HK Supreme Court bans protesters' road blocks

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HONG KONG - The Supreme Court of Hong Kong on Monday enacted a preliminary injunction to ban demonstrators from occupying roads in Mong Kok.

The move was made after groups of mini-buses and taxi operators filed for an injunction that would reopen the paralyzed roads in Mong Kok occupied by protesters for the last 23 days.

A lawyer representing the group said the ongoing movement in places like Mong Kok have blocked many roads and disrupted public transport, which inflicted losses on taxi and bus companies.

More scuffles erupted late Sunday, the third turbulent night in Mong Kok following the police's before-dawn operation on Friday, when most of the tents, canopies and barricades blocking main roads in the commercial area in Kowloon for almost three weeks were removed.

Mong Kok is an offshoot protest site across the Victoria Harbor from the main demonstration area in Admiralty where the government headquarters is located.

Hong Kong's Chief Secretary Carrie Lam said Saturday that region's government planned to have formal talks with representatives of the students participating in the Occupy movement on Tuesday, and each side will have five representatives.

Thousands of protesters, mostly students, joined the Occupy Central movement on Sept. 28 to express their discontent with an electoral reform package for choosing the region's next leader.

According to Hong Kong's Basic Law and the top Chinese legislature's decisions, more than 5 million Hong Kongers can choose the chief executive in 2017 through a "one man, one vote" election, which had never been realized under the British colonial rule.