Hong Kong police clash with protesters

Clashes have broken out in Hong Kong between anti-election law protesters and police clearing an underpass near the city’s government headquarters.

On Wednesday, officers removed barricades and obstacles placed in and around the underpass.

Police used pepper spray and batons to disperse the protesters and arrested dozens of them.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok said a number of officers have been “removed” from their positions for displaying excessive use of force. A video was released earlier, showing one protester being taken aside by officers and beaten.

However, Lai later told reporters that the officers have been reassigned, and police are performing an investigation.

Earlier this week, police officers took away metal barricades to open roads in some protest sites in the city.

The student-led protest movement has occupied key parts of the city to pressure Beijing, for more than two weeks. The protesters are opposed to an election law that says Hong Kong voters must choose their next leader from among vetted candidates in 2017. China says the protests are illegal.

Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China. The financial hub has enjoyed substantial political autonomy since 1997, when its leadership returned to China after about a century of British colonial rule.

MSM/HJL/HRB