Part of barricades in HK occupying areas removed

Barricades on a section of the occupying area at Admiralty on Hong Kong Island were removed by bailiffs on Tuesday in a largely peaceful operation in accordance with an injunction granted by the High Court of Hong Kong.

The operation started at around 10 a.m., when the bailiffs began to clear the barricades outside the CITIC Tower, and ended after 3 p.m..

Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said Tuesday that it is abundantly clear by now that the occupiers have been breaching the law of Hong Kong.

"The demand on the part of the occupiers when it comes to the constitutional development, especially universal suffrage to elect the Chief Executive in 2017, is also very clear, so I don't see any point in resisting the court order," said Leung.

The High Court of Hong Kong granted a preliminary injunction to ban demonstrators from occupying roads in Mong Kok on October 20, after groups of mini-buse and taxi operators filed for an injunction that would reopen the paralyzed roads.

A second interim injunction was granted by the court on the same day to bar protesters from continuing to occupy the section between Tim Mei Avenue and Lung Wui Road in Admiralty, after proprietors of the CITIC Tower complained that blocked roads had affected operations of emergency vehicles and threatened their safety.

The high court extended the injunctions on October 27 and secondly extended them on Nov. 10.