black-uniformed riot police have been seen in Jordan, where a clearance operation is ongoing, carrying what appear to be assault rifles.

The weapons, which did not have the usual orange markings that designate less-than-lethal rounds, appeared to be M4 carbines with .556 rounds. It was unclear whether the weapon was loaded with live ammunition, but police said in a statement last night that they were prepared to use live rounds if the disruption continued.

The Hong Kong Education Bureau just announced that classes for all schools will be canceled again tomorrow due to the weeklong unrest.

A statement from the bureau said the decision was made because of “unstable factors” and transit disruptions.

The cancellations include all education levels. The bureau said most classes are expected to resume on Wednesday, while some schools for students with disabilities will remain closed until Sunday.

This is the fourth consecutive school day that classes have been cancelled – the bureau first closed all schools last Thursday after safety complaints from parents.

Protesters are detained by police near the Hong Kong Polytechnic University on November 18, 2019.

About 20 minutes ago, police and protesters clashed outside the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, after protesters who had been barricaded inside attempted to leave.

Scenes from the ground show protesters with bloodied faces after the clashes. Some were tackled to the ground, and held down by numerous riot police officers.

Police tackle protesters near the Hong Kong Polytechnic University on November 18, 2019.

The clash erupted suddenly, and was over just as quickly, in a matter of minutes. Earlier, the street had been full of police and protesters dressed in black, trying desperately to run away and tussling on the ground. Now, the area is empty, with some protesters having fled and many arrested.

Protesters clashed with police near the Hong Kong Polytechnic University on November 18, 2019.

People are detained by police near the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hung Hom district of Hong Kong on November 18.

The Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) has accused police of trying to obstruct press coverage of the Polytechnic University siege.

In a strongly worded statement, the club said police had barred journalists from entering the fortified campus, and searched others or demanded they provide press identification.

In one incident, the FCC alleged three student journalists who attempted to leave the Polytechnic University campus were told to stay where they were or risk being fired upon.

“We again call for an independent investigation into police violence against journalists and any interference with the media’s right under Hong Kong law to cover the unrest,” the statement said.

A source at Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University has revealed how protesters barricaded inside the campus have made a napalm-like substance to attack police lines.

According to the source, the manufacturing of the substance was carried out in an organized manner, with some protesters focusing on mixing household substances, while others focused on mixing the napalm like substance with petrol in glass bottles.

Hundreds of glass bottles filled with the substance have been strategically positioned across campus, ready to be used should police finally enter inside, the source claimed.

On Sunday, protesters used slingshots to hurl the substance towards police lines. In one incident, an armored police vehicle caught fire when protesters launched a barrage of bottles filled with the substance towards advancing police lines, said the source.

The latest escalation in violence between protesters and police has pushed protesters to experiment with newer and more deadly makeshift weaponry, including bows and flaming arrows and catapults.

Do police want to clear the Polytechnic University campus, or do they want to make arrests? At the moment they seem to be trying to have it both ways – and are working against their own stated objectives.

While some protesters managed to flee the besieged campus this morning, many were sent rushing back inside after police fired a barrage of tear gas at them. They have been trapped there since.

Moments ago, more attempted to leave but were tackled to the ground and detained, often violently, live video footage showed from the scene.

While police have grounds to make arrests, the point of doing so at this stage seems unclear. They have said since this morning that they want to clear the campus and restore calm – allowing those protesters remaining inside to leave would do this.

By targeting anyone who steps outside they are only further prolonging the siege, and the images of violent arrests will be spreading like wildfire around Hong Kong, where multiple sympathy protests have already sprung up, further exacerbating tensions today.

The past six months have often been characterized by the police and government acting in ways that undermine their own goals, and today looks like it will be no different.

Police fire tear gas at protesters near the Hong Kong Polytechnic University on November 18, 2019.

A bloody fight has broken out between protesters and riot police outside Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where upwards of several hundred student protesters have been barricaded inside for days.

Live video streams from local media show a large group of black-clad protesters trying to run, before being pursued by riot police. The scene quickly descended into shocking violence, with protesters and police officers tussling on the road, tripping over bricks that had been pried loose.

