The overnight drama at Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), in Hung Hom on the southern tip of the Kowloon peninsula, saw some of the most violent and dramatic scenes in anti-government demonstrations in the past six months.
Multiple arrests were made around the campus on Monday. A 23 years old protester told the local media by phone from inside PolyU, “We try to leave but the police will arrest us, they are just everywhere surrounding the campus.” The protesters inside the campus were met with tear gas and rubber bullets. Those that were caught by the police were often aggressively detained.
Photos and videos of the situation spread rapidly on social media, and many sympathetic protests emerged around the city to distract the police and ease the pressure on those trapped on campus.