Re: Honky Tong News - HK to Beijing: 老共，丢你老挴！
Lan cheow understand? Hongkies can survive on their own. They are not spineless like u.
Lan cheow understand? Hongkies can survive on their own. They are not spineless like u.
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#OccupyCentral thread: Give me Liberty or Give me Death!
- Thread starter Asterix
- Start date
Re: Anarchists & Opportunist Abound in HK Chaos
There are limits to the exceptions you can enjoy, Hong Kong warned
People's Daily commentary scolds Hongkongers for thinking they deserve more special treatment
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 4:02am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 4:56am
Adrian Wan in Beijing [email protected]
State television continues to run reports on Occupy Central on its evening news, including interviews with local opponent Robert Chow Yung (pictured).
There were limits to the exceptions granted to Hong Kong by the central government, the latest Beijing commentary on the Occupy sit-ins said.
It also said that Hong Kong people "should realise that only dialogue and reconciliation can solve problems, not extreme resistance".
The piece, posted on the website of the Communist Party's official newspaper, said the benign treatment granted Hong Kong, such as the "one country, two systems" formula and the ability to govern itself, had led some in the city to think they were the exception to the rest of the nation.
"Occupy Central is the extreme embodiment of the ethos of 'Hong Kong exceptionalism'," and it had crossed a line, said the commentary. The writer is identified as Guoping.
The central government had taken a pragmatic approach in giving Hong Kong some "exceptional" policies, demonstrating Beijing's rationality, generosity and tolerance, it said, adding: "Some people should not keep asking for more; they should know where the line of exceptions is."
It also reasserted the supreme authority of the decision made by the National People's Congress Standing Committee on electoral reform, saying it must be "thoroughly executed and not be affected by external pressure like Occupy Central".
The commentary is the ninth on the Occupy sit-ins penned by Guoping.
The pen name was likely aimed at a different group of readers to typical state media editorials, said Hong Kong-based political commentator Johnny Lau Yui-siu.
"Guoping can mean 'national peace' or 'state's view'. The mainland media has a propensity to play on double entendres like this," he said.
On September 30 - two days into the protests - a Guoping commentary called for rational dialogue.
It said Beijing respected the differences between Hongkongers and mainlanders and understood Hongkongers' frustration.
"The tolerance, patience and sincerity the central authority has for Hong Kong has never waned. A rational dialogue could be had as long as the deluded few recognise the truth," it read.
In subsequent days, the writer defended the Hong Kong police force's handling of peaceful demonstrators, which included using tear gas and pepper spray.
State media released two other Guoping commentaries late on Sunday. One of them focused on how street politics was doomed to fail, while chastising protesters who confronted police for disturbing the social order.
In another comment, posted on China.com.cn the writer slammed protesters for using "populism" to mobilise young people. The news portal is affiliated with the State Council Information Office.
Lau said such essays did not achieve much. "On the mainland, people have come to doubt what the state media says, or even assume the opposite of what is said is happening. In Hong Kong, given the far-fetched content, people don't take them very seriously," he said.
State television continues to run reports on Occupy Central on its evening news, including interviews with local opponent Robert Chow Yung.
There are limits to the exceptions you can enjoy, Hong Kong warned
People's Daily commentary scolds Hongkongers for thinking they deserve more special treatment
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 4:02am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 4:56am
Adrian Wan in Beijing [email protected]
State television continues to run reports on Occupy Central on its evening news, including interviews with local opponent Robert Chow Yung (pictured).
There were limits to the exceptions granted to Hong Kong by the central government, the latest Beijing commentary on the Occupy sit-ins said.
It also said that Hong Kong people "should realise that only dialogue and reconciliation can solve problems, not extreme resistance".
The piece, posted on the website of the Communist Party's official newspaper, said the benign treatment granted Hong Kong, such as the "one country, two systems" formula and the ability to govern itself, had led some in the city to think they were the exception to the rest of the nation.
"Occupy Central is the extreme embodiment of the ethos of 'Hong Kong exceptionalism'," and it had crossed a line, said the commentary. The writer is identified as Guoping.
The central government had taken a pragmatic approach in giving Hong Kong some "exceptional" policies, demonstrating Beijing's rationality, generosity and tolerance, it said, adding: "Some people should not keep asking for more; they should know where the line of exceptions is."
It also reasserted the supreme authority of the decision made by the National People's Congress Standing Committee on electoral reform, saying it must be "thoroughly executed and not be affected by external pressure like Occupy Central".
The commentary is the ninth on the Occupy sit-ins penned by Guoping.
The pen name was likely aimed at a different group of readers to typical state media editorials, said Hong Kong-based political commentator Johnny Lau Yui-siu.
"Guoping can mean 'national peace' or 'state's view'. The mainland media has a propensity to play on double entendres like this," he said.
On September 30 - two days into the protests - a Guoping commentary called for rational dialogue.
It said Beijing respected the differences between Hongkongers and mainlanders and understood Hongkongers' frustration.
"The tolerance, patience and sincerity the central authority has for Hong Kong has never waned. A rational dialogue could be had as long as the deluded few recognise the truth," it read.
In subsequent days, the writer defended the Hong Kong police force's handling of peaceful demonstrators, which included using tear gas and pepper spray.
State media released two other Guoping commentaries late on Sunday. One of them focused on how street politics was doomed to fail, while chastising protesters who confronted police for disturbing the social order.
In another comment, posted on China.com.cn the writer slammed protesters for using "populism" to mobilise young people. The news portal is affiliated with the State Council Information Office.
Lau said such essays did not achieve much. "On the mainland, people have come to doubt what the state media says, or even assume the opposite of what is said is happening. In Hong Kong, given the far-fetched content, people don't take them very seriously," he said.
State television continues to run reports on Occupy Central on its evening news, including interviews with local opponent Robert Chow Yung.
Re: Anarchists & Opportunist Abound in HK Chaos
LIVE: Call to 'occupy' home of Scholarism's Joshua Wong directs people to wrong address
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 7:06am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 2:00pm
Staff reporters
Protesters take a break at Admiralty. Photo: Dickson Lee
Good afternoon and welcome to our continuing 24-hour Occupy Central coverage.
After a hectic week, Occupy Central protest sites were quiet in the night to Tuesday as authorities kept their distance.
Occupy supporters and the government are still at odds over some aspects of the negotiations. Preliminary discussions to prepare for talks with Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor have begun, but progress has been slow.
Stay tuned for all the breaking news.
1.30pm: Debates continue in Causeway Bay, only less vociferously now. Another group of passersby, including some moderate and less vocal dissenters, has entered the occupied area to talk to protesters about politics in Hong Kong and economic inequality.
The site has been quiet all day – bar the odd shouting match – but it has once again drawn passing Hongkongers, tourists and policemen.
Politics is up for discussion in Causeway Bay. Photo: Alan Yu
1.10pm: More scenes of confrontation in Causeway Bay, where a small but angry group of men face off with protesters outside the Sogo department store.
"I don't care about democracy!" shouts a man with grey hair, wearing a Standard Chartered Marathon T-shirt. The heated argument draws murmurs of approval from some passersby and attracts as many as 30 onlookers.
"I've had to look for a new route to take every day, and I can't go to work,” the man complains “We'll all be democratic once we all have work. You students don't know anything! Your parents take care of you and you just sit here all day. Not even the cops dare touch you now. You're gods!"
When the man begins to swear, an older protester starts screaming back. He says he recognises this group of dissenters and adds that they come by every day. Police step in to keep both parties from coming to blows, as the arguments rumble on.
More arguments in Causeway Bay. Photo: Alan Yu
1pm: Some photos just in from the Admiralty protest site, where things are pretty quiet …
Protesters at Admiralty on Tuesday afternoon. Photo: Dickson Lee
A schoolgirl walks through the protest site at Admiralty. Photo: Dickson Lee
The number of protesters has fallen. Photo: Dickson Lee
12.30pm: A Nobel Laureates Symposium on Global Sustainability, scheduled to take place in the city this week, is a casualty of the protests as organisers announce the three-day event is cancelled.
Co-organisers the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and the Asia Society Hong Kong Centre say they took the “difficult decision” to cancel the event “due to the sustained disruptions in the city”, adding that they will explore options for an alternative date.
12.10pm: More from Legco, where pro-Beijing DAB lawmaker Ip Kwok-him says the group urged Jasper Tsang last night to postpone tomorrow's Legco meeting as the traffic in Admiralty remains blocked by protesters.
The Labour Party's Cyd Ho Sau-lan says it is unnecessary to postpone the meeting as the traffic is not affected much and the protest has been peaceful.
11.55am: A middle-aged woman with short black hair, glasses and a blue shirt stops by the protest area in Causeway Bay to berate protesters for blocking the road.
"Why are you blocking the streets for no reason? What's so good about universal suffrage? Look at the US and all the chaos over there because of democracy!" she yells.
One female protester tries to argue, but the conversation becomes increasingly heated and three policemen step in to keep them apart. The handful of remaining protesters sing “happy birthday” to cover up her shrieks. Other passersby try to hold the woman back.
"These children are ignorant Mong Kok residents, traitors and dogs!" she shouts, before leaving.
A passerby berates protesters in Causeway Bay. Photo: Alan Yu.
11.45am: A group of pan-democrat lawmakers is currently meeting with Legislative Council president Jasper Tsang Yok-sing over the decision this morning to cancel tomorrow’s Legco session due to the Occupy movement.
Legco was scheduled to resume tomorrow after the summer break. Tsang will meet the press to explain the decision after the meeting.
11.30am: A real estate firm is expressing regret after one if its agents in a Facebook post yesterday called on those disgruntled by the protests to "occupy" Joshua Wong Chi-fung’s home – publishing what he said was the Scholarism convenor’s address.
Rylie Ip, an associate district manager of Midland Realty, said Wong should "put himself into others' shoes". The post published an address on Hong Kong Island, saying it was Wong's home and asking people to surround it. But Wong later said it was not his home address.
The company issued a statement saying the Facebook post was a staff member’s personal view and expressing regret that the message had "caused public discontent".
In response to concerns over a possible breach of privacy by publishing clients' addresses, the company said it respects clients' privacy and would not tolerate any act breaching the law. Ip could not be reached for comment.
11am: It’s been largely peaceful and quiet in Mong Kok so far this morning, bar the odd spontaneous verbal jousting match between those for and against the Occupy movement.
"Just because there are many people occupying this place doe not mean you are right. My grandchildren are very well educated. If you people were also educated, you wouldn’t be bringing chaos to this city," an elderly anti-Occupy woman says, as she draws a dozen people to engage in a street debate.
But Occupy supporters try to persuade her that they are protesting for Hong Kong’s future.
"I understand that we are bringing inconvenience to some people by blocking the roads. But we are doing this for Hong Kong," says 15-year-old Crystal Kong.
"When such scuffles happen we try to be peaceful by, for example, singing a happy birthday song to ease the tension."
Kong says she was among the first group of people who occupied Mong Kok last Sunday after police fired tear gas outside government headquarters in Admiralty. She respects some protesters' decision to abandon Mong Kok for Admiralty, but she is staying put.
Political debates continue on the streets of Mong Kok at sporadic intervals. Photo: Phila Siu
LIVE: Call to 'occupy' home of Scholarism's Joshua Wong directs people to wrong address
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 7:06am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 2:00pm
Staff reporters
Protesters take a break at Admiralty. Photo: Dickson Lee
Good afternoon and welcome to our continuing 24-hour Occupy Central coverage.
After a hectic week, Occupy Central protest sites were quiet in the night to Tuesday as authorities kept their distance.
Occupy supporters and the government are still at odds over some aspects of the negotiations. Preliminary discussions to prepare for talks with Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor have begun, but progress has been slow.
Stay tuned for all the breaking news.
1.30pm: Debates continue in Causeway Bay, only less vociferously now. Another group of passersby, including some moderate and less vocal dissenters, has entered the occupied area to talk to protesters about politics in Hong Kong and economic inequality.
The site has been quiet all day – bar the odd shouting match – but it has once again drawn passing Hongkongers, tourists and policemen.
Politics is up for discussion in Causeway Bay. Photo: Alan Yu
1.10pm: More scenes of confrontation in Causeway Bay, where a small but angry group of men face off with protesters outside the Sogo department store.
"I don't care about democracy!" shouts a man with grey hair, wearing a Standard Chartered Marathon T-shirt. The heated argument draws murmurs of approval from some passersby and attracts as many as 30 onlookers.
"I've had to look for a new route to take every day, and I can't go to work,” the man complains “We'll all be democratic once we all have work. You students don't know anything! Your parents take care of you and you just sit here all day. Not even the cops dare touch you now. You're gods!"
When the man begins to swear, an older protester starts screaming back. He says he recognises this group of dissenters and adds that they come by every day. Police step in to keep both parties from coming to blows, as the arguments rumble on.
More arguments in Causeway Bay. Photo: Alan Yu
1pm: Some photos just in from the Admiralty protest site, where things are pretty quiet …
Protesters at Admiralty on Tuesday afternoon. Photo: Dickson Lee
A schoolgirl walks through the protest site at Admiralty. Photo: Dickson Lee
The number of protesters has fallen. Photo: Dickson Lee
12.30pm: A Nobel Laureates Symposium on Global Sustainability, scheduled to take place in the city this week, is a casualty of the protests as organisers announce the three-day event is cancelled.
Co-organisers the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and the Asia Society Hong Kong Centre say they took the “difficult decision” to cancel the event “due to the sustained disruptions in the city”, adding that they will explore options for an alternative date.
12.10pm: More from Legco, where pro-Beijing DAB lawmaker Ip Kwok-him says the group urged Jasper Tsang last night to postpone tomorrow's Legco meeting as the traffic in Admiralty remains blocked by protesters.
The Labour Party's Cyd Ho Sau-lan says it is unnecessary to postpone the meeting as the traffic is not affected much and the protest has been peaceful.
11.55am: A middle-aged woman with short black hair, glasses and a blue shirt stops by the protest area in Causeway Bay to berate protesters for blocking the road.
"Why are you blocking the streets for no reason? What's so good about universal suffrage? Look at the US and all the chaos over there because of democracy!" she yells.
One female protester tries to argue, but the conversation becomes increasingly heated and three policemen step in to keep them apart. The handful of remaining protesters sing “happy birthday” to cover up her shrieks. Other passersby try to hold the woman back.
"These children are ignorant Mong Kok residents, traitors and dogs!" she shouts, before leaving.
A passerby berates protesters in Causeway Bay. Photo: Alan Yu.
11.45am: A group of pan-democrat lawmakers is currently meeting with Legislative Council president Jasper Tsang Yok-sing over the decision this morning to cancel tomorrow’s Legco session due to the Occupy movement.
Legco was scheduled to resume tomorrow after the summer break. Tsang will meet the press to explain the decision after the meeting.
11.30am: A real estate firm is expressing regret after one if its agents in a Facebook post yesterday called on those disgruntled by the protests to "occupy" Joshua Wong Chi-fung’s home – publishing what he said was the Scholarism convenor’s address.
Rylie Ip, an associate district manager of Midland Realty, said Wong should "put himself into others' shoes". The post published an address on Hong Kong Island, saying it was Wong's home and asking people to surround it. But Wong later said it was not his home address.
The company issued a statement saying the Facebook post was a staff member’s personal view and expressing regret that the message had "caused public discontent".
In response to concerns over a possible breach of privacy by publishing clients' addresses, the company said it respects clients' privacy and would not tolerate any act breaching the law. Ip could not be reached for comment.
11am: It’s been largely peaceful and quiet in Mong Kok so far this morning, bar the odd spontaneous verbal jousting match between those for and against the Occupy movement.
"Just because there are many people occupying this place doe not mean you are right. My grandchildren are very well educated. If you people were also educated, you wouldn’t be bringing chaos to this city," an elderly anti-Occupy woman says, as she draws a dozen people to engage in a street debate.
But Occupy supporters try to persuade her that they are protesting for Hong Kong’s future.
"I understand that we are bringing inconvenience to some people by blocking the roads. But we are doing this for Hong Kong," says 15-year-old Crystal Kong.
"When such scuffles happen we try to be peaceful by, for example, singing a happy birthday song to ease the tension."
Kong says she was among the first group of people who occupied Mong Kok last Sunday after police fired tear gas outside government headquarters in Admiralty. She respects some protesters' decision to abandon Mong Kok for Admiralty, but she is staying put.
Political debates continue on the streets of Mong Kok at sporadic intervals. Photo: Phila Siu
Re: M Ravi: Law minister understanding of HK basic law is seriously flawed
Typical Sinkie talking through his nose again!
I have lost interest in point by point rebuttals oredi, but let me do it now just for the fun of it!
The part in bold is total bullshit. It treats as non-existent, the Sino-British Declaration, which is a treaty between two sovereign nations and the Basic Law is part of that agreement. China may say that she doesn't want to honour the Treaty of Nanking because it was signed at gunpoint, but nobody forced her to sign the Sino-British Declaration or to declare that it will be "one country, two systems" for at least fifty years after the handover. The China of 1982, year in which the Declaration was signed, recovering from the effects of the Cultural Revolution, still very poor and backward both economically and militarily, agreed to those terms for pragmatic reasons. Whatever her reasons, she has to honour those terms and that means universal suffrage which is specifically stated in the Basic Law - true and not fake.
Again, the part in bold is TOTAL BULLSHIT. Watch this video and learn the difference.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFXuGIpsdE0
No government is NOT democracy, it is ANARCHY. It is not a form of government, but a means to an end, a tool for troublemakers to get what they want. All modern democracies are what is called REPRESENTATIVE democracy and not direct democracy. That is why not any Tom, Dick or Ah Kow can make a speech in Parliament.
USA will certainly be around in 50 years, China as a single entity is not so certain, after all most Chinese regard it as a civilisation rather than a country. USA does not have any separatist elements, China has many - Xinjiang, Tibet, etc. China has been broken up before many times in its history. In fact that is the typical situation between dynasties. The USA only had ONE civil war, China had countless civil wars and rebellions.
Patience is not always a virtue, in some situations it is a sin. Affluence does not automatically guarantee that democracy will emerge nor what adulterated form will be adopted. It never ceases to amaze me how CCP documents and essays always claim the party to be democratic. The Democratic Republic of Korea (North Korea) is democratic? The People's Republic of China answers to the people?
