HONG KONG (AP) — A small but determined group of protesters remained inside a Hong Kong university campus Thursday, resisting pleas to turn themselves in to police.
At least a few dozen were believed to still be at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the holdouts from a much larger group that occupied the campus for several days and battled police last weekend.
Hong Kong’s anti-government protests are in their sixth month. Protesters, who believe China is increasing control over the semiautonomous territory, are demanding fully democratic elections and an investigation into allegations of police brutality in suppressing their demonstrations.
The government has rejected those demands and said violence must stop before any dialogue can begin.
The U.S. Congress approved legislation late Wednesday to sanction officials who carry out human rights abuses and require an annual review of the favorable trade status that Washington grants Hong Kong.
President Donald Trump is expected to sign it into law, which is sure to anger China.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said earlier that the legislation interferes in China’s internal affairs and violates international law and basic norms governing international relations.
Around the city, commuters experienced long lines and delays on morning trains, as some stations remained shut and tracks and other facilities damaged from earlier protests.
The approach road to a road tunnel under Hong Kong’s harbor has been largely cleared of debris from the protests, but it remained closed because of damage. Protesters at Polytechnic, which overlooks the tunnel approach, set fires in the toll booths last week, leaving them burned out.