Video showed officers throwing protesters with bloody faces to the ground and beating them with batons. The air is heavy with thick white tear gas.

There are fires on site as well, and a police water cannon vehicle heading toward the scene.

For hours, police have ordered protesters inside the university to leave. In a statement earlier this morning, police said they were using “the minimum force necessary.” They asked protesters to “drop their weapons” and leave “in an orderly manner,” warning them to “follow police instructions.”

Many protesters were reluctant to leave the university all day for fear of being arrested or beaten by the police. It’s not clear how many remain still inside the university, or how many have been injured in the stand-off that has now been going on for more than 24 hours.

Five people are in a serious condition after being injured in the past 36 hours, Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority said Monday.

In total, 38 people have been admitted to hospital with injuries since Sunday morning, although it wasn’t clear how many were injured in the siege of Polytechnic University.

The Authority said that three men and two women were in a serious condition. The others were either stable or had been discharged.

There is no information at this stage how many of the injured are police and how many are protesters.

In a statement earlier in the day, the president of the Polytechnic University’s student union said a number of protesters on the campus were suffering from hyperthermia after being hit with the water cannon.

Office workers and pro-democracy protesters gather during a demonstration in Central in Hong Kong on November 15.

White collar protesters have hit the streets of Hong Kong’s Central district during their lunch break for the first time this week.

Central is home to many of Hong Kong’s blue-chip companies and highest-paid financial jobs. It also boasts some of the most expensive real estate in the world.

The workers regularly came out last week to support the protesters in other parts of the city, chanting “Save our students” and “Five demands, not one less.”

The spontaneous demonstrations made headlines around the world, due to eye-catching visuals of people in business shoes and formal dresses helping set up barricades and shield each other from tear gas.

It also showed the depth of support for the Hong Kong protest movement despite the increasingly violent nature of the demonstrations.

Attempts by protesters to divert police resources from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University campus are underway across the city.

Demonstrators are vandalizing shops and causing disruptions in a number of districts surrounding the university.

In one incident at the corner of Jordan Road and Nathan Road, protesters fled after smashing up a Starbucks coffee shop, pursued by police who fired tear gas and sponge bullets.

A Hong Kong police officer chases protesters through tear gas in Kowloon on Monday.

Police direct two bystanders in a haze of tear gas in Kowloon on Monday.

A store which has been vandalized by protesters on Monday in an attempt to distract police from Polytechnic University.

A fire outside of a branch of the Bank of China in Kowloon, Hong Kong, on October 7, 2019.

Today’s ongoing stand-off is just the latest development in a chaotic protest movement that has now stretched on for more than five months – and Hong Kong’s relationship with mainland China is a key element in understanding the turmoil.

A quick history lesson: Hong Kong was a British territory until it was handed over to Chinese control in 1997 – but the handover agreement gave the city protected special freedoms of press, speech, and assembly for at least 50 years.

This is what we mean when we say Hong Kong is semi-autonomous. The city is part of China – but it has its own currency, language, legal system, identity and culture. This model of governance is called “one country, two systems.”

Fears of losing freedom: Hong Kong’s rare freedoms stand in stark contrast to China’s strict censorship and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s tight grip on power, which have seen dissidents jailed and interrogated in secret prisons.

And this is why protesters here are desperate to protect their freedoms – because they fear becoming just another Chinese city under Xi’s rule. Some are even calling for full independence from the mainland.

What this means for the protest: This strong anti-China sentiment is why protesters have targeted Chinese-owned businesses – for instance, they smashed the ATMs at Bank of China locations. They have also boycotted restaurants that expressed pro-China stances.

Smoke billows from a fire next to Hong Kong Polytechnic University on November 18, 2019.

After a brief period of calm, the level of violence in Hong Kong’s almost six-month long protest movement ratcheted up dramatically last week.

On November 8, a 22-year-old student died after falling from a parking lot close to the scene of protests, sparking outrage among the protesters and accusations of police responsibility – which police have repeatedly and strenuously denied.

The death set off a new wave of demonstrations last week, which has seen:

Several officers from the Hong Kong police’s special tactical forces – also known as the Raptors – are now clearing bricks and barricades from the streets in Kowloon’s Tsim Sha Tsui district.

