After a weekend marked by severe violence, Hong Kong was living on Monday, September 2, new turmoil with calls for a general strike and a boycott of courses in universities.

From the first hours of the day, protesters wreak havoc in the subways and trains during rush hours. Dressed in black, a number of them blocked the doors of the trains in several stations, preventing them from starting and causing significant delays on the whole network.

Universities were scheduled to resume classes on Monday after the summer break, but students called for boycotts for two weeks and a rally in the afternoon.

Chaos

Hong Kong had a day of one of the most violent protests since the beginning of the movement. And on Sunday, thousands of pro-democracy protesters tried to block access to the airport by erecting barricades with baggage trolleys before being chased out by the police.

Many of the protesters then moved to Tung Chung town, which passes the only road to the airport. They used pipes to flood the subway station of this locality and also burned a Chinese flag, a gesture likely to provoke the fury of Beijing. Many passengers trapped in the traffic jams caused by these actions were forced to walk to the airport on foot. About fifteen flights had to be canceled.

Protesters are theoretically no longer allowed to protest at the airport, under a decree that was passed last month after rallies at its terminals escalated and affected hundreds of flights. But they have often freed themselves from prohibitions.

Violence plunged Saturday night several quarters in the chaos until late at night. Protesters burned a huge barricade in the Wanchai district (center), about 100 meters from the police headquarters. Chaotic scenes continued throughout the city as police chased protesters into subway stations.

"The police is a licensed underworld"

"The police are a licensed underworld, with a license to attack and assault," pro-democracy MP Kwok Ka-ki told AFP. "The government is no different from an autocratic regime."

Forty people were arrested at a station. "The safety of the police and the population is seriously threatened by this escalation of violence and the increasing use by deadly gun demonstrators," police said in a statement. She said she had two summons fire on Saturday night after being attacked by a group of "violent protesters who even tried to steal the police's weapons."

Hospital services in the treated city 31 count wounded, five of which were seriously affected.

With AFP