HK protests swell again after talks with students canceled

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-10-11

Protesters returned to Admiralty on Friday night. (Photo

courtesy of Hong Kong Democracy Now)

The number of democracy protesters on the streets of Hong Kong surged after the special administrative region's government postponed talks with student protesters on Friday. Alex Chow of the Hong Kong Federation of Students has pledged to expand and extend the protests unless the government shows good faith, reports our Chinese-language sister paper China Times.

Over 100,000 protesters poured onto Harcourt Road in Admiralty, the location of the Hong Kong government office, on Friday night after the government scrapped talks with student protesters slated for 4pm that day, according to the Facebook page of Hong Kong Democracy Now. Many protesters also brought their tents, doubling the number of tents in Admiralty to around 90, in response to the calls of the student federation and another student activist group Scholarism. At least nine tents were also seen in neighboring Causeway Bay.

The government canceled the talks accusing the protesters of sabotaging the basis for negotiation and attempting to provoke another round of civil disobedience.

Chow said Hong Kong's citizens will not end their occupation "without achieving concrete results." He called Beijing's constraints on free elections in Hong Kong unacceptable and said the Chinese government should at the least reverse thir ruling that candidates for Hong Kong chief executive should receive the approval of more than 50% of members of the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

Hong Kong police official Kong Man-keung said police will not rule out taking "appropriate measures" against Occupy Central protesters to bring traffic back to normal. A number of well-known figures including retired judge Andrew Li and Chinese University of Hong Kong vice chancellor Joseph Sung said Hong Kong citizens are on the verge of running out of patience with the protesters.

A group of 30 mothers sought to persuade students taking part in the occupied area in Admiralty to return to class on Friday afternoon, while an alliance formed by eight Chinese and Hong Kong logistics firms said Oct. 15 would be "last tolerance day" and said they will deploy large vehicles to clear road barriers if the protesters remained on the streets by that date.

Carrie Lam, chief secretary of the administration, left Hong Kong on Saturday for a pan-Pearl River Delta forum and will return Sunday, while the embattled chief executive whose resignation has been demanded by the protesters, Leung Chun-ying, is expected to attend the forum on Sunday and return to Hong Kong on Monday.

The protests began on Sept. 28.