Some local residents are also pitching in, using cardboard sheets to sweep away the bricks littering Nathan Road, a major thoroughfare in Kowloon.

But their cleanup operation is being met with resistance – passersby on the sidelines are jeering, and some throw bricks back into the freshly cleared roads.

“We are just trying to clear the road and they are disrupting,” said one man who helped the cleanup.

Protesters earlier today had pried up bricks and built barricades in an attempt to draw police away from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where there are some remaining protesters who have been inside for days.

Take a look:

Live video feeds from local media show police firing tear gas in Kowloon’s Jordan district, the heavy white clouds filling the street.

At the sound of tear gas bangs, protesters drop into a defensive crouch, using umbrellas as makeshift shields. Some are screaming obscenities and throwing objects at the police.

Some protesters have gas masks, but bystanders aren’t so lucky – images show them running from the tear gas, eyes watering and clutching cloths over their mouths.

Hong Kong’s ban on wearing masks at public gatherings, passed last month using controversial, colonial era emergency powers, has been struck down by the High Court.

In a judgment handed down Monday morning, as violent clashes continued around the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the court ruled in favor of a group of pro-democracy legislators who had challenged the constitutionality of the law.

The Emergency Regulations Ordinance (ERO), which had not been used for more than half a century, gives the city’s chief executive power to bypass the legislature to “make any regulations whatsoever which he (or she) may consider desirable in the public interest.”

The ERO must be read in conjunction with the Hong Kong Bill of Rights, and measures adopted under it must comply with those protected by the latter law, the court said.

“We leave open the question of the constitutionality of the ERO insofar as it relates to any occasion of emergency,” the court said.

Some context: Under the mask ban, police officers were empowered “to stop any person in any public place who is using a facial covering and to require that person to remove it so that his or her identity may be verified, if the officer reasonably believes the facial covering is likely to prevent identification.” People who failed to remove masks or face coverings could face a fine of up to $1,200 and/or imprisonment for up to 6 months.

This provision “represents a more serious inroad into protected rights than is reasonably necessary, and therefore fails the proportionality test,” the court ruled.

Other provisions of the mask law also went “further than is reasonably necessary for the furtherance of those objects.”

A protester lights a petrol bomb in front of a fire on a pedestrian bridge during clashes with police at Hong Kong Polytechnic University on November 18.

Chinese state-run newspaper the China Daily has called for an “uncompromising” crackdown on Hong Kong’s protesters in an editorial published Monday morning.

“The hardcore rioters who have turned the city’s streets and university campuses into scenes reminiscent of a war zone have deluded themselves into believing that they are above the law,” the editorial said.

Though Chinese state media has taken a consistently hardline on the Hong Kong protest movement, the tone has become even harsher in recent weeks.

Monday’s China Daily editorial accused protests of being fueled by “privilege” and “prejudice.”

“It is only because they are puffed up with the pride they take in their prejudice that they are willing to indulge in such sociopathic behavior,” the editorial said.

In a social media post on Sunday night, Hu Xijin, editor of the state-run tabloid Global Times, called for the police to use live rounds on the protesters.

Protesters clash with police at Hong Kong Polytechnic University on November 18, 2019.

Hundreds of people are lining the streets surrounding Nathan Road, where protesters are tossing bricks and building barricades in an attempt to draw police away from the Polytechnic University.

One man in his 20s told CNN he supports the protesters, and that they’re fighting to “save” the students still inside the university.

But on a street just around the corner, the support isn’t as strong. 

One retiree said the scenes of destruction, happening mere feet away, were too extreme. She had supported the initial protests in the early summer months, and was against the now-withdrawn extradition bill, but she thinks the escalating violence is “crazy.”

“Don’t tell me that is supported,” she said, thumbing through photos she took on her iPhone of the vandalism and wrecked shops nearby. 

When the topic came to the future of her city, she choked up.

A 30-year-old man nearby said he’s ready to move on from Hong Kong. Squatting down with a cigarette in hand, he told CNN he studied in Canada for ten years – and after more than five months f protests, he thinks it’s time to go back.