Of course Hong Kong cannot be self-sufficient. Neither can Singapore. In fact many small countries are in the same condition, but that is no excuse for being spineless. Even large countries like China will suffer a lot of pain if they try to isolate themselves from the global economy.
Hello have you been following the news? NOBODY is asking for total free hand in choosing the CE. What the CCP has insisted is CE candidates be limited to TWO and each must have the backing of at least half of a nominating committee of 1,200 dominated by CCP cronies. That is what the Hongkies are rejecting since only Beijing sanctioned candidates will be able to get the votes of at least 600 of these fat cats. They want an alternative method and several have been proposed. They are angered by the fact that the report submitted by the HK government to Beijing claimed that a majority of Hongkies support Beijing's proposal and glaringly omitted to mention that 800,000 people participated in the civil referendum and expressed their preference for civil nomination and not nomination by a committee stuffed with Beijing loyalists. It's like Ass Loon holding a fake National CONversation and then claiming that the majority of Sinkies want the island to infested with more FTs. Sinkies can take these sort of LIES and continue to vote for these sort of LIARS as long as they have char kway teow for $3 but Hongkies and many other peoples of this world cannot - THAT IS THE BOTTOM LINE.
Typical Sinkie talking through his nose again!
I have lost interest in point by point rebuttals oredi, but let me do it now just for the fun of it!
The part in bold is total bullshit. It treats as non-existent, the Sino-British Declaration, which is a treaty between two sovereign nations and the Basic Law is part of that agreement. China may say that she doesn't want to honour the Treaty of Nanking because it was signed at gunpoint, but nobody forced her to sign the Sino-British Declaration or to declare that it will be "one country, two systems" for at least fifty years after the handover. The China of 1982, year in which the Declaration was signed, recovering from the effects of the Cultural Revolution, still very poor and backward both economically and militarily, agreed to those terms for pragmatic reasons. Whatever her reasons, she has to honour those terms and that means universal suffrage which is specifically stated in the Basic Law - true and not fake.
Again, the part in bold is TOTAL BULLSHIT. Watch this video and learn the difference.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFXuGIpsdE0
No government is NOT democracy, it is ANARCHY. It is not a form of government, but a means to an end, a tool for troublemakers to get what they want. All modern democracies are what is called REPRESENTATIVE democracy and not direct democracy. That is why not any Tom, Dick or Ah Kow can make a speech in Parliament.
USA will certainly be around in 50 years, China as a single entity is not so certain, after all most Chinese regard it as a civilisation rather than a country. USA does not have any separatist elements, China has many - Xinjiang, Tibet, etc. China has been broken up before many times in its history. In fact that is the typical situation between dynasties. The USA only had ONE civil war, China had countless civil wars and rebellions.
Patience is not always a virtue, in some situations it is a sin. Affluence does not automatically guarantee that democracy will emerge nor what adulterated form will be adopted. It never ceases to amaze me how CCP documents and essays always claim the party to be democratic. The Democratic Republic of Korea (North Korea) is democratic? The People's Republic of China answers to the people?
Of course Hong Kong cannot be self-sufficient. Neither can Singapore. In fact many small countries are in the same condition, but that is no excuse for being spineless. Even large countries like China will suffer a lot of pain if they try to isolate themselves from the global economy.
Hello have you been following the news? NOBODY is asking for total free hand in choosing the CE. What the CCP has insisted is CE candidates be limited to TWO and each must have the backing of at least half of a nominating committee of 1,200 dominated by CCP cronies. That is what the Hongkies are rejecting since only Beijing sanctioned candidates will be able to get the votes of at least 600 of these fat cats. They want an alternative method and several have been proposed. They are angered by the fact that the report submitted by the HK government to Beijing claimed that a majority of Hongkies support Beijing's proposal and glaringly omitted to mention that 800,000 people participated in the civil referendum and expressed their preference for civil nomination and not nomination by a committee stuffed with Beijing loyalists. It's like Ass Loon holding a fake National CONversation and then claiming that the majority of Sinkies want the island to infested with more FTs. Sinkies can take these sort of LIES and continue to vote for these sort of LIARS as long as they have char kway teow for $3 but Hongkies and many other peoples of this world cannot - THAT IS THE BOTTOM LINE.
Last edited:
Re: M Ravi: Law minister understanding of HK basic law is seriously flawed
LIVE: Call to 'occupy' home of Scholarism's Joshua Wong directs people to wrong address
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 7:06am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 4:12pm
Staff reporters
Protesters take a break at Admiralty. Photo: Dickson Lee
Good afternoon and welcome to our continuing 24-hour Occupy Central coverage.
After a hectic week, Occupy Central protest sites were quiet in the night to Tuesday as authorities kept their distance.
Occupy supporters and the government are still at odds over some aspects of the negotiations. Preliminary discussions to prepare for talks with Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor have begun, but progress has been slow.
Stay tuned for all the breaking news.
3.45pm: This table from the Hong Kong Journalists Association details attacks on reporters covering the protests …
Attacks on journalists covering Occupy Central. Photo: HKJA
3.30pm: The number of protesters at all sites may be dwindling but those still there seem just as determined to continue as they were at the start of the demonstrations 10 days ago.
Occupy supporter Peter Wong, 23, has even brought a bed to the Mong Kok protest site to dig-in for the long term, if necessary.
"I bought the bed to mark the 10th day here at this movement. This is going to be a long fight and there is no reason not to make myself comfortable," he says.
"The government is not treating Hong Kong people as human. If we don't get democracy this time I doubt if we are ever going to get it."
Comfort: Peter Wong is prepared for an extended stay in Mong Kok. Photo: Phila Siu
3pm: Hong Kong has become the second largest market for FireChat, a mobile messaging app which allows users to communicate in chat rooms without mobile networks, since the Occupy Central movement started a week ago.
2.35pm: In Mong Kok, Occupy protester Marco Ho says he drew a divination stick for the movement at a Sha Tin temple, which says that "the students will win a little and the government lose a little".
"The guy in the temple who interpreted the stick for me also said there will not be big casualties," says Ho, a 40-year-old renovation worker.
Ho says he joined the movement when students began a class boycott. He has only gone to work twice since then. But he has no regrets as says he feels the need to protect the students.
He believes that the prospect of Beijing giving Hong Kong true democracy may not be likely, and hopes the Federation of Students will not be "too greedy" in discussions with the government.
Marco Ho looks for a spiritual answer. Photo: Phila Siu
2.20pm: Perhaps fed up of queuing outside restaurants, hundreds of office workers enjoy an al fresco lunch with the Occupiers in Admiralty.
White-collar workers took to the streets this afternoon for a break, many of them enjoying a stroll in temperatures that have dropped a few degrees Celsius since the height of summer.
Lunch in Admiralty. Photo: Stuart Lau
2.05pm: Legco president Jasper Tsang says the decision to postpone tomorrow's council for a week was made after considering the unprecedented circumstances, under which no one could guarantee an unobstructed and safe passage for all members concerned to attend the meeting.
He admits that the Occupy movement has been peaceful and many people are now free to move around in the area near the government headquarters in Admiralty, but he believes the topics scheduled for debate in tomorrow's meeting – on the government and police's handling of Occupy – would only stimulate the emotions of people from both sides, and is likely to draw a larger crowd into the area.
He stresses the council meeting would not be deferred forever as he would look for ways to put in place a better arrangement for next week.
"We are considering some ways ... such as to negotiate whether the crowd would clear a passage for vehicles to enter the complex, or to hold the council meeting in another venue," he says.
"May I stress this decision is only made under these very exceptional circumstances. This is definitely the first time when the access around the Legco complex has been completely blocked by protesters."
He also says inviting police to maintain order in the area around Legco is not a good idea as it would trigger even more emotion among the protesters.
His decision was made this morning after receiving a letter signed by 41 pro-establishment lawmakers last night urging a halt to the council meeting. Some government officials also expressed concern for their personal safety, he said.
Pan-democrats have challenged Tsang's decision, saying that it is a stalling tactic for the government to avoid responsibility on its handling of peaceful protesters.
"[The government] cannot avoid this forever," says the Civic Party's Alan Leong Kah-kit. "We will still insist to debate on the government and police handling of peaceful protesters outside the complex. [The pro-Beijing camp in] Legco does not have the courage to stand up and defend what the government did to peaceful protesters outside the complex."
Jasper Tsang speaks to the press. Photo: Sam Tsang
LIVE: Call to 'occupy' home of Scholarism's Joshua Wong directs people to wrong address
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 7:06am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 4:12pm
Staff reporters
Protesters take a break at Admiralty. Photo: Dickson Lee
Good afternoon and welcome to our continuing 24-hour Occupy Central coverage.
After a hectic week, Occupy Central protest sites were quiet in the night to Tuesday as authorities kept their distance.
Occupy supporters and the government are still at odds over some aspects of the negotiations. Preliminary discussions to prepare for talks with Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor have begun, but progress has been slow.
Stay tuned for all the breaking news.
3.45pm: This table from the Hong Kong Journalists Association details attacks on reporters covering the protests …
Attacks on journalists covering Occupy Central. Photo: HKJA
3.30pm: The number of protesters at all sites may be dwindling but those still there seem just as determined to continue as they were at the start of the demonstrations 10 days ago.
Occupy supporter Peter Wong, 23, has even brought a bed to the Mong Kok protest site to dig-in for the long term, if necessary.
"I bought the bed to mark the 10th day here at this movement. This is going to be a long fight and there is no reason not to make myself comfortable," he says.
"The government is not treating Hong Kong people as human. If we don't get democracy this time I doubt if we are ever going to get it."
Comfort: Peter Wong is prepared for an extended stay in Mong Kok. Photo: Phila Siu
3pm: Hong Kong has become the second largest market for FireChat, a mobile messaging app which allows users to communicate in chat rooms without mobile networks, since the Occupy Central movement started a week ago.
2.35pm: In Mong Kok, Occupy protester Marco Ho says he drew a divination stick for the movement at a Sha Tin temple, which says that "the students will win a little and the government lose a little".
"The guy in the temple who interpreted the stick for me also said there will not be big casualties," says Ho, a 40-year-old renovation worker.
Ho says he joined the movement when students began a class boycott. He has only gone to work twice since then. But he has no regrets as says he feels the need to protect the students.
He believes that the prospect of Beijing giving Hong Kong true democracy may not be likely, and hopes the Federation of Students will not be "too greedy" in discussions with the government.
Marco Ho looks for a spiritual answer. Photo: Phila Siu
2.20pm: Perhaps fed up of queuing outside restaurants, hundreds of office workers enjoy an al fresco lunch with the Occupiers in Admiralty.
White-collar workers took to the streets this afternoon for a break, many of them enjoying a stroll in temperatures that have dropped a few degrees Celsius since the height of summer.
Lunch in Admiralty. Photo: Stuart Lau
2.05pm: Legco president Jasper Tsang says the decision to postpone tomorrow's council for a week was made after considering the unprecedented circumstances, under which no one could guarantee an unobstructed and safe passage for all members concerned to attend the meeting.
He admits that the Occupy movement has been peaceful and many people are now free to move around in the area near the government headquarters in Admiralty, but he believes the topics scheduled for debate in tomorrow's meeting – on the government and police's handling of Occupy – would only stimulate the emotions of people from both sides, and is likely to draw a larger crowd into the area.
He stresses the council meeting would not be deferred forever as he would look for ways to put in place a better arrangement for next week.
"We are considering some ways ... such as to negotiate whether the crowd would clear a passage for vehicles to enter the complex, or to hold the council meeting in another venue," he says.
"May I stress this decision is only made under these very exceptional circumstances. This is definitely the first time when the access around the Legco complex has been completely blocked by protesters."
He also says inviting police to maintain order in the area around Legco is not a good idea as it would trigger even more emotion among the protesters.
His decision was made this morning after receiving a letter signed by 41 pro-establishment lawmakers last night urging a halt to the council meeting. Some government officials also expressed concern for their personal safety, he said.
Pan-democrats have challenged Tsang's decision, saying that it is a stalling tactic for the government to avoid responsibility on its handling of peaceful protesters.
"[The government] cannot avoid this forever," says the Civic Party's Alan Leong Kah-kit. "We will still insist to debate on the government and police handling of peaceful protesters outside the complex. [The pro-Beijing camp in] Legco does not have the courage to stand up and defend what the government did to peaceful protesters outside the complex."
Jasper Tsang speaks to the press. Photo: Sam Tsang
Last edited:
Re: M Ravi: Law minister understanding of HK basic law is seriously flawed
'Off-the-grid' messaging application FireChat continues to ride Occupy boost
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 2:50pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 3:13pm
Patrick Boehler [email protected]
A student pro-democracy protester uses her smartphone as she and others sit outside Hong Kong's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's office on Sunday. Photo: AP
FireChat, a mobile messaging application that does not rely on data networks or Internet connections to operate, has seen explosive growth in Hong Kong since it became the app of choice last week in the city's Occupy Central pro-democracy movement.
Over the last week, FireChat has been downloaded 460,000 times in the city, according to Christophe Daligault, vice-president of sales and marketing of the app’s developer Open Garden.
With a poulation of just over 7 million, Hong Kong has now become the second-largest market for the application in terms of downloads, behind the United States and ahead of India. Mainland China ranks fifth, while Taiwan ranks ninth in downloads.
Protest organisers in Hong Kong had first called on demonstrators to download the app as rumours circulated on Sunday that the government might shut down mobile phone networks and Internet connections in districts hit by protests.
FireChat connects users to chat rooms via Bluetooth or Wi-fi, even if they are not connected to mobile phone networks. Messages go online and can reach a global audience if individual users in chat rooms gain access to the internet.
While there was no evidence of large-scale Internet or mobile network outage in Hong Kong in the past week, participants and supporters of Occupy Central continued to download and use the app.
In the week ending on Saturday, Hongkongers participated in 5.1 million chat sessions on FireChat, Daligault said. At peak times, as many as 37,000 Hongkongers used the app simultaneously, mostly sharing updates on the pro-democracy protests in the city.
FireChat gained its first popularity boost in Taiwan, only days after its launch in March. Students protesters in the island’s “Sunflower Movement” occupied the legislature in Taipei, calling for a halt to a new cross-straits trade agreement that would further link Taiwan’s economy to that of mainland China.
Protesters downloaded the app en masse as they feared the authorities might shut down the mobile network to prevent students from spreading their message from the occupied legislature. That didn't happen either.
Despite its popularity in such social movements, the application is not without fault, said Ben Cheng, co-founder of Hong Kong software company Oursky.
“Fire chat is a public chat, it is a bit difficult to discover new rooms and a lot of chat rooms are spammed with repetitive or false information,” said Cheng.
The protests have helped developers improve their application, Daligault said. “The immediate priority is to introduce trusted voices on FireChat,” he said. “This comes in the form of verified accounts. Such accounts are meant for people who want to join the discussions under their real name, specifically journalists and reporters.”
“The students have also asked us to improve the user experience with very practical things such as time-stamps, and make messages easier to read when there are too many people on FireChat at once,” he said.
However, users have also raised privacy concerns. “FireChat can be used by anyone within the same area, it is hard to distinguish who is who in the chat room, so sharing classified messages in FireChat will be unwise as you will never know who are you speaking to and there maybe someone peeking there,” said Glacier Kwong, a member of Keyboard Frontline, a Hong Kong-based internet freedom advocate group.
“FireChats are public, like tweets,” said Daligault. “People who want to remain anonymous can and should use pseudonyms.”
He said developers were working on adding a private messaging function.
'Off-the-grid' messaging application FireChat continues to ride Occupy boost
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 2:50pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 3:13pm
Patrick Boehler [email protected]
A student pro-democracy protester uses her smartphone as she and others sit outside Hong Kong's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's office on Sunday. Photo: AP
FireChat, a mobile messaging application that does not rely on data networks or Internet connections to operate, has seen explosive growth in Hong Kong since it became the app of choice last week in the city's Occupy Central pro-democracy movement.
Over the last week, FireChat has been downloaded 460,000 times in the city, according to Christophe Daligault, vice-president of sales and marketing of the app’s developer Open Garden.
With a poulation of just over 7 million, Hong Kong has now become the second-largest market for the application in terms of downloads, behind the United States and ahead of India. Mainland China ranks fifth, while Taiwan ranks ninth in downloads.
Protest organisers in Hong Kong had first called on demonstrators to download the app as rumours circulated on Sunday that the government might shut down mobile phone networks and Internet connections in districts hit by protests.
FireChat connects users to chat rooms via Bluetooth or Wi-fi, even if they are not connected to mobile phone networks. Messages go online and can reach a global audience if individual users in chat rooms gain access to the internet.
While there was no evidence of large-scale Internet or mobile network outage in Hong Kong in the past week, participants and supporters of Occupy Central continued to download and use the app.
In the week ending on Saturday, Hongkongers participated in 5.1 million chat sessions on FireChat, Daligault said. At peak times, as many as 37,000 Hongkongers used the app simultaneously, mostly sharing updates on the pro-democracy protests in the city.
FireChat gained its first popularity boost in Taiwan, only days after its launch in March. Students protesters in the island’s “Sunflower Movement” occupied the legislature in Taipei, calling for a halt to a new cross-straits trade agreement that would further link Taiwan’s economy to that of mainland China.
Protesters downloaded the app en masse as they feared the authorities might shut down the mobile network to prevent students from spreading their message from the occupied legislature. That didn't happen either.
Despite its popularity in such social movements, the application is not without fault, said Ben Cheng, co-founder of Hong Kong software company Oursky.
“Fire chat is a public chat, it is a bit difficult to discover new rooms and a lot of chat rooms are spammed with repetitive or false information,” said Cheng.
The protests have helped developers improve their application, Daligault said. “The immediate priority is to introduce trusted voices on FireChat,” he said. “This comes in the form of verified accounts. Such accounts are meant for people who want to join the discussions under their real name, specifically journalists and reporters.”
“The students have also asked us to improve the user experience with very practical things such as time-stamps, and make messages easier to read when there are too many people on FireChat at once,” he said.
