Anti-WTO demonstrations in Hong Kong escalated with the protesters clashing violently with Police Saturday, the fifth day of the ongoing Sixth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization.
The demonstrators, mainly South Korean farmers, have stepped up their protesting activities by ramming through police cordon lines and tried to enter the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, venue of the conference.
Riot police have reinforced their forces at the Center and used tear gas and water cannons to prevent the demonstrators from entering the conference venue.
It is reported that five persons, including protesters and police, have been injured during the clash.
The demonstration has caused a traffic jam in Wanchai District, a downtown area, and the police have urged Hong Kong residents not to go to the district.
In a televised speech, Hong Kong Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee condemned the violent acts of the protesters. He said police have exercised restraint to deal with the violent demonstration, but this was by no means a coward performance.
Lee stressed that Hong Kong police have been resolved to control the situation and will take decisive actions soon.
At the press time, police have used armored cars to reinforce cordon lines.
The previous ministerial meetings of the WTO also saw violent demonstrations and other protest activities.
On Nov. 30, 1999, the first day of a WTO Ministerial Conference in Seattle in the United State, at least 40,000 people staged a demonstration. Police arrested 70 people and the conference's opening ceremony was postponed for five and a half hours.
The demonstrators set fire, broke store windows and spray-painted building walls and police cars with anti-WTO graffiti. As a result, the Seattle mayor declared a state of civil emergency and imposed a curfew on downtown areas of the city.
During the Cancun Ministerial Conference in September 2003, about 2,500 non-government organization representatives and anti-globalization people held a demonstration on the opening day of the conference and clashed violently with the Police.
At least 26 people were injured and a South Korean demonstrator committed suicide.

HK force has ability to restore order: security head
Hong Kong's Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee said Saturday evening that Hong Kong's force is determined, and has ability to restore order with no need to seek help from the People's Liberation Army.
Speaking at a press conference when the clashes between the anti-WTO protesters and the police are still going on, Lee said 41 people were injured in the clashes, including five police officers.
Around 900 people were detained, but they had not been formally arrested, Lee said, adding that everything will be done in accordance with law.
He condemned the anti-WTO protesters for resorting to non-peaceful means to express their views and warned that the police will take robust action to dispel this kind of illegal act and violence.
According to the latest news from the press center of the Sixth Ministry Conference, 54 people have been injured in the clashes so far and admitted to hospital, 51 of whom have been discharged. Among the three staying at hospital, two are in serious condition.
Anti-globalization protesters started clashes with the police in streets leading to the Convention Center in the heart of Wanchai district at five o'clock in the afternoon. Police blocked off several routes leading to the venue of the World Trade Organization talks in an attempt to block demonstrators. Tear gas was reportedly used in one clash on Fleming Road.