A protester checks a mobile phone at the campus of the Polytechnic University in Hong Kong today. Photo / AP
A protester checks a mobile phone at the campus of the Polytechnic University in Hong Kong today. Photo / AP
Pale and thin, a teenager wandered the nearly deserted campus of Hong Kong Polytechnic University at about 1am Wednesday.
He wrapped his arms around his body — although it was unclear whether it was to ward off the cold or to reassure himself.
Only a handful of protesters remain at Poly U, which hundreds occupied for several days, fighting pitched battles with police in the surrounding streets. Authorities have cut off the campus and are arresting anyone who comes out, at least 700 since Sunday.
A protester walks up a defaced stairwell at the campus of the Polytechnic University in Hong Kong. Photo / AP
The teen, who wouldn't give his exact age but said he is under 18, is one of the holdouts.
The teen arrived at polytechnic late last week, heeding a call for support from protesters who were occupying five major universities in Hong Kong.
It was Thursday or Friday — the days and nights have become such a blur that he kept asking an interviewer what day it currently was.
Police officers check a journalist's identification at the Polytechnic University entrance. Photo / AP
Like many of the protesters, he spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing arrest, and would only appear on camera with his face covered.
In his mind, as for many others, the police have become as big a problem as the government.
Riot officers began raining tear gas on their defense line outside the university Saturday night, before battering them repeatedly with water cannons and tear gas on Sunday afternoon.
The teen jumped into the fray. He joined others wielding umbrellas — they call them "shields" — and taking the full brunt of the often pepper-spray-laced bursts of water.
Three times he faced the barrages, dashing inside the campus stronghold after each attack to wash off the stinging water, change his clothes and return for the next round.
"I was at the very front," he said. "It hit me straight on and I was soaked. If I hadn't been wearing a jacket, my whole body would have felt like it was burning. Just my lower body really stung, and the water also got all over my face and into my eyes."
A protester makes a call at the campus of the Polytechnic University. Photo / AP
It's one of the roles of the front-line protesters, those who engage the police directly.
Wearing gas masks, they throw homemade gasoline bombs and snuff out tear gas canisters to try to keep the police at bay.
He acknowledges that others are likely see their actions as aggressive — the police call them law-breaking rioters — but he says their role is important because the government didn't back down when hundreds of thousands of people peacefully marched in the streets in the summer.
"If it was just the peaceful protests, it wouldn't succeed," he said. "Already back in June, we saw that it was just peaceful protests, and the government wouldn't listen."
By Sunday evening, the police had begun to approach from all directions, setting up a cordon around the area. They warned that everyone inside would be subject to arrest.
Protesters leave the campus of the Polytechnic University to surrender themselves to police in Hong Kong. Photo / AP
Some protesters tried escaping on Monday and Tuesday; most were caught or ran back to campus.
The government offered to let those under 18 leave without facing immediate arrest, though their identification information would be taken down and they could be charged later.