“Hong Kong is no longer a good place to live,” he said. “I love this place, I thought Hong Kong was the best city in the world. But no longer,”

The man added that he supports that young people are fighting for freedom, but doesn’t agree with the level of violence employed. “I don’t know if they’re doing the right thing or the wrong,” he said

Its gone midday in Hong Kong and the city’s Polytechnic University remains under siege. Elsewhere, widespread protests continue to flare.

But there has been no comment yet this morning from the Hong Kong government.

Many social media users have questioned why there had been no response by city authorities despite the ongoing siege. So far only the police have issued press statements.

Pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo asked on her official Twitter where was Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam during the crisis.

“Where’s our civilian government?” she asked.

For a while this morning, it appeared police would not take the bait that protesters had set: building barricades and causing disruptions on streets in Kowloon’s Tsim Sha Tsui district, in an attempt to divert police resources.

But then hundreds of protesters hiding behind umbrellas and yellow plastic barriers started to push up Jordan Road, just a few hundred meters (about 500-1,000 feet) away from the Polytechnic University campus.

Police fired tear gas and bean bag rounds from the Gascoigne Road flyover onto protesters, who were trying to push on up to the flyover. Protesters threw petrol bombs up at police, causing small fires on the road. Riot vans then moved in, their sirens blaring, and protesters ran.

The clash was over within minutes, with some bystanders hanging around watching the fray. The roads are now left covered in broken bricks and closed to traffic. Police are continuing to clear parts of Jordan Road to let their vans drive through, and protesters have once again retreated further into Tsim Sha Tsui.

While the majority of protesters have left the Polytechnic University (PolyU) campus, a large number are still there, either determined to hold on or trapped by police, who have conducted mass arrests and fired tear gas on streets around the campus.

The mood inside the campus is very somber, said freelance photojournalist Aidan Marzo, who has been there since Sunday.

Marzo said that many protesters left around 8 a.m. this morning after word went around that university officials had negotiated a ceasefire with police. Many were trapped, however, after police attacked those streaming from the campus.

“When they did leave, or tried to, police kept firing round after round of tear gas and they were forced to retreat back into the university,” he said. It’s unclear whether any ceasefire was actually agreed, or if it might have been a negotiated surrender for students to leave peacefully but still face arrest.

“There’s been a lot of miscommunication in the last 24 hours on how, or if people can leave, it’s been quite difficult for protesters, and even the press, to know what to do,” Marzo added.

A night of violence: While many protesters are taking advantage of the current lull to catch up on some rest, Marzo described the intense fighting that went on throughout the night, with determined protesters defying multiple police advances, tear gas and water cannon.

“A lot of these kids, they would get hit by the water cannon, medics would carry them away, they would get washed down, new clothes and go back to the front lines,” he said, adding that even though many feel defeated today, they likely will not go down without a fight.

“Their hatred of the police way outweighs their lack of spirit,” Marzo said. “(PolyU) is an urban maze, a lot of basement, ground level rooms, and bridges and overpasses. It’s not large in terms of surface area, (but) it will be quite complicated for police to clear it.”

The Hong Kong police said on Twitter they had fired tear gas because protesters in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University had “ignored” repeated warnings and charged at police with petrol bombs.

The police called tear gas “the minimum force necessary,” and urged the protesters to drop their weapons and leave the university “in an orderly manner.”

Anti-government protesters stand during a lull in the middle of clashes with police at Hong Kong Polytechnic University on November 18.

It’s been almost six months now since protests began in Hong Kong – and since then the movement has dramatically broadened.

The protests began in June with one main objective – for the government to withdraw a controversial bill that would have allowed extradition of fugitives to mainland China.

Critics worried Beijing could use the bill to prosecute people for political reasons under China’s opaque legal system.

But when the government only suspended the bill and didn’t withdraw it, the focus of the movement expanded to allegations of police brutality and calls for greater democracy.

The current five demands of the Hong Kong protest movement are:

Police firing tear gas in Kowloon, Hong Kong, on November 18, 2019.

Police have begun firing tear gas in Kowloon, where protesters are trying to draw police numbers away from the Polytechnic University.

