AFP: China is considering the possibility of using military force in Hong Kong.

According to AFP, an official in Beijing said on October 15 that China believes “up to this point” there is no need to deploy its military in Hong Kong to quell the “Occupy Central” protests, but did not rule out the possibility following the clashes on the night of October 14.

At the protesters' encampments, there is frequent speculation that the People's Liberation Army (PLA), which currently has a garrison in Hong Kong, will be deployed if Beijing feels the special administrative region's government is unable to resolve the protests that erupted more than two weeks ago.

Hong Kong police prevent protesters from occupying the central district (Source: Reuters)

On the same day, the BBC website was blocked in China just hours after a video showing Hong Kong police beating a protester was circulated online.

Regarding this incident, Hong Kong's security chief, Lai Tung-kwok, stated that the police officers involved in beating the victim, Ken Tsang, have been transferred to other positions.

According to VNA