Law enforcers plan to remove the barricades erected by the Umbrella Movement in the Mong Kok district following a clash with protesters.
Hong Kong law enforcers are targeting to dismantle barricades set up by members of the pro-democracy Umbrella Movement in the district of Mong Kok by tomorrow, Bloomberg reported.
The decision comes after a group of demonstrators clashed with authorities and smashed the glass doors of a lawmaker's office in Admiralty district. Protesters hurled rocks and portions of the barricade to shatter the glass panels of the Legislative Council's building.
Police officers responded by using pepper spray to control the mob.
The recent incident is being considered as a sign that the pro-democracy group's solidarity is slowly breaking, according to USA Today. Reports indicate that leaders of the movement are losing control over the other members of the group.
Alex Chow, Hong Kong Federation of Students' secretary general, was surprised after learning about the clash. He then noted that the demonstrators' actions symbolize their response to how they are being treated by the government.
"We don't understand the point of the action," he said. "The government in some way is pushing citizens into action as they have no options."
Civic Party leader Alan Leong reminded the protesters that resorting to violence is not what the Umbrella Movement is about, Business Week reported.
"The use of violence is definitely against the Umbrella Movement's emphasis as that of using peaceful, non-violent means to fight for full democracy," he explained.
The internal problem plaguing the movement could hinder the group from achieving its goals, as pointed out by University of Hong Kong law professor Michael Davis.
"Some protesters have not complied with the protest leaders in Mong Kok and that's the loose canon," he said.
Today marks the ninth week of the Umbrella Movement's struggle to achieve a democratic election in Hong Kong.
The protests started on Sept. 22 of this year after the Hong Kong Federation of Students protested outside a government facility in an effort to open the nominations for the 2017 elections to the public.