Dozens of protesters on Jordan Road, Nathan Road, and several nearby streets have been prying up bricks from the road and scattering them around in an attempt to divert police resources from the university – where a standoff between police and protesters is now entering its second day.

Several protesters have thrown bricks and petrol bombs at riot police, who are standing at the Gascoigne Road flyover. Police just fired tear gas in response toward Jordan Road.

Meanwhile, students and protesters remain barricaded inside the Polytechnic University, despite police orders for them to leave. Riot police are manning all roads in and out of campus, which appears on lockdown.

P flyover where police are standing.

Nathan Road, usually a busy thoroughfare in Kowloon, was nearly empty Monday morning.

Nathan Road, the main thoroughfare in Hong Kong’s Kowloon district, is usually full of cars and pedestrians. Right now, it’s full of protesters wearing face masks and dressed in black, covering the ground with detritus.

Protesters in Kowloon, Hong Kong, are throwing bricks and makeshift barricades onto the roads.

There are bricks scattered all over the road, as well as bamboo scaffolding. Some makeshift barricades are a little more creative – ladders, tables, umbrellas, fences, phone boxes.

Take a look at the scene:

A phone booth used as a barricade in Kowloon, Hong Kong.

Nearly the entire stretch of Nathan Road, which runs through multiple districts in Kowloon, is covered with debris, bamboo scaffolding, bricks, and other objects used as makeshift barricades.

In Yau Ma Tei, which lies between Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui districts, protesters have even toppled a phone booth into the middle of the road in an attempt to halt traffic.

Walking through the streets, you can hear the echo of smashing bricks from protesters further down Nathan Road. One protester told CNN they’re blocking the roads in case police arrive.

This is all part of an attempt to draw police toward Nathan Road, away from Polytechnic University, where students remain barricaded inside despite some attempts to leave this morning.

The roads are covered with bamboo barricades and bricks.

Riot police in Hong Kong's Tsim Sha Tsui district on November 18, 2019.

The siege of the heavily fortified Hong Kong Polytechnic University campus has now entered its second day, with large numbers of riot police locked in a tense and occasionally violent standoff with student protesters.

Here’s where we’re at this morning:

Bamboo poles on the ground in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, on November 18, 2019.

Protesters and protest supporters in Kowloon’s Tsim Sha Tsui district are building bamboo barricades on Nathan Road, a main thoroughfare that is usually packed with traffic.

Many tell CNN they are doing it as a diversionary tactic – to draw police away from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), where police and protesters remain locked in a tense, hours-long standoff. Many of the protesters have been attempting to escape the fortified campus all morning, but many are being arrested by police, who have surrounded the area.

One 29-year-old female student laying barricades told CNN that the protesters are PolyU are “lacking resources now, food and water.”

Police have ordered students to leave the campus – but there’s only one exit, she said. “People getting out from that exit will be arrested.”

Two 17-year-old girls say they are also pulling bamboo scaffolding onto the road to cause a disruption and draw the police away.

“We just want to save the students in PolyU,” one said. “When we grow up we will be the ones who can change Hong Kong so we don’t (want) our next generation to suffer.”

Hong Kong protesters have now been under siege inside Polytechnic University for 24 hours, as the police try to clear the campus and reopen nearby roads.

Violent clashes raged all through the night and now the shrinking group of remaining protesters are trying to catch some brief respite inside the fortified campus.

Photos from inside the walls of Polytechnic University show black-clad, mostly young protesters resting against walls and on benches, still in their full protective gear.

Protesters rest at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University on November 18.

Protesters rest during a lull in clashes at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and in Hung Hom district on November 18.

A protester rests during a lull in clashes at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and in Hung Hom district of Hong Kong on November 18.

Nathan Road in Mong Kok is usually one of the busiest thoroughfares in the city.

Mong Kok, one of Hong Kong’s most bustling, densely-populated neighborhoods, appears almost totally deserted in parts, as police and student protesters continue battle in the nearby Polytechnic University.

The normally packed subway station entrances are bare. Many shops are shut. The streets, normally flowing with traffic, are partially empty. Walls, roads, and street dividers are covered with graffiti, and there are loose bricks on the road that were pried up by protesters.

