The number of people protesting at Hong Kong International Airport fell to less than 100 on Wednesday as the result of a court injunction against demonstrators from the airport authority.
Nonetheless security was tight, with travellers on an airport express train required to show travel itineraries to enter the terminal, while police officers were also present in the check-in area.
Demonstrators occupied areas of Hong Kong International Airport for five consecutive days until Tuesday, causing hundreds of flights to be cancelled and culminating in violent scuffles between protesters and riot police.
On Wednesday, some protesters handed out flyers to tourists apologizing for travel delays and ensuing tensions between protesters and travellers.
“My standpoint is we should apologize,” said Bruce Lee, who was sitting on the ground in the arrivals hall alongside other protesters.
However, Lee said that travellers should be aware of the ongoing tensions resulting from a violent stand-off between undercover police officers and protesters the night before.
“The government does not have any response to us and that’s why we needed to take action for other countries and governments to know about (the situation),” Lee said.
Also on Wednesday, Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong called the actions of protesters who assaulted two Chinese mainland citizens and prevented first aid personnel from reaching them as “no different from the atrocities of terrorists.”
The statement represents an escalation in Beijing’s designation of protests in Hong Kong and fuels fears that a military intervention could be used to quell weeks of unrest in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
Violent clashes erupted late Tuesday when police were called to the airport to rescue an undercover officer and a reporter from Chinese state news outlet Global Times, who were both attacked by demonstrators.
The reporter had been tied up and assaulted, and demonstrators prevented first aid personnel from reaching him, the Hong Kong government said.
Police said they arrested five protesters on charges including unlawful assembly, possession of offensive weapons, assaulting police and breaching the peace.
Beijing mouthpiece Global Times said in an editorial that the protests were a “colour revolution” meant to destabilize the local government and “give the city back to the Western world”.
The tabloid condemned the attack on one of its journalists, calling the protesters professionally-trained “rioters”.
Separately on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted that he had seen troop movements near the Hong Kong-Shenzhen border.
“Our Intelligence has informed us that the Chinese Government is moving troops to the Border with Hong Kong. Everyone should be calm and safe!” he tweeted.
China’s military maintains a garrison in Hong Kong and military movements are not uncommon in the border of Shenzhen.
They typically occur at night, however, to avoid upsetting civilians.
Protests against a controversial legislative bill that would have allowed for the extradition of suspected criminals to mainland China began on June 9.
Since then, protesters have expanded their demands to include an independent commission into police violence and for universal suffrage in the election of the city’s leadership.
While Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997, it has a separate legal system until 2047 under the “one country, two systems” arrangement.
