Hong Kong traffic back to normal

HONG KONG - Traffic is back to normal in Hong Kong after police on Monday cleared the Causeway Bay Occupy protest site.

The Transport Department said after the clearance operation that sections of the road in Causeway Bay which were closed during the Occupy Movement have now been reopened. Bus routes diverted earlier due to the road closures have resumed their normal routings. The tram service suspended for a long time has also resumed.

The site in the main street in commercial district of Causeway Bay has been occupied for two and a half months and was the last of the three Occupy camps cleared by police.

Seventeen people were arrested during the clearance operation which started at around 10:20 a.m. local time (2:20 GMT) for obstructing police officers in the execution of their duty.

Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said that the clearance of the Causeway Bay protest site marked the end of the nearly 80-day illegal Occupy Movement.

He said the biggest loss inflicted on the territory by a handful of people is the damage they caused to the rule of law.

Authorities dismantled the largest protest camp on Thursday, which was located close to the government headquarters in Admiralty.

In late November, authorities cleared another protest camp in Mong Kok, main commercial district in Kowloon.