An Arrow fired by Hong Kong protester hits police officer in leg

Hong Kong (AFP) - A police officer was struck in the leg by an arrow shot by a Hong Kong activist on Sunday, the city's force said, as fierce clashes raged at a university which has become a fulcrum of pro-democracy protests.

Images showed the arrow embedded in the calf of the police officer, who was working with the force's media liasion team at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), the scene of fierce clashes. A statement said he was taken to hospital in "a conscious state".

Police deployed water cannon and tear gas against protesters occupying the campus in the Hung Hom area of Kowloon, now a key battleground as the demonstrators fight to keep a stranglehold on the Cross-Harbour Tunnel nearby, blocked since Tuesday.

Activists have vowed to "squeeze the economy" as the increasingly divided city reels from one of the worst weeks of violence in the months-long crisis.

Protests have swept the global financial hub since June as many in the city of 7.5 million people have vented fury at eroding freedoms under Chinese rule.

A marked change in tactics last week to a "Blossom Everywhere" campaign of blockades and vandalism stretched the police force, shut down large chunks of Hong Kong's train network and forced schools and shopping malls to close.

Students and protesters occupied several major universities around the city -- the first time a movement characterised by its fluidity and unpredictability has coagulated in fixed locations.

A poster circulating on social media called for the "dawn action" to continue on Monday. "Get up early, directly target the regime, squeeze the economy to increase pressure," it said.

The education bureau said schools will remain closed at the start of the week "for the sake of safety".

The Education Bureau says all classes from kindergarten through high school would be suspended because of safety concerns.

The bureau has canceled classes since Thursday, after coming under criticism for not doing so earlier.

It says schools are required to keep their premises open for students whose parents need to send them to school during the day.

Many students have joined anti-government protests, with children as young as 12 arrested by police. The Education Bureau says students should stay at home, not wander in the streets and must not participate in unlawful activities.

The protests started against a now shelved bill to allow extradition to China but have billowed to encompass wider issues such as perceived police brutality and calls for universal suffrage in the former British colony.

Two people have died this month as the violence worsened, while the financial hub has been pushed into a recession by the turmoil.

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