However, users have also raised privacy concerns. “FireChat can be used by anyone within the same area, it is hard to distinguish who is who in the chat room, so sharing classified messages in FireChat will be unwise as you will never know who are you speaking to and there maybe someone peeking there,” said Glacier Kwong, a member of Keyboard Frontline, a Hong Kong-based internet freedom advocate group.
“FireChats are public, like tweets,” said Daligault. “People who want to remain anonymous can and should use pseudonyms.”
He said developers were working on adding a private messaging function.
Re: Give me Liberty or Give me Death! Giordano Tycoon joins Occupy Central!
Live: Hundreds of protesters surround anti-Occupy ‘blue ribbon’ group in Admiralty
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 7:06am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 8:16pm
Staff reporters
Protesters at the centre of the Mong Kok occupation. Photo: Sam Tsang
Good evening and welcome to our continuing 24-hour Occupy Central coverage.
After a hectic week, Occupy Central protest sites were quiet in the night to Tuesday as authorities kept their distance.
Occupy supporters and the government are still at odds over some aspects of the negotiations. Preliminary discussions to prepare for talks with Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor have begun, but progress has been slow.
Stay tuned for all the breaking news.
8.00pm Admiralty: Hundreds of Occupy supporters surround Leticia Lee See-yin, leader of the anti-Occupy "blue ribbon" group, at the entrance of the Admiralty Centre. Occupy protesters greeted their rivals with a boisterous round of cheers and applause before singing "Happy Birthday" in both Chinese and English. Lee's massively outnumbered group are prevented from entering Harcourt Road as planned.
Photo: Emily Tsang
7.30pm Admiralty: There are more police than protesters outside the chief executive’s office complex in Tamar. About 22 police officers sit or stand behind metal barricades in front of the CE’s office, compared to the 20 or so protesters gathered under tents at the side of the road. Evan Wong, 18, is on his twelfth day outside government headquarters. Wong says the lack of democracy in Hong Kong is responsible for a series of society’s ills. "If we have democracy, then legislators will listen to what we want – or we won’t vote for them in four years’ time. If they want to keep power, they’ll have to listen to us,” he said.“We don’t want independence, we just want to rule the place we live. It's a simple request.”
7.00pm Admiralty: Around 40 members from the anti-Occupy "blue ribbon" group formed by Leticia Lee See-yin arrive at the Admiralty Centre to confront Occupy protesters in Tamar.
Around a hundred occupiers have formed a line outside the centre, preparing to sing "Happy Birthday" to the group in a bid to defuse the situation.
Photo: Emily Tsang
6.50pm Admiralty: Next Media's Jimmy Lai visits the protest site in Admiralty.
Photo: Robert Ng
6.40pm Admiralty: Protester Jacki Ho, 18, draws a yellow umbrella protecting the Hong Kong skyline on the pavement in chalk. Ho, who has been protesting outside the chief executive's office for three days, says she does not plan to give up anytime soon. "I think they're just waiting for us to have no more patience, but that won't happen."
Jackie Ho's artwork. Photo: Emily Tsang
6.30pm: Kindergartens in Wan Chai and Central and Western districts will not resume classes tomorrow, says Sophia Wong, Principal Assistant Secretary of the Education Bureau. She said the bureau made this decision because many students at secondary schools, which resumed classes on Monday, and primary schools, which resumed classes today, in these areas needed to take long time on buses or other transport due to traffic congestions caused by Occupy Central. She said the bureau had accessed the situation and decided it was not yet fit for kindergarten-aged children to take similar long and hard journeys.
As primary schools resumed classes today, Wong said 70 per cent of primary schools in Wan Chai reported that 30 to 40 per cent of students were late for 20 to 30 minutes. About 30 per cent of primary schools in Central and Western District reported that 10 to 25 per cent of students were late for between five to 30 minutes. She said fewer students in secondary schools were late today compared to on Monday.
Meanwhile, Helios Lau, Chief Clinical Psychologist of the Social Welfare Department said there had been six emotional problem cases reported related to Occupy Central. He said the cases were relatively mild and did not expect the number to rise drastically. Florence Hui, Under Secretary for Home Affairs, said she hoped that the government could start talk with the Hong Kong Federation of Students within this week.
6.15pm Admiralty: Student volunteers have stuck two HK$100 banknotes dropped by a visitor to the ground at the protest site outside Central Government Offices in Tamar. The message reads: "Do not pick these up, we don't know who dropped these. Wait for the owner to claim them back. "
6pm: A coalition of about 20 groups representing small and medium enterprises, led by Liberal Party lawmaker Felix Chung, called on Occupy Central supporters to retreat from the shopping districts of Mong Kok and Causeway Bay first, in order to allow businesses to resume normal hours.
"I understand that students are afraid they will no longer have any bargaining power [with the government over constitutional reform] once they stop occupying. It is difficult to ask them to retreat from all protest points at once. But at least we hope they can retreat from Mong Kok and Causeway Bay first and join the rally in Admiralty," Chung said.
The pro-business legislator said he had wanted to talk to the protest organisers and discuss this proposal, adding that he had sent a message to Occupy Central founder Benn Tai Yiu-ting on Saturday but had not heard back so far.
5.45pm: Police reiterate that they will use “appropriate action” towards rallying protesters in Mong Kok and called for citizens to leave the “high-risk area”. Police Public Relations Branch Chief Superintendent Steve Hui Chun-tak said senior officers at the protest site would evaluate the situation on the ground and take appropriate action in accordance with protesters’ behaviour. “If there is any violence at the scene, the police will take actions resolutely,” Hui said. So far, 39 people aged 18 to 71 have been arrested for being involved in violence between pro- and anti-Occupy Central groups in Mong Kok on October 3. Hui declined to reveal the number of the arrested with a suspected triad background.
The scene at the Mong Kok protest site. Photo: Sam Tsang
Meanwhile, the total length of vehicle queues on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon due to road blockage caused by Occupy Central rallies reached 20.7 kilometres at one point yesterday, Lee Kwok-chung, Senior Superintendent of Traffic Branch Headquarters, confirmed. He added that a total of 2.9 kilometres of roads were affected by the rallies yesterday. Ambulances were called out 1,807 times yesterday, and in 127 instances the vehicles were unable to arrive within their allotted time. A total of 80 fire truck services were required yesterday, with six being unable to reach the destinations within the promised time.
5.30pm: An irate food distributor says business owners in Central may take down the barricades themselves if the Occupy Central movement goes on for much longer. Speaking at a press conference alongside legislators from Central-Western district, food distributor Lau Chong-sun says his business, which handles meat and vegetables on Gage Street and Graham Street, has gone from HK$40,000 worth of a transactions a day to just HK$20,000. “Why don’t you go occupy the New Territories? I’m just trying to make a living,” he said. “If this goes on, we’ll take down the barricades in Central. Give us a road to use!” Lau said a lot of other business owners shared similar sentiments.
District legislator Jackie Cheung Yick-hung warned demonstrators that because the protests had gotten in the way of people going to work and school, residents could not be expected to tolerate them indefinitely. “The patience that residents have towards these protestors is reaching breaking point,” Cheung said.
5.15pm Causeway Bay: About one hundred people are on the Yee Wo Street and Hennessy Road, either occupying the roads or simply engaging in conversations about politics in Hong Kong. No anti-Occupy protesters wearing blue ribbons are in the area near theSogo shopping mall. However some residents are complaining about the inconvenience caused by the protests. A group of protesters started singing "Happy Birthday" to an old man who was particularly aggressive towards them.
4.45pm: A group of Mong Kok residents and business owners complain that the ongoing sit-in has affected their daily lives and businesses at a forum held in a park for people to express their grievances. An investor in a restaurant chain, who only gives his surname as Cheung, says he has a couple of restaurants in Causeway Bay and Mong Kok. He says takings at his restaurant chain are down HK$100,000 per day since the protests started 10 days ago. "In the short term, we could still hang in there. The impact has not emerged yet," he says. "We have no plans to ask our staff to go on unpaid leave to minimise losses."
4.20pm: Frank Ching writes that the students' achievement in highlighting to the world Hong Kong's fight for democracy could help enable change.
Live: Hundreds of protesters surround anti-Occupy ‘blue ribbon’ group in Admiralty
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 7:06am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 8:16pm
Staff reporters
Protesters at the centre of the Mong Kok occupation. Photo: Sam Tsang
Good evening and welcome to our continuing 24-hour Occupy Central coverage.
After a hectic week, Occupy Central protest sites were quiet in the night to Tuesday as authorities kept their distance.
Occupy supporters and the government are still at odds over some aspects of the negotiations. Preliminary discussions to prepare for talks with Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor have begun, but progress has been slow.
Stay tuned for all the breaking news.
8.00pm Admiralty: Hundreds of Occupy supporters surround Leticia Lee See-yin, leader of the anti-Occupy "blue ribbon" group, at the entrance of the Admiralty Centre. Occupy protesters greeted their rivals with a boisterous round of cheers and applause before singing "Happy Birthday" in both Chinese and English. Lee's massively outnumbered group are prevented from entering Harcourt Road as planned.
Photo: Emily Tsang
7.30pm Admiralty: There are more police than protesters outside the chief executive’s office complex in Tamar. About 22 police officers sit or stand behind metal barricades in front of the CE’s office, compared to the 20 or so protesters gathered under tents at the side of the road. Evan Wong, 18, is on his twelfth day outside government headquarters. Wong says the lack of democracy in Hong Kong is responsible for a series of society’s ills. "If we have democracy, then legislators will listen to what we want – or we won’t vote for them in four years’ time. If they want to keep power, they’ll have to listen to us,” he said.“We don’t want independence, we just want to rule the place we live. It's a simple request.”
7.00pm Admiralty: Around 40 members from the anti-Occupy "blue ribbon" group formed by Leticia Lee See-yin arrive at the Admiralty Centre to confront Occupy protesters in Tamar.
Around a hundred occupiers have formed a line outside the centre, preparing to sing "Happy Birthday" to the group in a bid to defuse the situation.
Photo: Emily Tsang
6.50pm Admiralty: Next Media's Jimmy Lai visits the protest site in Admiralty.
Photo: Robert Ng
6.40pm Admiralty: Protester Jacki Ho, 18, draws a yellow umbrella protecting the Hong Kong skyline on the pavement in chalk. Ho, who has been protesting outside the chief executive's office for three days, says she does not plan to give up anytime soon. "I think they're just waiting for us to have no more patience, but that won't happen."
Jackie Ho's artwork. Photo: Emily Tsang
6.30pm: Kindergartens in Wan Chai and Central and Western districts will not resume classes tomorrow, says Sophia Wong, Principal Assistant Secretary of the Education Bureau. She said the bureau made this decision because many students at secondary schools, which resumed classes on Monday, and primary schools, which resumed classes today, in these areas needed to take long time on buses or other transport due to traffic congestions caused by Occupy Central. She said the bureau had accessed the situation and decided it was not yet fit for kindergarten-aged children to take similar long and hard journeys.
As primary schools resumed classes today, Wong said 70 per cent of primary schools in Wan Chai reported that 30 to 40 per cent of students were late for 20 to 30 minutes. About 30 per cent of primary schools in Central and Western District reported that 10 to 25 per cent of students were late for between five to 30 minutes. She said fewer students in secondary schools were late today compared to on Monday.
Meanwhile, Helios Lau, Chief Clinical Psychologist of the Social Welfare Department said there had been six emotional problem cases reported related to Occupy Central. He said the cases were relatively mild and did not expect the number to rise drastically. Florence Hui, Under Secretary for Home Affairs, said she hoped that the government could start talk with the Hong Kong Federation of Students within this week.
6.15pm Admiralty: Student volunteers have stuck two HK$100 banknotes dropped by a visitor to the ground at the protest site outside Central Government Offices in Tamar. The message reads: "Do not pick these up, we don't know who dropped these. Wait for the owner to claim them back. "
6pm: A coalition of about 20 groups representing small and medium enterprises, led by Liberal Party lawmaker Felix Chung, called on Occupy Central supporters to retreat from the shopping districts of Mong Kok and Causeway Bay first, in order to allow businesses to resume normal hours.
"I understand that students are afraid they will no longer have any bargaining power [with the government over constitutional reform] once they stop occupying. It is difficult to ask them to retreat from all protest points at once. But at least we hope they can retreat from Mong Kok and Causeway Bay first and join the rally in Admiralty," Chung said.
The pro-business legislator said he had wanted to talk to the protest organisers and discuss this proposal, adding that he had sent a message to Occupy Central founder Benn Tai Yiu-ting on Saturday but had not heard back so far.
5.45pm: Police reiterate that they will use “appropriate action” towards rallying protesters in Mong Kok and called for citizens to leave the “high-risk area”. Police Public Relations Branch Chief Superintendent Steve Hui Chun-tak said senior officers at the protest site would evaluate the situation on the ground and take appropriate action in accordance with protesters’ behaviour. “If there is any violence at the scene, the police will take actions resolutely,” Hui said. So far, 39 people aged 18 to 71 have been arrested for being involved in violence between pro- and anti-Occupy Central groups in Mong Kok on October 3. Hui declined to reveal the number of the arrested with a suspected triad background.
The scene at the Mong Kok protest site. Photo: Sam Tsang
Meanwhile, the total length of vehicle queues on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon due to road blockage caused by Occupy Central rallies reached 20.7 kilometres at one point yesterday, Lee Kwok-chung, Senior Superintendent of Traffic Branch Headquarters, confirmed. He added that a total of 2.9 kilometres of roads were affected by the rallies yesterday. Ambulances were called out 1,807 times yesterday, and in 127 instances the vehicles were unable to arrive within their allotted time. A total of 80 fire truck services were required yesterday, with six being unable to reach the destinations within the promised time.
5.30pm: An irate food distributor says business owners in Central may take down the barricades themselves if the Occupy Central movement goes on for much longer. Speaking at a press conference alongside legislators from Central-Western district, food distributor Lau Chong-sun says his business, which handles meat and vegetables on Gage Street and Graham Street, has gone from HK$40,000 worth of a transactions a day to just HK$20,000. “Why don’t you go occupy the New Territories? I’m just trying to make a living,” he said. “If this goes on, we’ll take down the barricades in Central. Give us a road to use!” Lau said a lot of other business owners shared similar sentiments.
District legislator Jackie Cheung Yick-hung warned demonstrators that because the protests had gotten in the way of people going to work and school, residents could not be expected to tolerate them indefinitely. “The patience that residents have towards these protestors is reaching breaking point,” Cheung said.
5.15pm Causeway Bay: About one hundred people are on the Yee Wo Street and Hennessy Road, either occupying the roads or simply engaging in conversations about politics in Hong Kong. No anti-Occupy protesters wearing blue ribbons are in the area near theSogo shopping mall. However some residents are complaining about the inconvenience caused by the protests. A group of protesters started singing "Happy Birthday" to an old man who was particularly aggressive towards them.
4.45pm: A group of Mong Kok residents and business owners complain that the ongoing sit-in has affected their daily lives and businesses at a forum held in a park for people to express their grievances. An investor in a restaurant chain, who only gives his surname as Cheung, says he has a couple of restaurants in Causeway Bay and Mong Kok. He says takings at his restaurant chain are down HK$100,000 per day since the protests started 10 days ago. "In the short term, we could still hang in there. The impact has not emerged yet," he says. "We have no plans to ask our staff to go on unpaid leave to minimise losses."
4.20pm: Frank Ching writes that the students' achievement in highlighting to the world Hong Kong's fight for democracy could help enable change.
Re: Give me Liberty or Give me Death! Giordano Tycoon joins Occupy Central!
This one is a seow ting tong.....
Since when did Britain abandon HKG?
She conveniently chooses to forget that HKG was leased off to Britain as a trading harbor under humiliation and the opium curse.
HKG was to be returned to China in 1997, not as a sovereign country, but as part of China.
To ask for democracy is to ask for independence from China.
Do it like what the population of Crimea did. All went for a referendum, whether legal or not, but do it. If overwhelmingly agree to break away, then China will have nothing to say......except use force to prevent it from happening.
With 800,000 signing some fucked referendum, it means nothing. Let's see 7 millions Hong Kongers go for a referendum, then we know if Hong Kong people really want democracy or not. To ask for democracy is to ask for independence from China.
Wishful thinking. And retarded to try her best to get Britain involved. She's stupid. She still thinks Britain is that powerful? She must have been living under a fucking rock all these years!
This one is a seow ting tong.....
Since when did Britain abandon HKG?
She conveniently chooses to forget that HKG was leased off to Britain as a trading harbor under humiliation and the opium curse.
HKG was to be returned to China in 1997, not as a sovereign country, but as part of China.
To ask for democracy is to ask for independence from China.
Do it like what the population of Crimea did. All went for a referendum, whether legal or not, but do it. If overwhelmingly agree to break away, then China will have nothing to say......except use force to prevent it from happening.
With 800,000 signing some fucked referendum, it means nothing. Let's see 7 millions Hong Kongers go for a referendum, then we know if Hong Kong people really want democracy or not. To ask for democracy is to ask for independence from China.
Wishful thinking. And retarded to try her best to get Britain involved. She's stupid. She still thinks Britain is that powerful? She must have been living under a fucking rock all these years!
Re: M Ravi: Law minister understanding of HK basic law is seriously flawed
Live: Chief Secretary Carrie Lam to meet Federation of Students leaders on Friday
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 7:06am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 08 October, 2014, 1:19am
Staff reporters
Occupy demonstrators continue to block the main highway in Admiralty on the tenth night of protests. Photo: AP
With the number of protesters continuing to dwindle as the Occupy Central protests enter their tenth night and largely remain peaceful, we have decided to discontinue our overnight live blog from 11.30pm tonight. We will start a new live blog from 8am tomorrow morning, which will continue throughout the day. If there is any breaking news overnight, we plan to reinstate scmp.com's live blog immediately.
11.40pm HKU: Speaking after the preparatory meeting tonight, students express disappointment and anger at the dialogue agenda proposed by the government. But they decided the dialogue should go ahead to force the government facing the students' demands. "If they [government officials] do not try to face our demands or propose ways to solve the political problems directly, we may end the dialogue," warned Lester Shum, deputy Secretary General of Federation of Students.
