Amid crisis, China's State Council appoints new Hong Kong Police Commissioner

Amid the massive protests that have engulfed Hong Kong, China's State Council on Tuesday appointed Tang Ping-keung as Commissioner of Police of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), replacing Lo Wai-chung.

Xinhua reported that "the decision was made in accordance with the HKSAR Basic Law, and based on the nomination and suggestion of HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam."

The stand-off between protesters inside Hong Kong Polytechnic University and riot police that began a few days ago continued without a solution into the early hours of Tuesday, reported South China Morning Post.

Around 40 injured activists, who were there in the campus, were allowed to leave to get treatment.

At nightfall, thousands of the protestors tried to relieve the police siege by force. The Campus had seen fierce clashes between pro-democracy protestors and Police on Sunday after it was besieged with both sides escalating the use of violence.

While protestors used petrol bombs and arrows which injured a police officer, police, on the other hand, used a large amount of tear gas.

A major public hospital in Hong Kong sealed its windows with tape, installed air purifiers and postponed some medical appointments after intense rounds of tear gas were fired in the surrounding area on Monday.

This came even as China warned that it has the resolution and power to end the unrest in Hong Kong if necessary.

"If the situation becomes uncontrollable, the central government certainly would not sit on our hands and watch. We have enough resolution and power to end the unrest," South China Morning Post quoted Chinese ambassador to Britain, Liu Xiaoming as saying.

Liu also blamed the protesters for unleashing "black terror" and he repeated Beijing's support for Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor's government.

The massive protests began in Hong Kong in early June over a controversial bill.