Hong Kong police clear Mong Kok protest site, arrest student leaders

Hong Kong police have cleared pro-democracy protesters from the area of Mong Kok they have been occupying for the last two months and arrested 148 people in the process, including the movement’s student leaders, Joshua Wong and Lester Shum, The Financial Times reported. The police intervention began on Tuesday, as bailiffs removed protesters from an occupied block on Argyle Street, and continued on Wednesday when the police returned to begin clearing Nathan Road, a popular shopping street and tourist attraction. In the early hours of Thursday, clashes between the police and protesters broke out, but the police succeeded in clearing the area, which is one of the movement’s main protest sites.