A shop that was torched in Mong Kok, Hong Kong, on November 18, 2019.

Many passersby are holding their noses – from either the smell of tear gas or graffiti spray paint.

Inside Langham Place, a popular mall, only a handful of people mill around. The normally vibrant area feels like a ghost town.

Nathan Road may be mostly empty, but cars are heavily backed up in nearby busy intersections, where traffic lights have all been broken and smashed. At these blocked roads, traffic appears to go back about 100 meters (about 330 feet).

Riot police have set up a cordon around Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and are making multiple arrests in the surrounding area.

As students and protesters try to flee the besieged university campus, where many have stayed for days now, police are chasing some into the main square nearby. The streets are filled with ambulances and police vans.

Meanwhile, a mixed crowd of spectators stand nearby. Some who seem to be supportive of the protests are milling around, but many have dispersed or are sitting inside the nearby cafes. Others seem to support the police, with one woman thanking officers and shooting them a thumbs-up. Then there are local residents just trying to get on with their day, and seeming bemused by the heavy police presence.

A photo shows what appears to be a makeshift bomb made from a gas canister with bolts attached.

A photo sent to CNN from within Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University shows what appears to be a makeshift bomb made from a gas canister with bolts attached.

CNN cannot confirm that it is in fact a viable explosive device, or that it still contains volatile gas.

A police spokesperson confirmed to CNN that gas canisters have been used during protests as weapons against them.

The management of Hong Kong Polytechnic University issued a statement Sunday saying “dangerous chemicals” had been stolen from laboratories and condemned the protesters’ “illegal acts and violence” in the campus which has, they say, “been widely damaged.”

The university campus has been occupied by protesters for days.

Protesters rest during a lull in clashes at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hung Hom district of Hong Kong on November 18.

Arrests are continuing in the area around Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University while an unknown number of protesters are still occupying the campus.

In an attempt to draw police away from the university, a call has gone out on the online Reddit-like platform LIHKG for demonstrations elsewhere in the city.

LIHKG is regularly used by protester groups to coordinate and plan actions.

Supporters of the demonstrators used the same tactic late on Sunday night to try and distract police from the university, starting fires and building barricades in surrounding districts.

Already this morning there have been gatherings of protesters in Jordan, to the north of Polytechnic University, where they have been digging up bricks.

The editor of the state-run tabloid Global Times took to Twitter early this morning to call for Hong Kong police to be given permission to shoot protestors with live rounds.

“Hong Kong looks like a battlefield tonight,” editor Hu Xijin said on his official Twitter, after posting a video of an armored car being set alight by protesters.

Hong Kong police warned protesters during the late night siege that they would use live rounds if those inside the campus didn’t stop throwing petrol bombs and shooting arrows.

So far only one live round was confirmed fired late on Sunday, after a car tried to ram police lines in the Kowloon district of Jordan.

A group of protesters rest on stairs after unable to find safe passage out of Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hung Hom district of Hong Kong on November 18.

Dozens of protesters have already left the fortified campus of Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) this morning but there are still more inside who are unable to leave.

One 23-year-old protester who asked not to be named said that he was stuck on an undisclosed part of campus with about 20 other demonstrators. An unknown number of other protesters, many of whom are thought to be students, remain holed-up in other parts of the large central campus.

The protester, who is not a student at PolyU, said that they were tired and scared, adding he had seen people injured with tear gas and rubber bullets. He said that while some protesters still have hope, there is an expectation now that they will be arrested.

He said his parents thought he was at his girlfriend’s house and he didn’t know what he’d tell them.

“Currently those around me we just want to escape, we don’t have any equipment to help us fight,” he said.

Police use tear gas outside the Hong Kong Polytechnic University on November 17, 2019.

Students and protesters at the Polytechnic University (PolyU) have been facing off with police for nearly 24 hours – but many haven’t left the campus for days.

Earlier last week, hundreds of riot police at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) fired more than 1,567 canisters of tear gas during a chaotic and ultimately suspended clearance operation.

Protesters also moved to occupy other universities like PolyU, with sporadic clashes breaking out there since Thursday morning.

