<p>A <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/hong-kong-votes-for-district-councillors-amid-anti-government-protests-263841">Hong Kong university campus</a> under siege for more than a week was a deserted wasteland on Saturday, with a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/hong-kong-would-be-obliterated-in-14-minutes-if-not-for-me-donald-trump-263961">handful of protesters</a> holed up in hidden refuges across the trashed grounds, as the city's focus turned to local elections.</p>

<p>The end of the siege at Polytechnic University on the Kowloon peninsula was approaching as some protesters desperately sought a way out and others vowed not to surrender, days after some of the worst violence since anti-government demonstrations escalated in June.</p>

<p>"If they storm in, there are a lot of places for us to hide," said Sam, a 21-year-old student, who was eating two-minute noodles in the cafeteria, while plotting his escape.</p>

<p>Police have set up high plastic barricades and a fence on the perimeter of the campus, which they have surrounded for more than a week. Early on Saturday, a Reuters witness saw three police vans drive in as about a dozen officers stood guard.</p>

<p><strong>Watch: I saved lives in Hong Kong says Donald Trump</strong></p>

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<p>About 1,000 people have been arrested in the siege in the Chinese-ruled city, about 300 of them younger than 18.</p>

<p>A single armed Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldier stood guard inside the Gun Club Hill Barracks next to the police fence on the edges of the university.</p>

<p>Rotting rubbish and boxes of unused petrol bombs littered the grounds, where many levels of the buildings resemble abandoned hideouts littered with items such as rucksacks, masks and water bottles.</p>

<p>In the early hours of Saturday, fire department officers inspected part of a sewer system through which some students had tried to flee earlier in the week, leaving backpacks, masks and other belongings scattered nearby.</p>

<p>The university standoff is nearing an end as a record 1,104 people gear up to run for 452 district council seats in elections on Sunday.</p>

<p>A record 4.1 million Hong Kong people, from a population of 7.4 million, have enrolled to vote, spurred in part by registration campaigns during months of protests.</p>

<p>Young pro-democracy activists are now running in some of the seats that were once uncontested and dominated by pro-Beijing candidates.</p>

<p>The protests snowballed from June after years of resentment over what many residents see as Chinese meddling in freedoms promised to Hong Kong when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.</p>

<p>Beijing has said it is committed to the "one country, two systems" formula by which Hong Kong is governed. It denies meddling in the affairs of the Asian financial hub and accuses foreign governments of stirring up trouble.</p>

<p>In an interview with Fox News Channel on Friday, US President Donald Trump said he had told Chinese President Xi Jinping that crushing the protests would have "a tremendous negative impact" on efforts to end the two countries' 16-month-long trade war.</p>

<p>"If it weren't for me Hong Kong would have been obliterated in 14 minutes," Trump said, without offering any evidence.</p>

<p>"He's got a million soldiers standing outside of Hong Kong that aren't going in only because I ask him, 'Please don't do it, you'll be making a big mistake, it's going to have a tremendous negative impact on the trade deal,' and he wants to make a trade deal."</p>


A Hong Kong university campus under siege for more than a week was a deserted wasteland on Saturday, with a handful of protesters holed up in hidden refuges across the trashed grounds, as the city's focus turned to local elections.

A Hong Kong university campus under siege for more than a week was a deserted wasteland on Saturday, with a handful of protesters holed up in hidden refuges across the trashed grounds, as the city's focus turned to local elections. The end of the siege at Polytechnic University on the Kowloon peninsula was approaching as some protesters desperately sought a way out and others vowed not to surrender, days after some of the worst violence since anti-government demonstrations escalated in June. "If they storm in, there are a lot of places for us to hide," said Sam, a 21-year-old student, who was eating two-minute noodles in the cafeteria, while plotting his escape. Police have set up high plastic barricades and a fence on the perimeter of the campus, which they have surrounded for more than a week. Early on Saturday, a Reuters witness saw three police vans drive in as about a dozen officers stood guard. Watch: I saved lives in Hong Kong says Donald Trump × About 1,000 people have been arrested in the siege in the Chinese-ruled city, about 300 of them younger than 18. A single armed Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldier stood guard inside the Gun Club Hill Barracks next to the police fence on the edges of the university. Rotting rubbish and boxes of unused petrol bombs littered the grounds, where many levels of the buildings resemble abandoned hideouts littered with items such as rucksacks, masks and water bottles. In the early hours of Saturday, fire department officers inspected part of a sewer system through which some students had tried to flee earlier in the week, leaving backpacks, masks and other belongings scattered nearby. The university standoff is nearing an end as a record 1,104 people gear up to run for 452 district council seats in elections on Sunday. A record 4.1 million Hong Kong people, from a population of 7.4 million, have enrolled to vote, spurred in part by registration campaigns during months of protests. Young pro-democracy activists are now running in some of the seats that were once uncontested and dominated by pro-Beijing candidates. The protests snowballed from June after years of resentment over what many residents see as Chinese meddling in freedoms promised to Hong Kong when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997. Beijing has said it is committed to the "one country, two systems" formula by which Hong Kong is governed. It denies meddling in the affairs of the Asian financial hub and accuses foreign governments of stirring up trouble. In an interview with Fox News Channel on Friday, US President Donald Trump said he had told Chinese President Xi Jinping that crushing the protests would have "a tremendous negative impact" on efforts to end the two countries' 16-month-long trade war. "If it weren't for me Hong Kong would have been obliterated in 14 minutes," Trump said, without offering any evidence. "He's got a million soldiers standing outside of Hong Kong that aren't going in only because I ask him, 'Please don't do it, you'll be making a big mistake, it's going to have a tremendous negative impact on the trade deal,' and he wants to make a trade deal."