Shum said the protests would continue despite the imminent dialogue, "People are ready to come out again if the government fails to demonstrate sincerity of solving the political crisis." Shum also warned that the dialogue could end if the government began actions to clear the protest sites or failed to guarantee the safety of protesters.
Shum said that the student leaders would discuss with other protest leaders - including the Occupy Central co-founders and Scholarism leaders - to decided whether to invite them to attend the Friday's dialogue.
Joshua Wong Chi-Fung, convenor of student activist group Scholarism, called on members of the public to gather at Harcourt Road in Admiralty on Friday afternoon to support the students in their talks with officials.
11.15pm Mong Kok: Thousands of people, including Occupy protesters and pedestrians, pack the junction of Nathan Road and Argyle Street, at the sit-in site. A public forum at the main protesters' tent is ongoing, while others discuss the future of the campaign.
Andy Yung, 30, is guarding a line of makeshift barricades on Argyle Street near Sai Yeung Choi Street South in protective gear against interference from thugs.
11.00pm HKU: Undersecretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Lau Kong-wah and leaders of the Federation of Students held the third preparatory meeting to set up a formal meeting with Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. They agreed to hold the first session of formal dialogue on Friday at 4pm. The venue has yet to be confirmed.
The first dialogue would be separated into two sessions - with the themes of discussing the constitutional basis and the legal basis of the constitutional development respectively. A maximum of five people can attend from each side, and the talks will be made open to the media. However, the meeting will be closed to public.
Lau said Carrie Lam and Secretary of Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-Keung and Secretary of Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam Chi-yuen would attend the dialogue. Further arrangements for future dialogue will be discussed after the first meeting on Friday.
10.45pm Admiralty: Two female protesters bed down under blankets and scarves outside the chief executive's office as the temperature feels noticeably autumnal. Around 40 protesters dot the area around the entrance to the chief executive's office on Tim Wa Avenue. It has been a quiet evening on the site with occasional supportive beeps from passing cars and at least one flurry of abuse aimed at protesters from a passing taxi driver.
10.15pm Admiralty: rare get-together occurs between pro-Beijing, pro-democratic and former government respresentatives at Tamar Park near the Occupy rally in Admiralty. Pro-democratic law lecturer Eric Cheung Tat-ming, former senior assistant police commissioner Tang How-kong and Holden Chow Ho-ting, chairman of the Young DAB, a branch of the Beijing-loyalist Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, joined a forum on how to deal with emotional problems. Despite their political backgrounds and Occupy Central being a hot topic, they steered clear of the subject. But they hinted to the issue by talking about openness, tolerance and the importance of communication.
Holden Chow (second left), Eric Cheung (third left) and Tang How-kong (centre). Photo: Shirley Zhao
10.00pm: Representatives of European Union countries stationed in Hong Kong expressed concern about the Occupy protests in an annual meeting with the city’s lawmakers this afternoon. Democrat Helena Wong Pik-wan, one of the five legislators that attended the meeting, said the European diplomats asked about the latest situation on Occupy Central, and what the outcome could likely be.
"Some expressed concern over constitutional reform, especially on whether we would 'pocket what we've got', and whether Legco members will filibuster. I explained to them the movement was peaceful and its aim was only to fight for universal suffrage and we were not staging a revolution. They understood our position."
Wong said the consulate members expressed hope that there would be positive outcome stemming from the Hong Kong government's dialogue with students over constitutional reform, and they did not express any worries over Hong Kong's business environment. Another lawmaker, who declined to be named, said that the diplomats urged lawmakers to help “solve the political problem in a political way”. One of them noted that democratic development in any country could take a long time to achieve.
9.30pm Admiralty: Protesters at the main protest site jeer an elderly speaker after he took to the stage to tell the audience that full democracy in Hong Kong could not be achieved in one goal. The man criticised some lawmakers for slowing down Hong Kong's development by attempting to block government plans to build more public housing. The man was stopped mid-speech by the emcee and asked to leave the stage.
Pro-government protest leader Leticia Lee gives a speech before attempting to march through Admiralty. Photo: AFP
9.00pm Admiralty: Hundreds of Occupy Central protesters boo and chase away an anti-Occupy and pro-police group sporting blue ribbons, after the group attempted to gain access to the Occupy site in Admiralty. "This is violence," said the group's organiser Leticia Lee. "This is not real democracy. You are bullying a woman. I will come back." During the confrontation between the pro- and anti-Occupy Central groups, pro-democracy protesters shouted at the "blue ribbon" group, and mocked them for getting "paid to demonstrate," while attempting to shout them down. Lee and her group were escorted from the scene by a dozen police officers, some with shields, through a carpark to Admiralty MTR station.
8.30pm Causeway Bay: A string of multicoloured paper birds hang in Yee Wo Street. More than a hundred paper birds were found by accident in the supplies area by one an Occupy volunteer, who decided to hang the birds up in the street. The paper birds carry messages like "support Hong Kong." About 200 hundred people are in the protest site, which stretches from Yee Wo Street to Hennessy Road. The mood is relaxed, with many just having finished work. Some are reading, chatting or folding more paper birds. About 20 policeman are patrolling the area.
Live: Chief Secretary Carrie Lam to meet Federation of Students leaders on Friday
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 07 October, 2014, 7:06am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 08 October, 2014, 1:19am
Staff reporters
Occupy demonstrators continue to block the main highway in Admiralty on the tenth night of protests. Photo: AP
With the number of protesters continuing to dwindle as the Occupy Central protests enter their tenth night and largely remain peaceful, we have decided to discontinue our overnight live blog from 11.30pm tonight. We will start a new live blog from 8am tomorrow morning, which will continue throughout the day. If there is any breaking news overnight, we plan to reinstate scmp.com's live blog immediately.
11.40pm HKU: Speaking after the preparatory meeting tonight, students express disappointment and anger at the dialogue agenda proposed by the government. But they decided the dialogue should go ahead to force the government facing the students' demands. "If they [government officials] do not try to face our demands or propose ways to solve the political problems directly, we may end the dialogue," warned Lester Shum, deputy Secretary General of Federation of Students.
Shum said the protests would continue despite the imminent dialogue, "People are ready to come out again if the government fails to demonstrate sincerity of solving the political crisis." Shum also warned that the dialogue could end if the government began actions to clear the protest sites or failed to guarantee the safety of protesters.
Shum said that the student leaders would discuss with other protest leaders - including the Occupy Central co-founders and Scholarism leaders - to decided whether to invite them to attend the Friday's dialogue.
Joshua Wong Chi-Fung, convenor of student activist group Scholarism, called on members of the public to gather at Harcourt Road in Admiralty on Friday afternoon to support the students in their talks with officials.
11.15pm Mong Kok: Thousands of people, including Occupy protesters and pedestrians, pack the junction of Nathan Road and Argyle Street, at the sit-in site. A public forum at the main protesters' tent is ongoing, while others discuss the future of the campaign.
Andy Yung, 30, is guarding a line of makeshift barricades on Argyle Street near Sai Yeung Choi Street South in protective gear against interference from thugs.
11.00pm HKU: Undersecretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Lau Kong-wah and leaders of the Federation of Students held the third preparatory meeting to set up a formal meeting with Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. They agreed to hold the first session of formal dialogue on Friday at 4pm. The venue has yet to be confirmed.
The first dialogue would be separated into two sessions - with the themes of discussing the constitutional basis and the legal basis of the constitutional development respectively. A maximum of five people can attend from each side, and the talks will be made open to the media. However, the meeting will be closed to public.
Lau said Carrie Lam and Secretary of Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-Keung and Secretary of Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam Chi-yuen would attend the dialogue. Further arrangements for future dialogue will be discussed after the first meeting on Friday.
10.45pm Admiralty: Two female protesters bed down under blankets and scarves outside the chief executive's office as the temperature feels noticeably autumnal. Around 40 protesters dot the area around the entrance to the chief executive's office on Tim Wa Avenue. It has been a quiet evening on the site with occasional supportive beeps from passing cars and at least one flurry of abuse aimed at protesters from a passing taxi driver.
10.15pm Admiralty: rare get-together occurs between pro-Beijing, pro-democratic and former government respresentatives at Tamar Park near the Occupy rally in Admiralty. Pro-democratic law lecturer Eric Cheung Tat-ming, former senior assistant police commissioner Tang How-kong and Holden Chow Ho-ting, chairman of the Young DAB, a branch of the Beijing-loyalist Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, joined a forum on how to deal with emotional problems. Despite their political backgrounds and Occupy Central being a hot topic, they steered clear of the subject. But they hinted to the issue by talking about openness, tolerance and the importance of communication.
Holden Chow (second left), Eric Cheung (third left) and Tang How-kong (centre). Photo: Shirley Zhao
10.00pm: Representatives of European Union countries stationed in Hong Kong expressed concern about the Occupy protests in an annual meeting with the city’s lawmakers this afternoon. Democrat Helena Wong Pik-wan, one of the five legislators that attended the meeting, said the European diplomats asked about the latest situation on Occupy Central, and what the outcome could likely be.
"Some expressed concern over constitutional reform, especially on whether we would 'pocket what we've got', and whether Legco members will filibuster. I explained to them the movement was peaceful and its aim was only to fight for universal suffrage and we were not staging a revolution. They understood our position."
Wong said the consulate members expressed hope that there would be positive outcome stemming from the Hong Kong government's dialogue with students over constitutional reform, and they did not express any worries over Hong Kong's business environment. Another lawmaker, who declined to be named, said that the diplomats urged lawmakers to help “solve the political problem in a political way”. One of them noted that democratic development in any country could take a long time to achieve.
9.30pm Admiralty: Protesters at the main protest site jeer an elderly speaker after he took to the stage to tell the audience that full democracy in Hong Kong could not be achieved in one goal. The man criticised some lawmakers for slowing down Hong Kong's development by attempting to block government plans to build more public housing. The man was stopped mid-speech by the emcee and asked to leave the stage.
Pro-government protest leader Leticia Lee gives a speech before attempting to march through Admiralty. Photo: AFP
9.00pm Admiralty: Hundreds of Occupy Central protesters boo and chase away an anti-Occupy and pro-police group sporting blue ribbons, after the group attempted to gain access to the Occupy site in Admiralty. "This is violence," said the group's organiser Leticia Lee. "This is not real democracy. You are bullying a woman. I will come back." During the confrontation between the pro- and anti-Occupy Central groups, pro-democracy protesters shouted at the "blue ribbon" group, and mocked them for getting "paid to demonstrate," while attempting to shout them down. Lee and her group were escorted from the scene by a dozen police officers, some with shields, through a carpark to Admiralty MTR station.
8.30pm Causeway Bay: A string of multicoloured paper birds hang in Yee Wo Street. More than a hundred paper birds were found by accident in the supplies area by one an Occupy volunteer, who decided to hang the birds up in the street. The paper birds carry messages like "support Hong Kong." About 200 hundred people are in the protest site, which stretches from Yee Wo Street to Hennessy Road. The mood is relaxed, with many just having finished work. Some are reading, chatting or folding more paper birds. About 20 policeman are patrolling the area.
Re: Anarchists & Opportunist Abound in HK Chaos
LIVE: Remaining Occupy protesters wary of government dialogue set for Friday
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 08 October, 2014, 8:34am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 08 October, 2014, 11:30am
Staff reporters
Good morning and welcome to our continuing coverage of the Occupy movement.
Occupy Central protest sites are quiet on Wednesday morning. Authorities kept their distance overnight.
The government has agreed to talks between Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and students to be held on Friday. Students reacted with disappointment because the agenda set by government did not directly address their demands - for genuine universal suffrage and public nomination.
Stay tuned for all the breaking news.
11.05am: The atmosphere is sleepy and sedate at protest camps across the city. There are exactly 33 people in the Causeway Bay site, according to a reporter in the field. People are sleeping, reading newspapers or browsing on their phones.
Across the harbour, in Mong Kok, there are about 80 people also milling about, reading or sleeping.
A protester sleeps on an island Harcourt Road in Admiralty. Photo: Robert Ng
The scene in Causeway Bay. Photo: Alan Yu
10.43am: Civic Party lawmaker Dennis Kwok called on the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the nation's legislature, to rethink its stance on Hong Kong election reform, according to RTHK.
Kwok, the Hong Kong Legislative Council's legal representative, said Beijing's stubbornness on the issue caused the "political crisis" in the territory, the report said.
He urged CY Leung's administration to engage in genuine dialogue with the students.
10.15am: Volunteers are distributing free coffee, brown rice tea and pineapple buns to the protesters in Admiralty. An estimated 100 protesters are scattered along Harcourt Road this morning. In previous days, numbers typically fall in the morning as some protesters head to work or school, then it picks up again after hours.
Meanwhile, hunger striker Benny Mok had first-aid volunteers worried when he disappeared from his spot near their tent. The volunteers went around Admiralty with a sign, looking for him. It turned out Mok just went back to his original perch, in a different area, to give three media interviews.
Mok said he liked the spot because there were two security cameras there.
9.46am: Hunger striker Benny Mok Siu-man has decided not to turn himself in to police today as planned.
Mok wanted to surrender to police for illegally occupying the road as a symbolic act. However, the former government surveyor, who has been on hunger strike for seven days to push for genuine universal suffrage, said his lawyers have advised him against the move as it would put himself and the Occupy movement at risk.
“If I turn myself in, I have to provide evidence to prove my guilt," he said.
Mok was there when police fired tear gas at protesters on September 28, the day that Occupy announced the start of its civil disobedience movement. He has said he wanted to awaken Hongkongers to the need for democracy. While on hunger strike, he has been giving numerous interviews to the foreign and local press and is regularly visited by doctors and nurses, he said.
Former government surveyor Benny Mok went on hunger strike for democracy. Photo: Peter So
9.05am: Civil servants head to work at government headquarters in Admiralty through the footbridge from Admiralty Centre. A passage has been left for them to walk through.
Kitty Choi, director of administration, called for protesters to clear way for vehicles that collected government mail.
Back to work: people take the footbridge over Harcourt Road in Admiralty. Photo: David Wong
9am: Dozens of bus routes have been suspended as pro-democracy protesters continue to block major roads in Admiralty and Mong Kok.
Protesters in Admiralty on Wednesday. Photo: David Wong
A protester outside the Tamar government offices on Wednesday. Photo: David Wong
8.45am: Crowd estimates at protest sites by our reporters on the ground:
Admiralty: 100
Mong Kok: 200
8.30am: Here's a look at the Post's front-page on Wednesday:
8.15am: Excerpts from the Post's coverage of the Occupy movement in our print edition on Wednesday:
Life during Occupy Central: Profiles of Hongkongers
The Post talked to people around the city to find out what life has been like in occupied Hong Kong.
State Council commissions report into Occupy Central's economic impact
A source with direct knowledge of the study said it aimed to gauge if investors had changed their assessment of Hong Kong and its economic prospects in the wake of the demonstrations.
Students and Hong Kong government reach breakthrough on talks to end Occupy Central stand-off
Despite the talks, Federation of Students' deputy leader Lester Shum said the protests would continue until there were clear signs of progress.
Patience wears thin among Hong Kong businesses over Occupy protests
An investor said takings at his restaurants in Causeway Bay and Mong Kok had declined HK$100,000 per day since major traffic junctions were blocked.
HKU pollster says protesters need some democracy in their own ranks
A growing number of conflicts have emerged including over when to retreat from protest zones and what concessions the protesters might accept.
Police negotiators facing 'toughest challenge yet' at Occupy sites
Some officers worked 24-hour shifts trying to negotiate pathways for emergency vehicles and defuse tensions between frontline police and protesters, often amid a barrage of insults and with little success.
Mong Kok in the early hours of Wednesday. Photo: Danny Mok
8.00am: The front-page headlines of major local newspapers on Wednesday:
Apple Daily: The students and the government agree to talk on Friday. The government insists to discuss constitutional and legal issue first. The students warn: Don't fool Hongkongers
Oriental Daily: Occupy Central tears society apart. Arguments spread rapidly, relatives turned into enemies
Sun: People weep over severe traffic congestion as they go to work, return to schools
Hong Kong Economic Journal: Hang Seng index rises for three consecutive days, compensates the impact made by Occupy movement
Hong Kong Economic Times: Economy faces double blows by the Occupy movement's potential impact and interest rate increase pressure
Ming Pao: Dialogue set for Friday that covers the constitutional and legal basis of the constitutional development, Federation of Students disappointed
Singtao: Friday's dialogue between Carrie Lam and students could break down
Admiralty in the early hours of Wednesday. Photo: Eddie Lee
7.45am: Here's a summary of what happened overnight:
* Students expressed disappointment and anger at the dialogue agenda proposed by the government for talks on Friday, but decided the dialogue should go ahead to confront the government with the students' demands for universal suffrage and the dismissal of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.
* Hundreds, and at times thousands, or people converged at the protest site in Mong Kok in the night to Wednesday, debating the future of the pro-democracy movement and its impact on the territory's economy.
* Representatives of European Union countries stationed in Hong Kong expressed concern about the Occupy protests in an annual meeting with the city’s lawmakers.
* No major confrontations between critics and supporters of the Occupy movement occurred. Police did not attempt to clear protest sites.
LIVE: Remaining Occupy protesters wary of government dialogue set for Friday
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 08 October, 2014, 8:34am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 08 October, 2014, 11:30am
Staff reporters
Good morning and welcome to our continuing coverage of the Occupy movement.
Occupy Central protest sites are quiet on Wednesday morning. Authorities kept their distance overnight.
The government has agreed to talks between Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and students to be held on Friday. Students reacted with disappointment because the agenda set by government did not directly address their demands - for genuine universal suffrage and public nomination.
Stay tuned for all the breaking news.
11.05am: The atmosphere is sleepy and sedate at protest camps across the city. There are exactly 33 people in the Causeway Bay site, according to a reporter in the field. People are sleeping, reading newspapers or browsing on their phones.
Across the harbour, in Mong Kok, there are about 80 people also milling about, reading or sleeping.
A protester sleeps on an island Harcourt Road in Admiralty. Photo: Robert Ng
The scene in Causeway Bay. Photo: Alan Yu
10.43am: Civic Party lawmaker Dennis Kwok called on the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the nation's legislature, to rethink its stance on Hong Kong election reform, according to RTHK.