On Friday night, protesters suddenly evacuated CUHK, bringing the four-day occupation to an end – but only beginning the weekend-long occupation of PolyU.

Protesters accuse police of laying “siege” to CUHK and PolyU. Police say they were only trying to stop protesters from throwing objects onto roads and disrupting traffic at CUHK. They have labeled occupied universities a “breeding ground for criminals and rioters” and a “weapons factory.”

On Friday, CNN’s Helen Regan spent the day with protesters at PolyU, as they began fortifying the campus. Read more about the days-long occupation from inside the university here.

A protester with a bow and arrows near the Hong Kong Polytechnic University on November 16, 2019.

A Hong Kong police officer was shot with an arrow yesterday during clashes at the Polytechnic University campus.

As violence has escalated in recent days, protesters have begun using bows and arrows against the police, and authorities said a media liaison officer was hit in the leg with an arrow during a skirmish Sunday afternoon.

The man who was shot with an arrow was sent to hospital for treatment, according to the police statement.

Students and protesters occupying the universities have used other unorthodox weapons this past week, including javelins and equipment taken from campus gym stores.

Police use a water cannon during clashes with protestors outside the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong on November 17, 2019.

Police in Hong Kong released a statement on Monday morning denying that they had “raided” the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where they are currently facing off with students (some of whom are trying to evacuate).

The police statement called the raiding accusation “totally false,” and accused “rioters” of throwing petrol bombs and setting objects aflame.

Read the statement:

As the sun rises today, the streets around Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University are covered in litter and debris from the weekend’s clashes.

Scorch marks, bricks and abandoned umbrellas cover the area around the campus, which is currently the site of an almost 24-hour siege between police and protesters.

It’s a surreal sight in one of the world’s most urbanized financial hubs.

A large group of anti-government protesters try to find safe passage out of Hong Kong Polytechnic University and dodge police in Hung Hom district of Hong Kong on November 18.

Protesters try to find safe passage out of Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hung Hom district of Hong Kong on November 18.

Police fire tear gas as protesters run on a road leading to the Cross Harbour Tunnel while trying to leave Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hung Hom district of Hong Kong on November 18.

Police fire tear gas as protesters run on a road while trying to leave Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hung Hom district of Hong Kong on November 18.

After almost 24 hours of violent clashes between police and protesters, the total number of arrests and injuries is still unknown.

The president of the university’s student union said in a statement posted to Facebook this morning that some protesters had been injured or were suffering from hyperthermia.

“We have tried to communicate with school authorities, but we have not received any reply after more than two hours,” the president Derek Liu said.

CNN has seen several black-clad young people wearing protective gear being taken away by police, but so far there has been no official numbers from the authorities.

Police said on Sunday that those holding the Polytechnic University were “rioters,” and warned that rioting carried a much heavier charge than illegal assembly.

Hong Kong is reeling from the past week of violent demonstrations and clashes, which have interrupted daily life for many.

Multiple universities, including the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong University, have ended their semester early. Foreign exchange students have flown back to their home countries, with many home universities canceling the exchange program early.

The city’s education bureau also cancelled classes at all schools citywide for multiple days last week. School remains canceled today.

City transit has also been disrupted, with many subway stations closed, limited service on subway lines, and services shut early in the evening. A crucial tunnel across the harbor, connecting Kowloon with Hong Kong Island, has been shut due to the tense, ongoing standoff at the nearby Polytechnic University.

Protesters stream down onto the street below to find safe passage from campus, in Hung Hom district of Hong Kong on November 18.

After almost 24 hours under siege, dozens of protesters are streaming out of Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University in an attempt to escape.

It is unclear how many protesters remain on the campus or whether those leaving are being able to get through police lines.

At some places, riot police have fired tear gas and rubber bullets at groups of demonstrators who appear to be trying to leave the campus.

Police said that they were expanding their cordon around the university in an attempt to avoid any departing demonstrators slipping through their net.

Protesters start a large fire at the main entrance of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University on November 18, 2019.

Riot police and protesters have been facing off at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University for almost 24 hours. As dawn broke across the city, an enormous black cloud of smoke from campus blazes hung over Hong Kong’s iconic skyline.

Here’s what you need to know: