HONG KONG (Reuters) - Protesters in Hong Kong were forced to change tactics after a court ruling barred them from continuing to occupy the island's airport and a threat from Beijing that they could beat them in 10 minutes.
The British Times newspaper reported that yesterday afternoon only a few dozen protesters remained at the airport, and were fewer than the number of media reporters and photographers.
Despite the setback, the activists pledged to continue the pro-democracy movement, which began in early June against the repealed extradition law, and later evolved into a direct challenge to the Chinese government.
Resuming flights
Flights to and from the airport resumed after a two-day standoff between protesters and riot police ended in violent clashes on Tuesday, as protesters attacked two men they said were government spies.
The airport imposed new restrictions yesterday, allowing travel document holders in just 24 hours to enter through the passenger gates.
Beijing condemned the protests as close to terrorism and issued a warning that its armed forces could reach Hong Kong within 10 minutes.
Satellite images showed dozens of armored vehicles assembling inside a stadium in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, near Hong Kong.
Government call to end chaos
The warning contained several legal provisions allowing the military to deploy in Hong Kong. The warning, the harshest to date, as described by the Times, came from Beijing after the Hong Kong Political Bureau convicted the protesters for detaining and assaulting two Chinese citizens at the airport, one of them a newspaper reporter. Global Times "Chinese government.
Beijing called the attack on citizens Monday "atrocities that ignore the law, violate human rights, devoid of humanity and go beyond the basic limits of civilization." The perpetrators are no different from terrorists.