Kwok, the Hong Kong Legislative Council's legal representative, said Beijing's stubbornness on the issue caused the "political crisis" in the territory, the report said.
He urged CY Leung's administration to engage in genuine dialogue with the students.
10.15am: Volunteers are distributing free coffee, brown rice tea and pineapple buns to the protesters in Admiralty. An estimated 100 protesters are scattered along Harcourt Road this morning. In previous days, numbers typically fall in the morning as some protesters head to work or school, then it picks up again after hours.
Meanwhile, hunger striker Benny Mok had first-aid volunteers worried when he disappeared from his spot near their tent. The volunteers went around Admiralty with a sign, looking for him. It turned out Mok just went back to his original perch, in a different area, to give three media interviews.
Mok said he liked the spot because there were two security cameras there.
9.46am: Hunger striker Benny Mok Siu-man has decided not to turn himself in to police today as planned.
Mok wanted to surrender to police for illegally occupying the road as a symbolic act. However, the former government surveyor, who has been on hunger strike for seven days to push for genuine universal suffrage, said his lawyers have advised him against the move as it would put himself and the Occupy movement at risk.
“If I turn myself in, I have to provide evidence to prove my guilt," he said.
Mok was there when police fired tear gas at protesters on September 28, the day that Occupy announced the start of its civil disobedience movement. He has said he wanted to awaken Hongkongers to the need for democracy. While on hunger strike, he has been giving numerous interviews to the foreign and local press and is regularly visited by doctors and nurses, he said.
Former government surveyor Benny Mok went on hunger strike for democracy. Photo: Peter So
9.05am: Civil servants head to work at government headquarters in Admiralty through the footbridge from Admiralty Centre. A passage has been left for them to walk through.
Kitty Choi, director of administration, called for protesters to clear way for vehicles that collected government mail.
Back to work: people take the footbridge over Harcourt Road in Admiralty. Photo: David Wong
9am: Dozens of bus routes have been suspended as pro-democracy protesters continue to block major roads in Admiralty and Mong Kok.
Protesters in Admiralty on Wednesday. Photo: David Wong
A protester outside the Tamar government offices on Wednesday. Photo: David Wong
8.45am: Crowd estimates at protest sites by our reporters on the ground:
Admiralty: 100
Mong Kok: 200
8.30am: Here's a look at the Post's front-page on Wednesday:
8.15am: Excerpts from the Post's coverage of the Occupy movement in our print edition on Wednesday:
Life during Occupy Central: Profiles of Hongkongers
The Post talked to people around the city to find out what life has been like in occupied Hong Kong.
State Council commissions report into Occupy Central's economic impact
A source with direct knowledge of the study said it aimed to gauge if investors had changed their assessment of Hong Kong and its economic prospects in the wake of the demonstrations.
Students and Hong Kong government reach breakthrough on talks to end Occupy Central stand-off
Despite the talks, Federation of Students' deputy leader Lester Shum said the protests would continue until there were clear signs of progress.
Patience wears thin among Hong Kong businesses over Occupy protests
An investor said takings at his restaurants in Causeway Bay and Mong Kok had declined HK$100,000 per day since major traffic junctions were blocked.
HKU pollster says protesters need some democracy in their own ranks
A growing number of conflicts have emerged including over when to retreat from protest zones and what concessions the protesters might accept.
Police negotiators facing 'toughest challenge yet' at Occupy sites
Some officers worked 24-hour shifts trying to negotiate pathways for emergency vehicles and defuse tensions between frontline police and protesters, often amid a barrage of insults and with little success.
Mong Kok in the early hours of Wednesday. Photo: Danny Mok
8.00am: The front-page headlines of major local newspapers on Wednesday:
Apple Daily: The students and the government agree to talk on Friday. The government insists to discuss constitutional and legal issue first. The students warn: Don't fool Hongkongers
Oriental Daily: Occupy Central tears society apart. Arguments spread rapidly, relatives turned into enemies
Sun: People weep over severe traffic congestion as they go to work, return to schools
Hong Kong Economic Journal: Hang Seng index rises for three consecutive days, compensates the impact made by Occupy movement
Hong Kong Economic Times: Economy faces double blows by the Occupy movement's potential impact and interest rate increase pressure
Ming Pao: Dialogue set for Friday that covers the constitutional and legal basis of the constitutional development, Federation of Students disappointed
Singtao: Friday's dialogue between Carrie Lam and students could break down
Admiralty in the early hours of Wednesday. Photo: Eddie Lee
7.45am: Here's a summary of what happened overnight:
* Students expressed disappointment and anger at the dialogue agenda proposed by the government for talks on Friday, but decided the dialogue should go ahead to confront the government with the students' demands for universal suffrage and the dismissal of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.
* Hundreds, and at times thousands, or people converged at the protest site in Mong Kok in the night to Wednesday, debating the future of the pro-democracy movement and its impact on the territory's economy.
* Representatives of European Union countries stationed in Hong Kong expressed concern about the Occupy protests in an annual meeting with the city’s lawmakers.
* No major confrontations between critics and supporters of the Occupy movement occurred. Police did not attempt to clear protest sites.
Re: Anarchists & Opportunist Abound in HK Chaos
Life during the Occupy movement: Profiles of Hongkongers
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 08 October, 2014, 3:26am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 08 October, 2014, 11:53am
Staff reporters
There can be few in Hong Kong who have not been touched in some way by the pro-democracy Occupy protests. The Post talked to people around the city to find out what life has been like in occupied Hong Kong.
Benny Mok Siu-man, hunger striker. "It's a very good campaign. Hongkongers are highly disciplined." Photo: Dickson Lee
"I'm weak in body but strong in spirit"
Benny Mok Siu-man, 51, knelt down in front of police officers firing tear gas at Occupy protesters on September 28. On Tuesday, the former government surveyor was on the sixth day of a hunger strike outside government headquarters in Admiralty. “I'm weak in body but strong in spirit," Mok said.
Greeted by passers-by from time to time, Mok said he wanted to “occupy people's hearts" and awaken Hongkongers to the need for democracy. He sees major problems with the government's campaign to "pocket" a reform package for the next chief executive election that would fulfil Beijing's demands, with the chance that further democratisation could be possible for future elections. He wants officials to answer his questions about that strategy.
Of the Occupy movement, Mok said: “It's a very good campaign. Hongkongers are highly disciplined." But he urged organisers to form a committee to prioritise future action. “[The organisers] are afraid of being criticised for dominating the campaign. But I think they have overreacted."
Looking pale, Mok said doctors and nurses had visited him regularly to monitor his health. He has high blood pressure and low blood sugar, according to a nurse who visited him on Monday. Family members who visited on Sunday expressed concerns over his health, he added.
As well as the medical team, Mok was also constantly visited by foreign and local press. “I've given interviews in many languages in the past few days, almost all except Korean and Japanese," Mok joked.
He will go to police headquarters in Wan Chai to turn himself in on Wednesday for occupying the road. “It will mark the end of my strike," he said.
Thomas Chan
Lee Ching-hong, protester. "CY Leung never disclosed or explained his negotiations with the central government." Photo: Alan Yu
"I’ll stay at my post and hold on to our protest areas for as long as I can"
The protests are abating in Causeway Bay but for 42-year-old Lee Ching-hong, the stakes just got higher. He quit his job as a mechanical engineer two days ago to join the protest full time.
"I’ll stay at my post and hold on to our protest areas for as long as I can," he said. "We have to make sacrifices, and some fellow protestors are also thinking about how long we’ll keep doing this. With that in mind, I decided to leave my job."
Lee now walks around the protest area in Causeway Bay with a towel over his head and a face mask, cleaning up litter and arranging the supplies piled in what used to be a tram station. He says he goes back home to shower and see his wife once in a while, and that she supports his decision. He slept on the street in Causeway Bay on Sunday and Monday.
"I’ve been following the movement closely since it started, and all this time I’ve been thinking if I should keep going to work and watch how it develops, or if I should make one last push so my generation and the one after can finally choose the chief executive they want."
He says the recent rules set out by the National People’s Congress showed that not even proposals from scholars or pro-government, pro-Beijing parties could make it past the central government. Past political efforts had all been for nothing.
"CY Leung never disclosed or explained his negotiations with the central government," Lee said. "That’s enough to make Hongkongers from all walks of life come out and tell the world what they really think."
Lee will leave the protest site once the Hong Kong government abolishes the non-directly elected functional constituencies for the 2016 Legislative Council elections; once Hongkongers can choose who to nominate for their chief executive; and once the National People’s Congress takes back its ruling on universal suffrage in Hong Kong.
Alan Yu
Peter Wong, protester. "I was hit by gangsters a few days ago, and the police did not offer help." Photo: Sam Tsang
"This is going to be a long fight"
Peter Wong has been kicked, pushed and punched by anti-Occupy activists but it hasn’t deterred him from joining the Mong Kok protesters for the long term. And to prove it he has just bought a bed.
“I bought the bed to mark the 10th day here in this movement. This is going to be a long fight and there is no reason not to make myself comfortable,” said the 23-year-old who runs an online shop.
Wong said he joined the Occupy movement in Mong Kok when the police fired tear gas at protesters and had been there since. “I have a lot of memories here. It’s where I hung out when I was a kid. It is also where I used to take my girlfriends.”
He and friends have a roster to ensure someone is always on guard and he’s on the night shift. “I sleep until noon every day, go home take a shower, and I come back,” he said, adding that he was attacked "by gangsters a few days ago, and the police did not offer to help".
"We have never had any movements as big as this one," said Wong. "If we don’t get what we are fighting for this time, I doubt if we can ever get it."
Phila Siu
Alexandra Wong, retired. "Politicians can lie. Officials can lie. Basically everyone can lie." Photo: Thomas Chan
"Hongkongers can live a harmonious life only when the city has true democracy"
Joining a handful of protesters outside the Chief Executive's Office at Tim Wa Avenue on a sweltering Monday morning was 58-year-old retiree Alexandra Wong, who has travelled back and forth between her Shenzhen home and Admiralty during the Occupy protests. Wong said the lengthy commute was worth it in order to stay with the students, because she believes true democracy will shape a better Hong Kong.
“I lived in Austria and the USA for many years. I understand the beauty of democracy," she said. “Hongkongers can live a harmonious life only when the city has true democracy."
Her recent years living in mainland China also made her understand how frustrating the Chinese political system is, Wong said. “Politicians can lie. Officials can lie. Basically everyone can lie," she said, adding that she did not want to see Hong Kong turning into yet another Chinese city.
Wong had been an accountant, a teacher and a shop manager before her retirement. “Whenever I saw unjust things in my workplace, I would surely argue with my bosses. This is my personality," she said.
Wong, who is recovering from breast cancer surgery, said she had lost five pounds during the protests, and was mentally tired after sleeping for a few nights on the street. But she planned to stick with the occupation as long as her health allowed.
“I’m going home to take a rest this afternoon. I will be back," she said.
Thomas Chan
Ku Wai-kit, student. "Maybe we’re still young, but nothing’s going to happen if you don’t take a stand." Photo: Alan Yu
"At least we can tell our children that back then, we took to the streets to fight for democracy"
Ku Wai-kit doesn't remember what it feels like to sleep in a proper bed. For the past 10 days he’s been protesting, first with the students boycotting classes, then as part of the larger Occupy Central movement.
The 19-year-old mathematics major at Chinese University slept on top of a garbage bag for the first week or so, and only got a sleeping bag and bamboo mattress from home this weekend. That was also the first time he saw his parents again since he had started protesting.
“My father questions why we’re causing trouble and he doesn’t see the point," he said. "My mother knows that we’re trying to do some good, but they both say what we’re doing is futile, because in the end the chief executive has to answer to Beijing.”
Ku says he, like many Hongkongers, didn’t really understand democracy at first.
“I think a lot of Hongkongers want democracy, but they never thought they’d have to fight for democracy like this. They’d come and sit for one night on June 4 [the anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown], and come out again on July 1 [for the annual pro-democracy march], and that’s it. "After walking for a day, they won’t do anything else for the rest of the year; like that annual walk is enough to soothe their conscience. I think this movement is a vast improvement,” said Ku.
He has not been to any of his classes for the past two weeks, choosing to go to public lectures at the protest zones. He says he’s still learning a lot, particularly about politics. Ku goes back to his dormitory once a day to shower and change, and he’s been to all three protest zones in Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok. With friends he takes turns to make sure there’s always someone at the protest areas.
“Maybe we’re still young, but nothing’s going to happen if you don’t take a stand," he said. "At least I tried. When we have sons and Hong Kong becomes just like another city on the mainland, at least we can tell our children that back then, we took to the streets to fight for democracy.”
Alan Yu
Yu Pak-to, artist. "I can express my feelings through sketching." Photo: Timmy Sung
"I can express my feelings through sketching"
While photography has been the dominant way to capture the extraordinary scenes at the three Occupy sites, some have used illustrations to record the historic events. Yu Pak-to, a 27-year-old artist, made sketches as he took part in the sit-ins.
“Many photos are being shared [on social media],” he said in Mong Kok on Monday night. “But I can express my feelings through sketching. The colour yellow is used to represent the movement.”
The sky over Mong Kok and Causeway Bay is painted black in Yu’s latest artwork. “That’s to represent Hong Kong’s gloomy future. We can’t see tomorrow, including for the democratic movement.”
Yu, a graduate from City University, said Mong Kok is the most special Occupy site to him. The people there come from all walks of life. “People came to me and ask me what am I drawing, it’s quite warm here,” he said.
Despite his parents warning that the protests were dangerous, Yu said he wanted to experience them for himself. “I want to record it and share it on my Facebook page. It is another way to show my concern.”
Timmy Sung
Sunny Cheung Kuan-yang, student. "My parents don't support me, but they also don't oppose me." Photo: Raquel Carvalho
"One has to sacrifice"
Sunny Cheung Kuan-yang, 18, has been at the protests for so long that he can hardly remember which was the first day he embraced the fight. "I think it was on Friday [September 26]. I don't even know what day it is today," he said.
Cheung, a social sciences student at Baptist University, has helped however he could, from "safeguarding the streets" to shouting slogans on the main stage at Causeway Bay. "We want to have true universal suffrage and get a satisfactory response from the government," he said.
Cheung said that the use of tear gas by police had driven his dissatisfaction. But his interest in politics and social issues began long ago, when he was just a child. "I started watching the news and reading. I became aware of social inequality and injustice in Hong Kong... So a feeling grew inside of me... I started feeling that I wanted to change that," he said, holding a book about political philosophy.
Cheung has been skipping classes and is ready to repeat his first year in university, since he doesn't think that he will fulfil the required number of classes to be eligible for exams. "One has to sacrifice," he said.
His parents haven't tried to deter him from taking to the streets. "They don't support me, but they also don't oppose me."
Cheung stressed that the protest has been led by spontaneous organisers. "We don't belong to any organisation, we are here to represent ourselves. No one can do that for us." He plans to join the student union of his university and then the Federation of Students.
Racquel Carvalho
Mok Yuk-lun, tailor. "[The protesters] put the rubbish into the bins by themselves. I think they have done a great job." Photo: Elizabeth Cheung
"Young people should understand that adults need to raise their children as well"
Mok Yuk-lun hopes the Occupy movement will end soon as business at the tiny Admiralty Centre tailor shop he runs with two other people has plunged 30 per cent in the past 10 days.
Most of his customers are people working in nearby offices and blockage of the bridge between Queensway Plaza and Admiralty Centre have kept them away.
“Usually our shop opens from 10.30am to 7.30pm. Now we open on time and close at 4.30pm,” said the tailor.
Despite the effect on his business, he said he was amazed at how disciplined the protesters had been. “They put the rubbish into the bins themselves. I think they have done a great job.”
Mok, who has worked at the shop for four years, marched for democracy on July 1 and says he respects the occupiers’ goals but says it should be on condition that it does not affect others’ lives. "Everyone has different perspectives,” he said.
“Businessmen have to earn money, while students want to ask for democracy … young people should understand adults need to raise their children as well.”
Elizabeth Cheung
Kenny Ho, shop owner. "Make a living is important, but I think I can afford the economic impact brought by the movement." Photo: Elizabeth Cheung
"Usually we open on public holidays, but this time we had to close"
Kenny Ho knows fewer people have visited his stationary shop in Admiralty Centre since the protests began but can’t put a figure on it. The news hasn’t been all bad however.
Surrounded by paper goods, toys and children’s favourite cartoon accessories, he says that while toy sales have dropped significantly, yellow ribbons, towels and masks have been great hits.
Because of the protests, he closed the shop from Monday to Thursday last week. “Usually we open on public holidays, but this time we had to close,” he said.
A veteran of pro-democracy protests in 2005 and 2006 who is also a businessman, he hopes the movement will end soon but not without achieving some goals.
“If they dismiss now without any accomplishment, there will only be an endless cycle and people will come out to protest and protest again.”
He is not against the principle of fighting for democracy. “Making a living is important, but I think I can afford the economic impact brought by the movement,” he said. But he thinks a more feasible method should be adopted.
Elizabeth Cheung
Tse Wah-chung, taxi driver. "My daughter urged me to support [the protesters], so I just did it." Photo: SCMP Pictures
"I have lost at least a third of my business"
Tse Wah-chung has strongly opposed the Occupy movement from the beginning and his business has suffered from the disruption. He also signed the anti-Occupy petition.
But that didn’t stop the 57-year-old taxi driver from taking bread to the protesters after police fired tear gas at them.
“I have lost at least a third of my business,” Tse said while eating his roasted duck and rice in his taxi. Trips in the affected area take much longer than usual. A journey from Hong Kong Station to Old Peak Road, for example, usually takes 10 minutes but he has had to switch to a route that takes up to an hour.
With this in mind, he confesses his act of kindness on September 29 didn’t result entirely from a change of heart.
“My daughter urged me to support them, so I just did it,” he smiled, referring to the 21-year-old who lives in Switzerland.
“Don’t look down on the value of stuff in these two small plastic bags, the bread I bought was expensive and good quality,” he said, showing a photograph he took at the time.
Eva Yuen, tea shop owner. "Ordinary citizens just want prosperity and jobs." Photo: Elizabeth Cheung
"Even during Sars business was better than now"
Eva Yuen owns a small Chinese herbal tea shop close to Nathan Road. She complained that her business has dropped 30 per cent after the Occupy movement took over parts of Mong Kok.
