Hong Kong authorities clear Mong Kok occupying area

Workers representing bailiffs remove a tent, on one of the main streets occupied by protesters, at Mong Kok shopping district in Hong Kong, Nov 25, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

HONG KONG - Authorities in Hong Kong began clearing away some barricades on Tuesday from Mong Kok district, an area occupied by protesters that had witnessed violent confrontation with police.

The operation started at around 10:30 am. A crowd of people supporting the police clearance operation applauded from the sidelines.

About 6,000 police were deployed to the scene to assist bailiffs working under a court order to remove obstructions from the site, which have been occupied for nearly two months. It said police are authorized to arrest anyone obstructing the bailiffs.

Workers in white hard hats and gloves moved wooden pallets and other junk into the middle of an intersection to be taken away in a truck that pulled up. Dozens of police and bailiffs watched the operation, and there was no immediate resistance from protesters.

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

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

The barricade clearances come at a critical phase for the protest movement, as public support and the number of demonstrators dwindle.

More than 80 percent of 513 people surveyed last week by Hong Kong University researchers said the protesters should go home. A separate survey by the Chinese University of Hong Kong released days earlier found about two-thirds of 1,030 respondents felt the same way.