HONG KONG _ Hong Kong's government moved to shut down the international airport Monday, canceling all flights as thousands of protesters occupied the terminals in a peaceful sit-in.
Protesters chanted "Reclaim Hong Kong! Revolution of our times!" as travelers carrying backpacks or pushing suitcases tried to figure out where to go.
The Airport Authority said flights were canceled because large numbers of protesters were "disrupting" operations. The shutdown began at 4 p.m., just as a spokesman for the State Council's highest Hong Kong affairs office in Beijing said protesters showed "signs of terrorism."
"These violent, illegal actions must be met with a determined legal crackdown, with no softening of hands or any sign of mercy," said the State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Spokesman Yang Guang, accusing protesters of throwing gasoline bombs. "Hong Kong has arrived at a critical point."
The airport authority stopped all check-in procedures and canceled all flights that were not already boarded or en route to Hong Kong International Airport, one of the busiest flight terminals in the world.
Protesters were in their fourth consecutive day of protests at the airport, aiming to bring international attention to a movement against police violence and unwanted Chinese influence over Hong Kong that has inflamed the city for 10 weeks.
About 700 protesters have been arrested in what began as peaceful protests against an extradition law that critics saw as a threat to Hong Kong's rule of law and freedom of speech. Those protests have become chaotic, near-daily confrontations between police, protesters, local residents and organized gangs on the streets.
Escalating violence between police and protesters has galvanized the movement, with Monday's airport rally spontaneously called late Sunday night after police fired large amounts of tear gas in clashes across Hong Kong, beat protesters in subway stations, and shot one woman in the eye with a bean bag bullet while she was performing first aid.
Police also dressed up as protesters, wearing black clothing and yellow hard hats as a disguise, to surprise and arrest protesters. One widely shared video shows an undercover policeman grinding a protester's face into the ground, blood pooling around the protester's jaws as he cries that his teeth are falling out.
Police spokesman P.K. Tang said in a press briefing that "decoy operatives" had been used to arrest "core radicals."
Protesters filled both arrival and departures terminals of the airport Monday, holding up signs against police violence and chanting, "Dirty cops, return her eye." Many said they'd chosen the airport as a protest site because police were less likely to fire tear gas and charge protesters in the presence of international travelers.
One protester, Indica Lau, handed out postcards about police violence to tourists.
"I wish to do something more, to try telling the world what's happening in Hong Kong," said the 25-year-old graphic designer.
She called the flight cancellations a "success," but said she was worried about another confrontation and was leaving the airport.
Another protester, Ah Choi, 21, said the airport shutdown was aimed as pressing government authorities to address demands for police accountability.
"I want them to tell citizens directly what happened," he said, referring to allegations of police abuse of force.
One small police stall at the airport was covered with post-its and signs reading, "Hong Kong police kills citizens" and "Hong Kong is no longer safe."
"An eye for an eye" was scrawled on a wall.
More than 200 flights from the Hong Kong airport were also canceled Aug. 5, when air traffic controllers went on strike alongside tens of thousands of others from more than 20 business sectors.
On Friday, China's Civil Aviation Administration announced it would ban employees of Hong Kong's biggest airline, Cathay Pacific, from flying on mainland Chinese routes if they participated in "illegal demonstrations, protests and violent attacks," or if they had "radical behaviors." China's aviation regulation body also requested background information on all crew members for approval before mainland flights.
In late July, a Cathay Pacific pilot had told passengers about anti-extradition protests over the intercom as he landed a flight from Japan, finishing the announcement with "Hong Kongers, add oil."
Cathay Pacific's CEO Rupert Hogg wrote in a staff memo Saturday that the company was legally obliged to comply with China's requirements. The airline also confirmed Saturday that they had fired a Cathay pilot, one of 44 protesters recently charged with "rioting," and warned on Monday that any staff taking part in protests could be fired.
As the shutdown announcement spread, protesters tried to leave the airport, a transport hub built on a small island connected to Hong Kong's main city by train and bridge, in fear they would soon be stranded.
An exodus of thousands began walking toward a mass transit station as roads were jammed with traffic.
Some travelers boarded an express train to the airport with their luggage in hopes of catching their flights anyway.
"My safety?" said one woman with a ticket to Mumbai, nodding to other passengers on the train. "I figured if you guys are going, I'll be OK."
Airline staff began to evacuate the airport as night fell, leaving check-in counters empty. A handful of flights continued to arrive.
A mainland Chinese woman from Hangzhou who refused to give her name said she knew "a little bit" about the protests but didn't think they were relevant to her.
"We travelers are the most innocent. We're just stranded here for no reason at all. No one cares and no one asks about us," she said, glancing at the crowds of mostly young protesters in black T-shirts. "I just want to go home."
Another mainland Chinese traveler who only gave his surname, He, said he was stranded on a layover between Shanghai and Singapore. He, 33, said it was his first time in Hong Kong and that he "wasn't clear" what the protests were about.
"I see all these posters, but I can't form an opinion yet," He said. "I really want to know, what is their objective?
"I know there's news about protests in Hong Kong but not much else. Why did violence happen? What are their demands? I don't know. We're just normal working people not paying attention to politics."
Later in the night, the crowd began to grow again as protesters returned to the airport. Some pushed shopping carts around, handing out cheeseburgers, protective goggles and leaflets to stranded travelers and other protesters.
