Hong Kong Authorities Begin Clearing Main Protesters’ Camp

Hong Kong authorities began to clear on Thursday the main camp of the pro-democracy demonstrators which have been protesting since September demanding to choose their candidates without the central government’s approval.

Hong Kong local media reported that about 7,000 police officers were due to be deployed in two shifts to handle the clearance, as workers used wire cutters to remove barricades. The workers also slowly dismantled barricades made of bamboo scaffolding.

On Tuesday Hong Kong High Court ordered the demonstrators to clear the site by Thursday, after a local bus company filled a lawsuit and was granted with an injunction against the street blockades.

Despite the clearance the students warned that the protests will not be over, and that they will take the streets again.

A large yellow banner with the words "We'll be back" was draped in the center of the highway where protesters had camped out, with similar messages scrawled on roads and posted on tents.

Protesters, mostly students, have been occupying various locations around Hong Kong since the end of September demanding universal suffrage. China granted the island nation a right to vote for the first time in its 2017 elections, but insists on screening any candidates first.

At the height of the protests, over 100,000 people took to the streets, putting China's government in a sensitive political situation.