TWENTY-ONE protesters have been arrested for obstruction and assault in Hong Kong for trying to enter the Legislative Council (LegCo) Building by force, said the Hong Kong police yesterday.

    Protesters gathered Friday at Hong Kong’s government headquarters in a rally against plans for a new town development in the northeastern New Territories.

    Hong Kong’s local television footage showed that some protesters were pushing over barricades and surging towards an entrance to the Legislative Council. A glass door and a fire escape door were damaged in the altercation, and police fended off protesters with pepper spray.

    Some protesters pushed the barriers and attempted to enter the LegCo complex through different doors by force, endangering their own safety and the safety of other people, said police.

    Police said the protesters ignored police appeals and warnings, causing injuries to officers and security staff, and damaged the building. To control the situation, police said they had to use pepper spray to stop protesters from entering the building and defend against attack.

    During the operation, police arrested 21 people, aged between 19 and 72, for offenses including “obstructing officer of the Council while in the execution of his duty,” “obstructing police officer” and “assaulting police officer.”

    A Hong Kong government spokesman Saturday said that the violence occurred outside the LegCo complex was totally unacceptable and strongly condemned the violent acts of the protesters.

    “Hong Kong is a law-abiding society. We cannot tolerate any violence. The police are now conducting a full investigation into the incident and the persons involved will be held criminally responsible,” the spokesman said.(Xinhua)