About 10 thousand students from almost 200 secondary schools took part in the strike. A university gathering is planned at the Chinese University. Protesters delay trains during rush hour: riot police make several arrests.
Hong Kong (AsiaNews / Agencies) - After a weekend that brought some of the worst violence in three months of protests in Hong Kong, thousands of secondary and university students boycotted the start of classes on the first day after the summer break.
This morning, the anti-government protesters also returned to action, interrupting the underground trains at rush hour and causing the police to intervene quickly in riot gear.
The organizers of the protests against the extradition bill estimate that about 10 thousand students from nearly 200 secondary schools took part in the boycott of the lessons. Half of the young people are expected to meet at Edinburgh Place.
Hong Kong's Education Minister Kevin Yeung Yun-hung stressed that the authorities are opposed to any blocking of education and will closely monitor the situation. He also said that the authorities will call the principals to see if there are any anomalies and they will let the schools decide on punishment.
The boycott of secondary school students coincides with a similar action planned by the university students of 10 tertiary institutions. These invited colleagues to converge at the Chinese University in the afternoon, to participate in a mass sit-in. The university urged the student associations to cancel the event "to safeguard the safety" of the staff and participants.
Once again, this morning the unrest affected the public transport network. In several metro stations (Mtr), some black-clad protestors took up positions in front of the train doors, preventing them from closing and causing delays. Inside the wagons, others pushed the emergency button. The police carried out several arrests.
The non-cooperation campaign follows another weekend of violence and chaos in the city. Yesterday protesters created unrest outside the airport and devastated the Tung Chung MTR station. Two days ago, about a third of the 91 Mtr stops were vandalized because the protesters accuse the rail operator of taking sides with Beijing. On Monday some exits of Tung Chung station remained closed for repairs.