HONG KONG (AP) — There are allegations that some members of the public are being paid to disrupt pro-democracy protests that have paralyzed Hong Kong for more than two weeks.
A local radio station has broadcast an audio clip in which a man who is said to be a taxi driver discussed being paid the equivalent of $258 dollars to take part in clashes. But the clip cannot be independently verified.
Today an angry crowd of men wearing surgical masks tried to storm the protest zone in an apparently coordinated assault, demanding that roads the protesters have been blocking be opened up. They tore down barricades and clashed with police. This, after officers carried out an operation at dawn aimed at reopening some key roads that have been blocked by protesters for more than two weeks.
Police say they will continue to chip away at the occupied zone to relieve traffic, and warn that anyone who challenges them could be arrested.
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130-c-12-(Kelvin K. Chan, AP correspondent)-“hold them back”-AP correspondent Kelvin K. Chan reports masked men started getting out of hand around the protest site during lunch time. (13 Oct 2014)
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131-c-11-(Kelvin K. Chan, AP correspondent)-“got there yet”-AP correspondent Kelvin K. Chan reports the protestors come and go in waves. (13 Oct 2014)
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APPHOTO XVY119: People remove the metal barricades that protesters set up to block off main roads near the heart of the city’s financial district, Hong Kong Monday, Oct. 13, 2014. An angry crowd tried to charge barricades used by pro-democracy protesters to occupy part of downtown Hong Kong as a standoff with authorities dragged into a third week. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu) (13 Oct 2014)
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