Or Else

Hong Kong Rebels Face Thursday Deadline

To clear main protest sites.

Hong Kong’s high court has ordered the main protest sites that have choked the financial center of the city for more than two months to be cleared, building up to a final showdown Thursday between pro-democracy activists and authorities backed by Beijing. A local bus company, which was granted an injunction against street blockades at the site in the Admiralty district, home to government offices and next to the main business district, has received an official clearance order from the court, according to notices posted in local papers Tuesday. Student groups have been calling for a free vote in the Chinese-controlled city through largely peaceful demonstrations dubbed the Umbrella Movement. Paul Tse, the lawyer who represents the bus company, told local television the protesters should leave the area before 9 a.m. Thursday.