As many of her customers are from other districts, blockades of roads and diversions of bus routes mean that customers are diverted away as well.
“My shop has been running for more than 10 years…even during Sars [in 2003] business was better than now,” said Yuen.
She admitted that she does not support the Occupy movement as it has stirred up chaos. “It is fine to fight for freedom and universal suffrage, but don’t affect others and break their ‘rice bowls’,” she said. “Ordinary citizens just want prosperity and jobs.”
Yuen is also sceptical about the true motivation of the protesters. “Are they being manipulated? Maybe they do not know…now they are destructing themselves and creating internal conflicts.”
Elizabeth Cheung
Wong Yau-cheung, food stall owner. "I cannot even earn enough money for my rent now." Photo: Elizabeth Cheung
"Without any business, what am I going to eat?"
Wong Yau-cheung operates a street food stall on Nathan Road. “I cannot even earn enough money for my rent now…business has fallen more than 50 per cent,” she said.
Having run the food stall for about seven years, she said that the past weeks have been the first time her business has been badly hit. As the flow of customers has dried up, her wish now is that the Occupy movement comes to an end as soon as possible.
“Everyone is working for money. I am also working for banknotes only,” Wong said. “Without any business, what am I going to eat?”
Wong agrees with the cause of fighting for democracy, but said that the struggle must not put peace and safety at risk. Putting food on the table comes before anything else.
Elizabeth Cheung
Life during the Occupy movement: Profiles of Hongkongers
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 08 October, 2014, 3:26am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 08 October, 2014, 11:53am
Staff reporters
There can be few in Hong Kong who have not been touched in some way by the pro-democracy Occupy protests. The Post talked to people around the city to find out what life has been like in occupied Hong Kong.
Benny Mok Siu-man, hunger striker. "It's a very good campaign. Hongkongers are highly disciplined." Photo: Dickson Lee
"I'm weak in body but strong in spirit"
Benny Mok Siu-man, 51, knelt down in front of police officers firing tear gas at Occupy protesters on September 28. On Tuesday, the former government surveyor was on the sixth day of a hunger strike outside government headquarters in Admiralty. “I'm weak in body but strong in spirit," Mok said.
Greeted by passers-by from time to time, Mok said he wanted to “occupy people's hearts" and awaken Hongkongers to the need for democracy. He sees major problems with the government's campaign to "pocket" a reform package for the next chief executive election that would fulfil Beijing's demands, with the chance that further democratisation could be possible for future elections. He wants officials to answer his questions about that strategy.
Of the Occupy movement, Mok said: “It's a very good campaign. Hongkongers are highly disciplined." But he urged organisers to form a committee to prioritise future action. “[The organisers] are afraid of being criticised for dominating the campaign. But I think they have overreacted."
Looking pale, Mok said doctors and nurses had visited him regularly to monitor his health. He has high blood pressure and low blood sugar, according to a nurse who visited him on Monday. Family members who visited on Sunday expressed concerns over his health, he added.
As well as the medical team, Mok was also constantly visited by foreign and local press. “I've given interviews in many languages in the past few days, almost all except Korean and Japanese," Mok joked.
He will go to police headquarters in Wan Chai to turn himself in on Wednesday for occupying the road. “It will mark the end of my strike," he said.
Thomas Chan
Lee Ching-hong, protester. "CY Leung never disclosed or explained his negotiations with the central government." Photo: Alan Yu
"I’ll stay at my post and hold on to our protest areas for as long as I can"
The protests are abating in Causeway Bay but for 42-year-old Lee Ching-hong, the stakes just got higher. He quit his job as a mechanical engineer two days ago to join the protest full time.
"I’ll stay at my post and hold on to our protest areas for as long as I can," he said. "We have to make sacrifices, and some fellow protestors are also thinking about how long we’ll keep doing this. With that in mind, I decided to leave my job."
Lee now walks around the protest area in Causeway Bay with a towel over his head and a face mask, cleaning up litter and arranging the supplies piled in what used to be a tram station. He says he goes back home to shower and see his wife once in a while, and that she supports his decision. He slept on the street in Causeway Bay on Sunday and Monday.
"I’ve been following the movement closely since it started, and all this time I’ve been thinking if I should keep going to work and watch how it develops, or if I should make one last push so my generation and the one after can finally choose the chief executive they want."
He says the recent rules set out by the National People’s Congress showed that not even proposals from scholars or pro-government, pro-Beijing parties could make it past the central government. Past political efforts had all been for nothing.
"CY Leung never disclosed or explained his negotiations with the central government," Lee said. "That’s enough to make Hongkongers from all walks of life come out and tell the world what they really think."
Lee will leave the protest site once the Hong Kong government abolishes the non-directly elected functional constituencies for the 2016 Legislative Council elections; once Hongkongers can choose who to nominate for their chief executive; and once the National People’s Congress takes back its ruling on universal suffrage in Hong Kong.
Alan Yu
Peter Wong, protester. "I was hit by gangsters a few days ago, and the police did not offer help." Photo: Sam Tsang
"This is going to be a long fight"
Peter Wong has been kicked, pushed and punched by anti-Occupy activists but it hasn’t deterred him from joining the Mong Kok protesters for the long term. And to prove it he has just bought a bed.
“I bought the bed to mark the 10th day here in this movement. This is going to be a long fight and there is no reason not to make myself comfortable,” said the 23-year-old who runs an online shop.
Wong said he joined the Occupy movement in Mong Kok when the police fired tear gas at protesters and had been there since. “I have a lot of memories here. It’s where I hung out when I was a kid. It is also where I used to take my girlfriends.”
He and friends have a roster to ensure someone is always on guard and he’s on the night shift. “I sleep until noon every day, go home take a shower, and I come back,” he said, adding that he was attacked "by gangsters a few days ago, and the police did not offer to help".
"We have never had any movements as big as this one," said Wong. "If we don’t get what we are fighting for this time, I doubt if we can ever get it."
Phila Siu
Alexandra Wong, retired. "Politicians can lie. Officials can lie. Basically everyone can lie." Photo: Thomas Chan
"Hongkongers can live a harmonious life only when the city has true democracy"
Joining a handful of protesters outside the Chief Executive's Office at Tim Wa Avenue on a sweltering Monday morning was 58-year-old retiree Alexandra Wong, who has travelled back and forth between her Shenzhen home and Admiralty during the Occupy protests. Wong said the lengthy commute was worth it in order to stay with the students, because she believes true democracy will shape a better Hong Kong.
“I lived in Austria and the USA for many years. I understand the beauty of democracy," she said. “Hongkongers can live a harmonious life only when the city has true democracy."
Her recent years living in mainland China also made her understand how frustrating the Chinese political system is, Wong said. “Politicians can lie. Officials can lie. Basically everyone can lie," she said, adding that she did not want to see Hong Kong turning into yet another Chinese city.
Wong had been an accountant, a teacher and a shop manager before her retirement. “Whenever I saw unjust things in my workplace, I would surely argue with my bosses. This is my personality," she said.
Wong, who is recovering from breast cancer surgery, said she had lost five pounds during the protests, and was mentally tired after sleeping for a few nights on the street. But she planned to stick with the occupation as long as her health allowed.
“I’m going home to take a rest this afternoon. I will be back," she said.
Thomas Chan
Ku Wai-kit, student. "Maybe we’re still young, but nothing’s going to happen if you don’t take a stand." Photo: Alan Yu
"At least we can tell our children that back then, we took to the streets to fight for democracy"
Ku Wai-kit doesn't remember what it feels like to sleep in a proper bed. For the past 10 days he’s been protesting, first with the students boycotting classes, then as part of the larger Occupy Central movement.
The 19-year-old mathematics major at Chinese University slept on top of a garbage bag for the first week or so, and only got a sleeping bag and bamboo mattress from home this weekend. That was also the first time he saw his parents again since he had started protesting.
“My father questions why we’re causing trouble and he doesn’t see the point," he said. "My mother knows that we’re trying to do some good, but they both say what we’re doing is futile, because in the end the chief executive has to answer to Beijing.”
Ku says he, like many Hongkongers, didn’t really understand democracy at first.
“I think a lot of Hongkongers want democracy, but they never thought they’d have to fight for democracy like this. They’d come and sit for one night on June 4 [the anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown], and come out again on July 1 [for the annual pro-democracy march], and that’s it. "After walking for a day, they won’t do anything else for the rest of the year; like that annual walk is enough to soothe their conscience. I think this movement is a vast improvement,” said Ku.
He has not been to any of his classes for the past two weeks, choosing to go to public lectures at the protest zones. He says he’s still learning a lot, particularly about politics. Ku goes back to his dormitory once a day to shower and change, and he’s been to all three protest zones in Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok. With friends he takes turns to make sure there’s always someone at the protest areas.
“Maybe we’re still young, but nothing’s going to happen if you don’t take a stand," he said. "At least I tried. When we have sons and Hong Kong becomes just like another city on the mainland, at least we can tell our children that back then, we took to the streets to fight for democracy.”
Alan Yu
Yu Pak-to, artist. "I can express my feelings through sketching." Photo: Timmy Sung
"I can express my feelings through sketching"
While photography has been the dominant way to capture the extraordinary scenes at the three Occupy sites, some have used illustrations to record the historic events. Yu Pak-to, a 27-year-old artist, made sketches as he took part in the sit-ins.
“Many photos are being shared [on social media],” he said in Mong Kok on Monday night. “But I can express my feelings through sketching. The colour yellow is used to represent the movement.”
The sky over Mong Kok and Causeway Bay is painted black in Yu’s latest artwork. “That’s to represent Hong Kong’s gloomy future. We can’t see tomorrow, including for the democratic movement.”
Yu, a graduate from City University, said Mong Kok is the most special Occupy site to him. The people there come from all walks of life. “People came to me and ask me what am I drawing, it’s quite warm here,” he said.
Despite his parents warning that the protests were dangerous, Yu said he wanted to experience them for himself. “I want to record it and share it on my Facebook page. It is another way to show my concern.”
Timmy Sung
Sunny Cheung Kuan-yang, student. "My parents don't support me, but they also don't oppose me." Photo: Raquel Carvalho
"One has to sacrifice"
Sunny Cheung Kuan-yang, 18, has been at the protests for so long that he can hardly remember which was the first day he embraced the fight. "I think it was on Friday [September 26]. I don't even know what day it is today," he said.
Cheung, a social sciences student at Baptist University, has helped however he could, from "safeguarding the streets" to shouting slogans on the main stage at Causeway Bay. "We want to have true universal suffrage and get a satisfactory response from the government," he said.
Cheung said that the use of tear gas by police had driven his dissatisfaction. But his interest in politics and social issues began long ago, when he was just a child. "I started watching the news and reading. I became aware of social inequality and injustice in Hong Kong... So a feeling grew inside of me... I started feeling that I wanted to change that," he said, holding a book about political philosophy.
Cheung has been skipping classes and is ready to repeat his first year in university, since he doesn't think that he will fulfil the required number of classes to be eligible for exams. "One has to sacrifice," he said.
His parents haven't tried to deter him from taking to the streets. "They don't support me, but they also don't oppose me."
Cheung stressed that the protest has been led by spontaneous organisers. "We don't belong to any organisation, we are here to represent ourselves. No one can do that for us." He plans to join the student union of his university and then the Federation of Students.
Racquel Carvalho
Mok Yuk-lun, tailor. "[The protesters] put the rubbish into the bins by themselves. I think they have done a great job." Photo: Elizabeth Cheung
"Young people should understand that adults need to raise their children as well"
Mok Yuk-lun hopes the Occupy movement will end soon as business at the tiny Admiralty Centre tailor shop he runs with two other people has plunged 30 per cent in the past 10 days.
Most of his customers are people working in nearby offices and blockage of the bridge between Queensway Plaza and Admiralty Centre have kept them away.
“Usually our shop opens from 10.30am to 7.30pm. Now we open on time and close at 4.30pm,” said the tailor.
Despite the effect on his business, he said he was amazed at how disciplined the protesters had been. “They put the rubbish into the bins themselves. I think they have done a great job.”
Mok, who has worked at the shop for four years, marched for democracy on July 1 and says he respects the occupiers’ goals but says it should be on condition that it does not affect others’ lives. "Everyone has different perspectives,” he said.
“Businessmen have to earn money, while students want to ask for democracy … young people should understand adults need to raise their children as well.”
Elizabeth Cheung
Kenny Ho, shop owner. "Make a living is important, but I think I can afford the economic impact brought by the movement." Photo: Elizabeth Cheung
"Usually we open on public holidays, but this time we had to close"
Kenny Ho knows fewer people have visited his stationary shop in Admiralty Centre since the protests began but can’t put a figure on it. The news hasn’t been all bad however.
Surrounded by paper goods, toys and children’s favourite cartoon accessories, he says that while toy sales have dropped significantly, yellow ribbons, towels and masks have been great hits.
Because of the protests, he closed the shop from Monday to Thursday last week. “Usually we open on public holidays, but this time we had to close,” he said.
A veteran of pro-democracy protests in 2005 and 2006 who is also a businessman, he hopes the movement will end soon but not without achieving some goals.
“If they dismiss now without any accomplishment, there will only be an endless cycle and people will come out to protest and protest again.”
He is not against the principle of fighting for democracy. “Making a living is important, but I think I can afford the economic impact brought by the movement,” he said. But he thinks a more feasible method should be adopted.
Elizabeth Cheung
Tse Wah-chung, taxi driver. "My daughter urged me to support [the protesters], so I just did it." Photo: SCMP Pictures
"I have lost at least a third of my business"
Tse Wah-chung has strongly opposed the Occupy movement from the beginning and his business has suffered from the disruption. He also signed the anti-Occupy petition.
But that didn’t stop the 57-year-old taxi driver from taking bread to the protesters after police fired tear gas at them.
“I have lost at least a third of my business,” Tse said while eating his roasted duck and rice in his taxi. Trips in the affected area take much longer than usual. A journey from Hong Kong Station to Old Peak Road, for example, usually takes 10 minutes but he has had to switch to a route that takes up to an hour.
With this in mind, he confesses his act of kindness on September 29 didn’t result entirely from a change of heart.
“My daughter urged me to support them, so I just did it,” he smiled, referring to the 21-year-old who lives in Switzerland.
“Don’t look down on the value of stuff in these two small plastic bags, the bread I bought was expensive and good quality,” he said, showing a photograph he took at the time.
Eva Yuen, tea shop owner. "Ordinary citizens just want prosperity and jobs." Photo: Elizabeth Cheung
"Even during Sars business was better than now"
Eva Yuen owns a small Chinese herbal tea shop close to Nathan Road. She complained that her business has dropped 30 per cent after the Occupy movement took over parts of Mong Kok.
As many of her customers are from other districts, blockades of roads and diversions of bus routes mean that customers are diverted away as well.
“My shop has been running for more than 10 years…even during Sars [in 2003] business was better than now,” said Yuen.
She admitted that she does not support the Occupy movement as it has stirred up chaos. “It is fine to fight for freedom and universal suffrage, but don’t affect others and break their ‘rice bowls’,” she said. “Ordinary citizens just want prosperity and jobs.”
Yuen is also sceptical about the true motivation of the protesters. “Are they being manipulated? Maybe they do not know…now they are destructing themselves and creating internal conflicts.”
Elizabeth Cheung
Wong Yau-cheung, food stall owner. "I cannot even earn enough money for my rent now." Photo: Elizabeth Cheung
"Without any business, what am I going to eat?"
Wong Yau-cheung operates a street food stall on Nathan Road. “I cannot even earn enough money for my rent now…business has fallen more than 50 per cent,” she said.
Having run the food stall for about seven years, she said that the past weeks have been the first time her business has been badly hit. As the flow of customers has dried up, her wish now is that the Occupy movement comes to an end as soon as possible.
“Everyone is working for money. I am also working for banknotes only,” Wong said. “Without any business, what am I going to eat?”
Wong agrees with the cause of fighting for democracy, but said that the struggle must not put peace and safety at risk. Putting food on the table comes before anything else.
Elizabeth Cheung
Re: Anarchists & Opportunist Abound in HK Chaos
New action planned as most protesters leave Hong Kong streets
CNA and Staff Reporter
2014-10-08
A few protesters remain outside the Hong Kong government building, Oct. 7. (Photo/CNS)
As the momentum of the democracy protests in Hong Kong tails off, a "non-cooperation movement" is being planned by some of the protesters demanding universal suffrage for the people of the special administrative region to elect their leader in 2017.
Some people in the movement made of of student groups and the Occupy Central campaign, reluctant to leave the major occupied areas, announced late Tuesday that they would initiate a "non-cooperation movement" at the Legislative Council to paralyze the body as a means of pressuring Beijing into allowing genuine universal suffrage for Hong Kongers without interference.
The Legislative Council was scheduled to resume operations Wednesday as they have been suspended since the movement started Sept. 28.
Hong Kong will go through more political turbulence if the non-cooperation movement really lands a blow to the lawmaking body, analysts said.
Only a small number of demonstrators were still gathered in major streets Tuesday morning in the Admiralty, Mong Kok and Causeway Bay districts. Many of them had left the protest sites after local officials agreed the previous night to conditions proposed by the Hong Kong Federation of Students for holding public talks on political reform this week.
Fewer than 100 protesters were still staging a sit-in at the intersection of Nathan Road and Argyle Street in Mong Kok and only a few remained outside the chief executive's office in Admiralty.
Despite improvements in the situation, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said in a TV speech Tuesday that "police would take action at an appropriate time to prevent violence and casualties."
New action planned as most protesters leave Hong Kong streets
CNA and Staff Reporter
2014-10-08
A few protesters remain outside the Hong Kong government building, Oct. 7. (Photo/CNS)
As the momentum of the democracy protests in Hong Kong tails off, a "non-cooperation movement" is being planned by some of the protesters demanding universal suffrage for the people of the special administrative region to elect their leader in 2017.
Some people in the movement made of of student groups and the Occupy Central campaign, reluctant to leave the major occupied areas, announced late Tuesday that they would initiate a "non-cooperation movement" at the Legislative Council to paralyze the body as a means of pressuring Beijing into allowing genuine universal suffrage for Hong Kongers without interference.