University campus siege nears end as Hong Kong gears up for election

<p>Hong Kong protesters plan to block one of the world's busiest airports on Saturday after a night of violence in which <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/merkel-in-beijing-says-hong-kong-freedoms-must-be-guaranteed-248048">police used tear gas and rubber bullets</a> to break up crowds, the latest clashes in 14 weeks of unrest in the Chinese-ruled city.</p>

<p>Hundreds of demonstrators, many masked and dressed in black, attacked metro stations on Kowloon peninsula on Friday night, targeted because of televised scenes of police beating protesters on a metro train on Aug. 31 as they cowered on the floor.</p>

<p>Activists tore down signs, broke turnstiles, set fires on the street and daubed graffiti on the walls on Friday.</p>

<p>"The behaviour was outrageous," the government said in a statement.</p>

<p>Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced concessions this week to try to end the protests, including formally scrapping a hugely unpopular extradition bill, but many said they were too little, too late.</p>

<p>The bill would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, despite Hong Kong having an independent judiciary dating back to British colonial rule.</p>

<p><strong>Watch: Exposing China's lies on Hong Kong</strong></p>

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<p>But the demonstrations, which began in June, have long since broadened into calls for more democracy and many protesters have pledged to fight on.</p>

<p>Demonstrations have at times paralysed parts of the city, a major Asian financial hub, amid running street battles between protesters and police who have responded with tear gas, pepper spray and water cannon. Violent arrests of protesters have drawn international attention.</p>

<p>Saturday's planned demonstrations include yet another "stress test" of the airport aiming to disrupt transport links to Chek Lap Kok, built in the dying days of British rule on reclaimed land around a tiny island of the same name and reached by a series of gleaming bridges.</p>

<p>The airport announced that only passengers with tickets would be allowed to use the Airport Express train service on Saturday, boarding in downtown Hong Kong. The train would not stop en route, on the Kowloon peninsula. Bus services could also be hit, it said.</p>

<p>The measures are aimed at avoiding the chaos of last weekend, when protesters blocked airport approach roads, threw debris on the train track and trashed the MTR subway station in the nearby new town of Tung Chung in running clashes with police.</p>

<p>Protesters also occupied the arrival hall last month, halting and delaying flights, amid a series of clashes with police.</p>

<p>Hong Kong returned to China in 1997 under the "one country, two systems" formula that guarantees freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland. Many Hong Kong residents fear Beijing is eroding that autonomy.</p>

<p>China denies the accusation of meddling and says Hong Kong is its internal affair. It has denounced the protests, warning of the damage to the economy and the possible use of force to quell the unrest.</p>

<p>In addition to calling for a withdrawal of the extradition bill and the release of those arrested for violence, protesters want an independent inquiry into perceived police brutality, retraction of the word "riot" to describe rallies and the right for Hong Kong people to choose their own leaders.</p>

<p>The protests have presented Chinese President Xi Jinping with his greatest popular challenge since he came to power in 2012.</p>


Hong Kong protesters plan to block one of the world's busiest airports on Saturday after a night of violence in which police used tear gas and rubber bullets to break up crowds, the latest clashes in 14 weeks of unrest in the Chinese-ruled city.

Hong Kong protesters plan to block one of the world's busiest airports on Saturday after a night of violence in which police used tear gas and rubber bullets to break up crowds, the latest clashes in 14 weeks of unrest in the Chinese-ruled city. Hundreds of demonstrators, many masked and dressed in black, attacked metro stations on Kowloon peninsula on Friday night, targeted because of televised scenes of police beating protesters on a metro train on Aug. 31 as they cowered on the floor. Activists tore down signs, broke turnstiles, set fires on the street and daubed graffiti on the walls on Friday. "The behaviour was outrageous," the government said in a statement. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced concessions this week to try to end the protests, including formally scrapping a hugely unpopular extradition bill, but many said they were too little, too late. The bill would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, despite Hong Kong having an independent judiciary dating back to British colonial rule. Watch: Exposing China's lies on Hong Kong × But the demonstrations, which began in June, have long since broadened into calls for more democracy and many protesters have pledged to fight on. Demonstrations have at times paralysed parts of the city, a major Asian financial hub, amid running street battles between protesters and police who have responded with tear gas, pepper spray and water cannon. Violent arrests of protesters have drawn international attention. Saturday's planned demonstrations include yet another "stress test" of the airport aiming to disrupt transport links to Chek Lap Kok, built in the dying days of British rule on reclaimed land around a tiny island of the same name and reached by a series of gleaming bridges. The airport announced that only passengers with tickets would be allowed to use the Airport Express train service on Saturday, boarding in downtown Hong Kong. The train would not stop en route, on the Kowloon peninsula. Bus services could also be hit, it said. The measures are aimed at avoiding the chaos of last weekend, when protesters blocked airport approach roads, threw debris on the train track and trashed the MTR subway station in the nearby new town of Tung Chung in running clashes with police. Protesters also occupied the arrival hall last month, halting and delaying flights, amid a series of clashes with police. Hong Kong returned to China in 1997 under the "one country, two systems" formula that guarantees freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland. Many Hong Kong residents fear Beijing is eroding that autonomy. China denies the accusation of meddling and says Hong Kong is its internal affair. It has denounced the protests, warning of the damage to the economy and the possible use of force to quell the unrest. In addition to calling for a withdrawal of the extradition bill and the release of those arrested for violence, protesters want an independent inquiry into perceived police brutality, retraction of the word "riot" to describe rallies and the right for Hong Kong people to choose their own leaders. The protests have presented Chinese President Xi Jinping with his greatest popular challenge since he came to power in 2012.

Hong Kong protests to target airport after night of violence

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University campus siege nears end as Hong Kong gears up for election

Hong Kong protests to target airport after night of violence