HONG KONG: China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers in shorts and t-shirts made a surprising appearance in some Hong Kong streets on Saturday (Nov 16), briefly helping residents clean up debris and barricades after anti-government protests blocked roads.
The presence of PLA troops on the streets, even to help clean up roads near their base, could enrage protesters and stoke further controversy over the Chinese-ruled territory's autonomous status.
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The former British colony has been rocked by more than five months of demonstrations, with protesters angry at perceived Communist Party meddling in a city guaranteed its freedoms when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Clashes between protesters and police have become increasingly violent, and China has warned that any attempt at independence for Hong Kong will be crushed, but the military have remained inside their base.
READ: Government supporters march in Hong Kong after week of chaos
By late afternoon, the soldiers had left the streets outside Baptist University, which neighbours their barracks in the leafy district of Kowloon Tong.
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Comments on a Facebook feed of the clean-up reflected that schism, with some applauding the effort by the men based in the garrison and others calling any PLA deployment "unconstitutional" under the handover agreement.
Volunteers clean up streets in Hong Kong after protests on Nov 16, 2019. (Photo: Reuters)
Chinese troops have appeared on local streets only once since the 1997 handover, to help with cleanup operations after a typhoon in late 2018. It was not immediately clear how many were involved on Saturday.
Hundreds of residents moved in to help clear barricaded roads near several universities that were occupied and fortified by protesters this week.
READ: Highway blockade reveals splits in Hong Kong protest movement
In some cases the two sides clashed, before the dwindling number of anti-government protesters at the campuses retreated.
At the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Kowloon, student protesters also began clearing rubbish, but insisted they wanted to maintain an occupation of the campus and keep control of one of the major tunnels to Hong Kong Island.
The Cross-Harbour tunnel has been closed since Tuesday, its toll booths torched and piles of rubble laid across the road.
"We are here for the long term," a 20-year-old student who identified himself only as E said.
"We want to do our part and come back to help clean up while it's not so tense today."
A 21-year-old student who identified herself as Mario said they intended to continue the strike next week.
"That's how I feel, but I have to emphasise that in this movement everyone is an individual, there's no way to ensure that everyone's thinking the same thing."
Anti-China students and activists have barricaded at least five campuses in the last week, stockpiling petrol bombs, catapults, bows and arrows and other weapons.
READ: University tells non-students to go now as Hong Kong campus showdowns loom
In October, Chinese soldiers issued a warning to Hong Kong protesters who shone lasers at their barracks in the city, in the first direct interaction between mainland military forces and protesters.
In August, Beijing moved thousands of troops across the border into Hong Kong in an operation staRead More – Source