The Legislative Council was scheduled to resume operations Wednesday as they have been suspended since the movement started Sept. 28.
Hong Kong will go through more political turbulence if the non-cooperation movement really lands a blow to the lawmaking body, analysts said.
Only a small number of demonstrators were still gathered in major streets Tuesday morning in the Admiralty, Mong Kok and Causeway Bay districts. Many of them had left the protest sites after local officials agreed the previous night to conditions proposed by the Hong Kong Federation of Students for holding public talks on political reform this week.
Fewer than 100 protesters were still staging a sit-in at the intersection of Nathan Road and Argyle Street in Mong Kok and only a few remained outside the chief executive's office in Admiralty.
Despite improvements in the situation, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said in a TV speech Tuesday that "police would take action at an appropriate time to prevent violence and casualties."
Re: Anarchists & Opportunist Abound in HK Chaos
LIVE: CY Leung faces questions over alleged HK$50m payout from Australian firm
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 08 October, 2014, 8:34am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 08 October, 2014, 6:49pm
Staff reporters
Good evening and welcome to our continuing coverage of the Occupy movement.
An Australian newspaper has published a report questioning an alleged undisclosed payment of HK$49.9 million from an Australian firm that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying received but failed to disclose upon assuming office. The Age report said Leung's office responded by saying he did not have to disclose the payment.
Large crowds have gathered at the main protest site in Admiralty after a quiet day as Friday's talks between Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and students approach.
Stay tuned for all the breaking news.
6.30pm: A maths class is underway at Yee Wo Street in Causeway Bay.
Chris Lau, 20, a Year Two physics students at the University of Hong Kong, is teaching "simple formulas" to the public.
He says the lesson targets Form Four to Form Six students. "Since over the past few days it’s been hard for some to catch up in school, I want to help them," he says. "I hope they also have the chance to become university students as I am."
Lau thinks that at this point his role in the protest has changed. "I was in the frontline, protecting the occupied areas, but now it's peaceful, so I can help with other things," he says.
Some 20 people are paying attention to his class.
Maths lessons in Causeway Bay. Photo: Raquel Carvalho
6.15pm: Some 150 protesters are now at the Mong Kok site as people get off work and school. The crowds in the area are also getting bigger as throngs of bystanders flock to the public forum to listen to speeches.
University student Joyce Lam Lok-tune, 21, is doing some reading for class under the main tent
She says she will remain encamped there until she feels the students' have reached an acceptable agreement with the government on civic nominations.
"Calling for Leung Chun-ying to step down is not the main point. We need a change in the system and a chief executive election based on civic nomination," she says.
Crowds build in Mong Kok too. Photo: Ernest Kao
6pm: Crowds are building once more at the main protest site near government headquarters in Admiralty.
Crowds build up near the government headquarters in Admiralty. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
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Occupy protesters gather at Harcourt Road. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
5.45pm: Hong Kong-born Dawn Wong Hang-yue, 29, returned to her home city to join the Occupy movement after two years living in Sweden, where she just finished a master's degree in child culture design.
While on holiday in Hong Kong in September, she joined the first days of the students' strike and participated in public lectures at Tamar Park. "It was so peaceful ... And I thought it was a great way of learning how to think critically out of the classroom," she recalls.
Wong returned to Sweden and followed the news about her home city. She saw the students occupying Civic Square and some being arrested. The following day, she saw tear gas deployed against protesters. And she felt she had to come back.
Wong arrived in Hong Kong on Friday. "Unlike other protests this one is not organised by politicians. This is led by students," she says. "I think this is the time to fight for universal suffrage ... We shouldn't wait longer, because then might be too late."
She has spent the last few days at the protest sites, mostly in Admiralty, but also in Mong Kok and Causeway Bay. Wong decided to come to Causeway Bay today, because she visited last night and found it had fewer protesters than other sites.
She says protesters should not abandon Causeway Bay and Mong Kok. "If something happens in Admiralty we can gather in other places, and it's also a way of spreading the message to a larger audience," she says.
Wong says she hopes for "good results" from the meeting scheduled on Friday between students and the government, but whatever happens she vows to stay in the streets until the "last minute".
Then, she will go back to Sweden but not for good. "I will stay there to gain some experience overseas and, hopefully, I will come back in less than five years and contribute to my home city," she says.
Dawn Wong flew back from Sweden to join the protests. Photo: David Wong
5.35pm: Police say they have arranged negotiators to communicate with Occupy protesters and try to persuade them to remove road barriers.
The announcement comes after several road sections with barriers were seen empty with no or few protesters occupying and more residents starting to express discontent over traffic jams.
When asked why police did not remove barriers, Chief Superintendent of the police public relations branch, Steve Hui Chun-tak, says they would evaluate situations at the scene before taking any action.
Meanwhile, an ambulance heading to an emergency was more than 40 minutes late yesterday due to traffic jams caused by Occupy Central, says Deputy Chief Fire Officer Leung Wai-hung.
Leung says the Fire Services Department received a report of a student slipping over at a school on MacDonnell Road in Mid-Levels around 1pm. It took the ambulance 52 minutes and 35 seconds to arrive at the scene, more than 40 minutes past its promised time.
Ambulances were launched 1,689 times yesterday, with 86 unable to reach the scene within the promised time. Fire trucks were required 69 times yesterday. Eight could not reach the scene within the promised time.
5.25pm: More from Robert Chow Yung:
In response to a question from a Wall Street Journal reporter about whether or not Chow was linked to the triad attacks in Mong Kok, Chow says: "I’m not sure the Wall Street Journal is familiar with Mong Kok. Mong Kok is probably the biggest area where our underworld makes the most income.
“If you stop Mong Kok from operations, and the underworld suffers, they will do something. So there is no question of anyone organising, it could very well be that they are one of the victims of this very movement. I am not supporting the triads.”
"The important thing is, don’t ask whether it’s a wealthy person, whether it’s a poor person, people have a right to be angry if their normal lives are interrupted."
Chow urges the Occupy Central protesters to negotiate with the government on Friday and end the roadblocks as soon as possible.
Robert Chow Yung urges protesters to go home, saying they don't have the support of most Hongkongers. Photo: May Tse
5.20pm: Robert Chow Yung, spokesman for anti-Occupy group, the Alliance for Peace and Democracy, asks protesters to go home, saying they don't have the support of most Hongkongers.
Speaking at a press conference, Chow cites his group’s petition campaign, which he says gained more than 1.4 million signatures against Occupy Central in August.
"This cannot go on. I think Hongkongers are already very, very, very impatient and want to get back to their normal lives," Chow says. "We’re studying our next move. Without the voices of ordinary Hongkongers, we might not be able to convince the protesters Hongkongers don’t support them, that most people want them to go home."
Fellow spokesman Stanley Ng Chau-pei also says that in addition to residents, unions and various groups contacting the alliance to complain about Occupy Central, the group has also fielded calls from lawyers volunteering legal advice to people who have been affected by the protests.
"In the future, we’ll look into how we can help these affected parties air their grievances and whether the lawyers can help them. We’re forming a cadre of lawyers to give free legal advice for exactly that – to help affected citizens," Ng says. "We can’t tell you in detail because we’ve seen that anyone who speaks out will be attacked from all sides."
The alliance also shows plastic signs designed to resemble Facebook's “Like” button, calling on people to "like" the police.
"Right now the police are a punching bag and this isn’t right, so we want all Hongkongers to ‘like’ policemen if they pass officers in the street," Chow says.
5.10pm: Broadcasting on US television, comedians Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and John Oliver offer a satirical take on the protests.
5pm: These photos just in from Admiralty, where the protesters seem to still be well-stocked with food and other supplies …
Protesters are well-stocked with supplies. Photo: David Wong
Protesters in Admiralty. Photo: David Wong
4.10pm: A mainland student accused of punching senior Post editor Cliff Buddle has pleaded not guilty to common assault.
Liu Lu, 26, at first intended to plead guilty but had to change his plea when he disputed a part of the indictment which alleged he posed as a University of Hong Kong student to get into the classroom.
During the media law and ethics lecture, Liu demanded that Buddle should speak in Chinese instead of English (the sole medium of instruction at the school). Then Liu allegedly started to punch Buddle several times. Liu, in his defence, told the Eastern Court today: “I used a notebook, and it came into contact with him.”
Liu said he was a student at Beijing’s Tsinghua University, and he is in the city on a travel visa. The trial is set for October 31.
4pm: Yip Wing-shing, chairman of Central and Western District Council, and Suen Kai Cheong, chairman of Wan Chai District Council ask for talks with student representatives at the Admiralty protest site.
Yip says that traffic in the area has been severely obstructed by the Occupy movement.
He says that nearly a thousand minibuses were affected every day. “We respect your will. But please spare a road for residents," he adds.
Eddy Chan, a City University graduate, bows for five seconds in front of the cameras and apologises for causing inconvenience to road users. He calls for government officials to come down to Queensway to talk to students.
Suen Kai-cheong and Yip Wing-shing visit Admiralty. Photo: David Wong
Yip Wing-shing, chairman of Central and Western District Council, talks to student Eddy Chan. Photo: David Wong
3.30pm: Some 50 people are occupying Causeway Bay, with many taking a nap, reading or chatting. It's a calm afternoon in the area near the Sogo department store.
Makit Mak is the only protester guarding the barricades erected on Yee Wo Street, Hennessy Road and other secondary arteries. Mak, 23, a media designer, is sitting on a chair, manning the metal barriers at Hennessy Road, named by the protesters as "Citizens' main road", while reading a book about kung fu and internal conflict.
After spending the last few days in Mong Kok, he came for the first time to Causeway Bay. "I wanted to see how other [protest sites] looked,” he says “No one asked me to stay here, I just felt I should help safeguard this area. It's a way of standing against the government."
Mak explains that his main aim is "to protect the students." Since last week, he hasn't gone to work in order to do so. "My boss knows that I wanted to help, he supports me ... but no money," he says with a smile. Later today, he says he will go back to Mong Kok, "because the pro-Beijing supporters may try to do something again."
Makit Mak mans the barriers in Causeway Bay. Photo: Raquel Carvalho
3.20pm: The Federation of Students says the government “distorted” its views in preliminary talks last night.
In a statement issued at 1.45pm, the federation hit back at undersecretary for constitutional and mainland affairs Lau Kong-wah, who it said inaccurately summarised to the media the federation’s views expressed in the meeting.
“At the meeting the HKFS expressed our angle and disappointment about officials’ demand to talk about constitutional basis and legal requirements,” the statement reads. “The HKFS stated to them the government must solve the political problem in political ways and must not deal with us with gimmicks.”
The students call for the government to stop playing with the legal arguments in negotiations on Friday.
3.15pm: An Australian newspaper has published a report questioning an alleged undisclosed payment of HK$49.9 million from an Australian firm that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying received but failed to disclose upon assuming office. The Age report said Leung's office responded by saying he did not have to disclose the payment.
The Post is currently verifying the details stated in the report.
3.10pm: Is the United States government behind Occupy Central? Well, someone seems to think so …
A conspiracy theorist with blue ribbons tied to her bag shows up at the protest site in Mong Kok, screaming that Occupy Central was propagated by the United States government "just as the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre were".
She claims the US government has also engineered viruses such as Ebola and Aids in poor countries to keep them underdeveloped. She is dressed in a T-shirt emblazoned with Chinese national team Olympians. Police escort her away.
A conspiracy theorist suggests the US is behind Occupy protests. Photo: Ernest Kao
3pm: The New York City Bar Association has written an open letter to Leung, expressing its “grave concern” over the treatment of Occupy Central protesters.
Debra Raskin, president of the association, urged the Hong Kong government to “take all necessary measures to protect the right to freedom of expression and assembly” in the strongly-worded correspondence.
2.35pm: A group of angry middle-aged men and women attempt to remove barriers at a section of Argyle Street in Mong Kok, causing a commotion.
There are mainlanders among them. There is bickering and swearing between both sides.
Police form a line to separate them from going near the protest zone.
Meanwhile, a man who is against the movement arrives, shouting and claiming he is looking for his son in the Occupy Mong Kok camp.
Police keep the peace in Mong Kok. Photo: Ernest Kao
2.30pm: In Admiralty, pro-democracy protesters are pessimistic about the talks on Friday between the Federation of Students and Chief Secretary Carrie Lam.
Financial consultant Danny Leung, who brought his lunchbox to Harcourt Road, says he is not optimistic about the dialogue because the government is not sincere enough. “The talks will be based on the framework laid down by the central government. I don't think it will be a constructive dialogue,” he says.
Sam Choi, a Year Two Chinese University student, also expresses pessimism over the talks: “I don't think the talks will result in anything concrete because the government is just following the central government's instructions."
Choi expects more Hongkongers to join the movement if the talks fail. He also urges student leaders to continue with the sit-in. “Whether we will succeed in the end depends on how persistent we are," Choi says.
2.10pm: A small Japanese/Korean restaurant in Causeway Bay is offering price cuts in support of the pro-democracy movement.
"Support the Umbrella revolution, Hongkongers get 20 per cent discount," says the sign outside the restaurant on Lockhart Road.
This restaurant in Causeway Bay is offering 20 per cent discount in support of the pro-democracy protesters. Photo: Emily Tsang
1.55pm: Protester Esmond Lam Chun-him, 18, admits he wants the movement to end as soon as possible but whether he leaves the Mong Kok site depends on the outcome of talks between students and the government, the first of which will begin on Friday.
"We can't just sit here forever. Somebody has to initiate dialogue with the government," the Year One civil engineering student at Polytechnic University says.
Although Lam is camped in Mong Kok – where protesters have stressed they are an autonomous protest and different from Occupy Central – he says he considers the Federation of Students the leaders of the movement.
"I'm looking for something concrete like the promise of civil nominations. We should forget about impractical stuff like making the police apologise," he says
Lam says if the talks are successful he will get up and leave voluntarily but if not, he will stay and even prepare for possible clearance by police.
"I will probably resist but I am prepared to be arrested if necessary," he says.
Some 20 volunteers remain at Occupy Mong Kok. One of then, Prince Tse, 28, says they are prepared to leave if talks are successful.
"If the talks work out, there's no need to be here. If they don't, then we'll stay," Tse says.
"Whether Leung Chun-ying steps down is no longer important. We are looking for a change in the political system."
Asked what the arrangements would be if police clear the place out, Tse says the elderly and children will be asked to leave first. Those who want to stay can do. "Adults can make up their own minds," he says.
1.45pm: Here’s a selection of views from the remaining protesters in Causeway Bay …
“I don’t have much of an opinion on the talks. At least the government’s not jerking the protesters around; that’s already good news to me.”
Lau Ka-man, 24, customer service representative, been in Causeway Bay for the past eight days
“I think the government is toying with the students. They're not planning to talk about the key issues that can resolve the Occupy situation. Now, I acknowledge that it's going to be hard for the [National] People's Congress to retract its own decision; they want to save face for one thing. I'm just an ordinary citizen, but why not think about letting people vote to decide who gets on the nominating committee? If the government doesn't talk about universal suffrage with students, then it's just wasting time.”
Cheung Ka-ling, 56, housewife, been coming to Causeway Bay every morning since Monday, except on weekends
“The whole movement is about universal suffrage and democracy, but in the end we're part of China so Beijing will always have a say. But why not expand the nominating committee so more than half are elected by Hongkongers, so we can choose people who can speak for us and not Beijing?”
Tsang Siu-Chung, 20, programme organiser for social welfare, protesting since last Monday
1.35pm: Two parents, who don't want be named, distribute leaflets in the occupied area near the Sogo department store in Causeway Bay.
The message, written in Chinese, says that there are some 60,259 children living in Central, Western District and Wan Chai. The protesters are blocking some of them from going to school, and school buses are taking about an hour to do a trip that normally takes only 15 minutes, says the man handing out the leaflets.
"There's only a small crowd here, why can't they move to another public area, like Tamar Park?" he asks.
The message ends with a request: "Don't use our kids as bargaining chips!"
1.25pm: These photos just in from the main protest site near government headquarters in Admiralty ...
Pro-democracy messages stuck to a wall near government headquarters in Admiralty. Photo: David Wong
The Umbrella movement continues as protests stretch into an 11th day. Photo: David Wong
What appears to be a snorkel mask rests on a fence near government headquarters in Admiralty. Photo: David Wong
1.15pm: Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, former leader of the Hong Kong Catholic Church urges protesters to leave Occupy sit-ins. He says that the police’s use of tear gas has given protesters victory over the government and it is now time they left.
“The government admitted failure by using violence. Is it possible to hold sensible discussion with a government that is unreasonable?” Zen writes in his blog, posted on his Facebook page and on the website of the Hong Kong Diocesan’s audio-visual centre today.
“Yes, you can stand for now. But for how much longer are you prepared to stand? For an indefinite time?”
Zen says withdrawing from the protest sites now would help members of the Umbrella movement keep their strength and allow them to prepare their next moves in the long-term fight for democracy.
“The government wants things to drag on. We must not be trapped by its tricks. Public opinion remains on our side. We should not let the public pay too much,” he says.
“It is time to let students go back to school, let ordinary people go back to work.”
Zen says protesters are in an unfavourable position compared to their opponents.
“We are exposed in sunlight while the enemy is hidden in the dark. We are non-violent,” he says.
“The longer it drags on, the more unfavourable to us it will be.”
The cardinal cites the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown as an example to warn that late withdrawal could lead to tragedy:
“Youngsters at Tiananmen had decided to retreat. But some newcomers from other provinces said: ‘We just arrived and you are saying it’s over?’ The outcome was the loss of many lives.”
1.05pm: Here's Harry's View on the protests from today's edition of the Post:
Harry's View. Photo: SCMP Pictures
1pm: German Consul-General Nikolaus Graf Lambsdorff praises the youth of Hong Kong for their enthusiasm, after an event held last night to celebrate the 24th anniversary of the reunification of Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall – attended by Chief Secretary Carrie Lam.
"For all of us the last few days were exciting and thrilling," Lambsdorff says, according to a copy of his speech, made in German, published on the consulate's website today.
