Bailiffs clear Occupy protesters in Hong Kong

One of the global Occupy movement's longest-running encampments came to a chaotic end yesterday as bailiffs cleared anti-capitalist activists and their belongings from a site beneath HSBC's Asian headquarters.

The last of the protesters was thrown off the site in the heart of Hong Kong's financial district by late afternoon. Pushing and shoving started after bailiffs and bank guards arrived in the morning to clear out the activists, who had ignored a court order requiring them to leave by 27 August. Some were carried or dragged away and taken outside a perimeter, where they were let go.

Several protesters zipped themselves inside some of the dozen tents on the site, but bailiffs cut at least one open and took the occupants away.

Hong Kong's Occupy movement started camping out under the HSBC building on 15 October last year as part of demonstrations around the world against corporate excess and economic inequality.

The group, which according to media reports had dwindled from more than 100 to less than a dozen, outlasted other Occupy encampments around the world, including New York, London and Frankfurt.