"It is not for me to publicly judge political developments in Hong Kong. But especially in the light of our own recent German history, I believe that Hong Kong can be proud of its youth. I am sure that the efforts to make Hong Kong more democratic will be good for Hong Kong politically, but also economically."
A statement on the German consulate's website warns citizens in the city to "avoid the places of assembly and to closely follow the updated situation in the media" as it cannot "be ruled out that the protests escalate again."
The Post revealed last week how the Foreign Ministry pressured consuls general in the city to avoid the protests and encourage their citizens to do so as well.
12.45pm: The Chinese ambassador to Canada hits back against the Canadian government's support of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests, stressing that “stability is a must”.
Envoy Luo Zhaohui, speaking to businesspeople in Toronto, is quoted by The Globe and Mail today as saying stability is crucial for China’s “deepening economic reform”, adding “we have to abide by the law”.
Relations between Canada and China have been frayed by allegations of espionage, Beijing's human rights record and the Canadian government’s vow to press Beijing on allowing the Hong Kong civil disobedience movement to continue. Despite the tensions, Luo stresses both countries should strengthen trade.
“I’m quite optimistic the issue [of Occupy protests] will be resolved peacefully. Sometimes there are … some problems that block bilateral relations,” Luo said, according to the report.
12.30pm: Everybody is kung fu fighting in Causeway Bay. Well, not everybody, but a group of street performers are taking advantage of the empty space, drumming and performing a kung fu demonstration.
They've drawn scattered applause and a small crowd of around 50 onlookers.
After the performance, drummer Miu Kei-yuk of Oriental Martial Arts tells onlookers that he came to the site with friends last Thursday, when they attempted to pull down the barricades. He says a lot of his friends have developed anxiety disorders and depression because they've been worried about the affect of the protests on their lives.
Everybody was kung fu fighting ... Photo: Alan Yu
He says he's politically neutral, but Taoists and Confucians believe in yin and yang, so there are no absolute rights and wrongs. He says everyone should stand in the grey areas while assessing a situation.
Miu says he hopes people won't mind his intrusion. He claims his group has helped teenagers back onto the right path after the government deemed them hopeless and sent them to him. He says he hopes people will take down the barricades and reopen the streets, if they think there's even an ounce of sense in what he's saying.
He kneels down in front of the crowd and kowtows after this. He admits that as a kung fu practitioner, he was a little impulsive when he and his friends tried to take down the barricades.
... Those kicks were fast as lightning. Photo: Alan Yu
12.25pm: Occupy Mong Kok witnesses its first street dispute of the day, after several hours of peace and quiet.
What began as a relatively civil debate about the Communist Party’s creeping influence on Hong Kong ends with an elderly man being escorted away by police after he began hurling profanities at the protesters.
The man says he is "anti-Occupy Central" as he tells protesters to go to the city’s financial hub to make their views known.
One protester replies that they too, are against Occupy Central: "This is Occupy Mong Kok! Those against Occupy Central can leave! We have nothing to do with them."
As the elderly man becomes more aggressive, police pull him away as the protesters sing the now familiar refrain of the happy birthday song.
Peace is shattered once again in Mong Kok. Photo: Ernest Kao
11.39am: Police currently outnumber the protesters staying in front of CY Leung's office, on Tim Wa Avenue in Admiralty. Seven protesters huddle under umbrellas while 13 officers sit or stand behind the metal barricades.
But despite their diminished numbers, some demonstrators remain upbeat. George Wong, a Year Three university student, said: “I am not worried the small number of protesters here as they will rejoin in the evening."
Wong said many people left at about 7pm last night so they could go to work or school. He expects to see a larger turnout on Friday, when student representatives meet with government officials.
Another university student, Ming Chan, who arrived this morning, said many of his friends have left because they couldn't afford skipping class for so many days. “It is completely understandable," he said. “Also, the examination period [for university students] is coming."
LIVE: CY Leung faces questions over alleged HK$50m payout from Australian firm
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 08 October, 2014, 8:34am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 08 October, 2014, 6:49pm
Staff reporters
Good evening and welcome to our continuing coverage of the Occupy movement.
An Australian newspaper has published a report questioning an alleged undisclosed payment of HK$49.9 million from an Australian firm that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying received but failed to disclose upon assuming office. The Age report said Leung's office responded by saying he did not have to disclose the payment.
Large crowds have gathered at the main protest site in Admiralty after a quiet day as Friday's talks between Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and students approach.
Stay tuned for all the breaking news.
6.30pm: A maths class is underway at Yee Wo Street in Causeway Bay.
Chris Lau, 20, a Year Two physics students at the University of Hong Kong, is teaching "simple formulas" to the public.
He says the lesson targets Form Four to Form Six students. "Since over the past few days it’s been hard for some to catch up in school, I want to help them," he says. "I hope they also have the chance to become university students as I am."
Lau thinks that at this point his role in the protest has changed. "I was in the frontline, protecting the occupied areas, but now it's peaceful, so I can help with other things," he says.
Some 20 people are paying attention to his class.
Maths lessons in Causeway Bay. Photo: Raquel Carvalho
6.15pm: Some 150 protesters are now at the Mong Kok site as people get off work and school. The crowds in the area are also getting bigger as throngs of bystanders flock to the public forum to listen to speeches.
University student Joyce Lam Lok-tune, 21, is doing some reading for class under the main tent
She says she will remain encamped there until she feels the students' have reached an acceptable agreement with the government on civic nominations.
"Calling for Leung Chun-ying to step down is not the main point. We need a change in the system and a chief executive election based on civic nomination," she says.
Crowds build in Mong Kok too. Photo: Ernest Kao
6pm: Crowds are building once more at the main protest site near government headquarters in Admiralty.
Crowds build up near the government headquarters in Admiralty. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Occupy protesters gather at Harcourt Road. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
5.45pm: Hong Kong-born Dawn Wong Hang-yue, 29, returned to her home city to join the Occupy movement after two years living in Sweden, where she just finished a master's degree in child culture design.
While on holiday in Hong Kong in September, she joined the first days of the students' strike and participated in public lectures at Tamar Park. "It was so peaceful ... And I thought it was a great way of learning how to think critically out of the classroom," she recalls.
Wong returned to Sweden and followed the news about her home city. She saw the students occupying Civic Square and some being arrested. The following day, she saw tear gas deployed against protesters. And she felt she had to come back.
Wong arrived in Hong Kong on Friday. "Unlike other protests this one is not organised by politicians. This is led by students," she says. "I think this is the time to fight for universal suffrage ... We shouldn't wait longer, because then might be too late."
She has spent the last few days at the protest sites, mostly in Admiralty, but also in Mong Kok and Causeway Bay. Wong decided to come to Causeway Bay today, because she visited last night and found it had fewer protesters than other sites.
She says protesters should not abandon Causeway Bay and Mong Kok. "If something happens in Admiralty we can gather in other places, and it's also a way of spreading the message to a larger audience," she says.
Wong says she hopes for "good results" from the meeting scheduled on Friday between students and the government, but whatever happens she vows to stay in the streets until the "last minute".
Then, she will go back to Sweden but not for good. "I will stay there to gain some experience overseas and, hopefully, I will come back in less than five years and contribute to my home city," she says.
Dawn Wong flew back from Sweden to join the protests. Photo: David Wong
5.35pm: Police say they have arranged negotiators to communicate with Occupy protesters and try to persuade them to remove road barriers.
The announcement comes after several road sections with barriers were seen empty with no or few protesters occupying and more residents starting to express discontent over traffic jams.
When asked why police did not remove barriers, Chief Superintendent of the police public relations branch, Steve Hui Chun-tak, says they would evaluate situations at the scene before taking any action.
Meanwhile, an ambulance heading to an emergency was more than 40 minutes late yesterday due to traffic jams caused by Occupy Central, says Deputy Chief Fire Officer Leung Wai-hung.
Leung says the Fire Services Department received a report of a student slipping over at a school on MacDonnell Road in Mid-Levels around 1pm. It took the ambulance 52 minutes and 35 seconds to arrive at the scene, more than 40 minutes past its promised time.
Ambulances were launched 1,689 times yesterday, with 86 unable to reach the scene within the promised time. Fire trucks were required 69 times yesterday. Eight could not reach the scene within the promised time.
5.25pm: More from Robert Chow Yung:
In response to a question from a Wall Street Journal reporter about whether or not Chow was linked to the triad attacks in Mong Kok, Chow says: "I’m not sure the Wall Street Journal is familiar with Mong Kok. Mong Kok is probably the biggest area where our underworld makes the most income.
“If you stop Mong Kok from operations, and the underworld suffers, they will do something. So there is no question of anyone organising, it could very well be that they are one of the victims of this very movement. I am not supporting the triads.”
"The important thing is, don’t ask whether it’s a wealthy person, whether it’s a poor person, people have a right to be angry if their normal lives are interrupted."
Chow urges the Occupy Central protesters to negotiate with the government on Friday and end the roadblocks as soon as possible.
Robert Chow Yung urges protesters to go home, saying they don't have the support of most Hongkongers. Photo: May Tse
5.20pm: Robert Chow Yung, spokesman for anti-Occupy group, the Alliance for Peace and Democracy, asks protesters to go home, saying they don't have the support of most Hongkongers.
Speaking at a press conference, Chow cites his group’s petition campaign, which he says gained more than 1.4 million signatures against Occupy Central in August.
"This cannot go on. I think Hongkongers are already very, very, very impatient and want to get back to their normal lives," Chow says. "We’re studying our next move. Without the voices of ordinary Hongkongers, we might not be able to convince the protesters Hongkongers don’t support them, that most people want them to go home."
Fellow spokesman Stanley Ng Chau-pei also says that in addition to residents, unions and various groups contacting the alliance to complain about Occupy Central, the group has also fielded calls from lawyers volunteering legal advice to people who have been affected by the protests.
"In the future, we’ll look into how we can help these affected parties air their grievances and whether the lawyers can help them. We’re forming a cadre of lawyers to give free legal advice for exactly that – to help affected citizens," Ng says. "We can’t tell you in detail because we’ve seen that anyone who speaks out will be attacked from all sides."
The alliance also shows plastic signs designed to resemble Facebook's “Like” button, calling on people to "like" the police.
"Right now the police are a punching bag and this isn’t right, so we want all Hongkongers to ‘like’ policemen if they pass officers in the street," Chow says.
5.10pm: Broadcasting on US television, comedians Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and John Oliver offer a satirical take on the protests.
5pm: These photos just in from Admiralty, where the protesters seem to still be well-stocked with food and other supplies …
Protesters are well-stocked with supplies. Photo: David Wong
Protesters in Admiralty. Photo: David Wong
4.10pm: A mainland student accused of punching senior Post editor Cliff Buddle has pleaded not guilty to common assault.
Liu Lu, 26, at first intended to plead guilty but had to change his plea when he disputed a part of the indictment which alleged he posed as a University of Hong Kong student to get into the classroom.
During the media law and ethics lecture, Liu demanded that Buddle should speak in Chinese instead of English (the sole medium of instruction at the school). Then Liu allegedly started to punch Buddle several times. Liu, in his defence, told the Eastern Court today: “I used a notebook, and it came into contact with him.”
Liu said he was a student at Beijing’s Tsinghua University, and he is in the city on a travel visa. The trial is set for October 31.
4pm: Yip Wing-shing, chairman of Central and Western District Council, and Suen Kai Cheong, chairman of Wan Chai District Council ask for talks with student representatives at the Admiralty protest site.
Yip says that traffic in the area has been severely obstructed by the Occupy movement.
He says that nearly a thousand minibuses were affected every day. “We respect your will. But please spare a road for residents," he adds.
Eddy Chan, a City University graduate, bows for five seconds in front of the cameras and apologises for causing inconvenience to road users. He calls for government officials to come down to Queensway to talk to students.
Suen Kai-cheong and Yip Wing-shing visit Admiralty. Photo: David Wong
Yip Wing-shing, chairman of Central and Western District Council, talks to student Eddy Chan. Photo: David Wong
3.30pm: Some 50 people are occupying Causeway Bay, with many taking a nap, reading or chatting. It's a calm afternoon in the area near the Sogo department store.
Makit Mak is the only protester guarding the barricades erected on Yee Wo Street, Hennessy Road and other secondary arteries. Mak, 23, a media designer, is sitting on a chair, manning the metal barriers at Hennessy Road, named by the protesters as "Citizens' main road", while reading a book about kung fu and internal conflict.
After spending the last few days in Mong Kok, he came for the first time to Causeway Bay. "I wanted to see how other [protest sites] looked,” he says “No one asked me to stay here, I just felt I should help safeguard this area. It's a way of standing against the government."
Mak explains that his main aim is "to protect the students." Since last week, he hasn't gone to work in order to do so. "My boss knows that I wanted to help, he supports me ... but no money," he says with a smile. Later today, he says he will go back to Mong Kok, "because the pro-Beijing supporters may try to do something again."
Makit Mak mans the barriers in Causeway Bay. Photo: Raquel Carvalho
3.20pm: The Federation of Students says the government “distorted” its views in preliminary talks last night.
In a statement issued at 1.45pm, the federation hit back at undersecretary for constitutional and mainland affairs Lau Kong-wah, who it said inaccurately summarised to the media the federation’s views expressed in the meeting.
“At the meeting the HKFS expressed our angle and disappointment about officials’ demand to talk about constitutional basis and legal requirements,” the statement reads. “The HKFS stated to them the government must solve the political problem in political ways and must not deal with us with gimmicks.”
The students call for the government to stop playing with the legal arguments in negotiations on Friday.
3.15pm: An Australian newspaper has published a report questioning an alleged undisclosed payment of HK$49.9 million from an Australian firm that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying received but failed to disclose upon assuming office. The Age report said Leung's office responded by saying he did not have to disclose the payment.
The Post is currently verifying the details stated in the report.
3.10pm: Is the United States government behind Occupy Central? Well, someone seems to think so …
A conspiracy theorist with blue ribbons tied to her bag shows up at the protest site in Mong Kok, screaming that Occupy Central was propagated by the United States government "just as the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre were".
She claims the US government has also engineered viruses such as Ebola and Aids in poor countries to keep them underdeveloped. She is dressed in a T-shirt emblazoned with Chinese national team Olympians. Police escort her away.
A conspiracy theorist suggests the US is behind Occupy protests. Photo: Ernest Kao
3pm: The New York City Bar Association has written an open letter to Leung, expressing its “grave concern” over the treatment of Occupy Central protesters.
Debra Raskin, president of the association, urged the Hong Kong government to “take all necessary measures to protect the right to freedom of expression and assembly” in the strongly-worded correspondence.
2.35pm: A group of angry middle-aged men and women attempt to remove barriers at a section of Argyle Street in Mong Kok, causing a commotion.
There are mainlanders among them. There is bickering and swearing between both sides.
Police form a line to separate them from going near the protest zone.
Meanwhile, a man who is against the movement arrives, shouting and claiming he is looking for his son in the Occupy Mong Kok camp.
Police keep the peace in Mong Kok. Photo: Ernest Kao
2.30pm: In Admiralty, pro-democracy protesters are pessimistic about the talks on Friday between the Federation of Students and Chief Secretary Carrie Lam.
Financial consultant Danny Leung, who brought his lunchbox to Harcourt Road, says he is not optimistic about the dialogue because the government is not sincere enough. “The talks will be based on the framework laid down by the central government. I don't think it will be a constructive dialogue,” he says.
Sam Choi, a Year Two Chinese University student, also expresses pessimism over the talks: “I don't think the talks will result in anything concrete because the government is just following the central government's instructions."
Choi expects more Hongkongers to join the movement if the talks fail. He also urges student leaders to continue with the sit-in. “Whether we will succeed in the end depends on how persistent we are," Choi says.
2.10pm: A small Japanese/Korean restaurant in Causeway Bay is offering price cuts in support of the pro-democracy movement.
"Support the Umbrella revolution, Hongkongers get 20 per cent discount," says the sign outside the restaurant on Lockhart Road.
This restaurant in Causeway Bay is offering 20 per cent discount in support of the pro-democracy protesters. Photo: Emily Tsang
1.55pm: Protester Esmond Lam Chun-him, 18, admits he wants the movement to end as soon as possible but whether he leaves the Mong Kok site depends on the outcome of talks between students and the government, the first of which will begin on Friday.
"We can't just sit here forever. Somebody has to initiate dialogue with the government," the Year One civil engineering student at Polytechnic University says.
Although Lam is camped in Mong Kok – where protesters have stressed they are an autonomous protest and different from Occupy Central – he says he considers the Federation of Students the leaders of the movement.
"I'm looking for something concrete like the promise of civil nominations. We should forget about impractical stuff like making the police apologise," he says
Lam says if the talks are successful he will get up and leave voluntarily but if not, he will stay and even prepare for possible clearance by police.
"I will probably resist but I am prepared to be arrested if necessary," he says.
Some 20 volunteers remain at Occupy Mong Kok. One of then, Prince Tse, 28, says they are prepared to leave if talks are successful.
"If the talks work out, there's no need to be here. If they don't, then we'll stay," Tse says.
"Whether Leung Chun-ying steps down is no longer important. We are looking for a change in the political system."
Asked what the arrangements would be if police clear the place out, Tse says the elderly and children will be asked to leave first. Those who want to stay can do. "Adults can make up their own minds," he says.
1.45pm: Here’s a selection of views from the remaining protesters in Causeway Bay …
“I don’t have much of an opinion on the talks. At least the government’s not jerking the protesters around; that’s already good news to me.”
Lau Ka-man, 24, customer service representative, been in Causeway Bay for the past eight days
“I think the government is toying with the students. They're not planning to talk about the key issues that can resolve the Occupy situation. Now, I acknowledge that it's going to be hard for the [National] People's Congress to retract its own decision; they want to save face for one thing. I'm just an ordinary citizen, but why not think about letting people vote to decide who gets on the nominating committee? If the government doesn't talk about universal suffrage with students, then it's just wasting time.”
Cheung Ka-ling, 56, housewife, been coming to Causeway Bay every morning since Monday, except on weekends
“The whole movement is about universal suffrage and democracy, but in the end we're part of China so Beijing will always have a say. But why not expand the nominating committee so more than half are elected by Hongkongers, so we can choose people who can speak for us and not Beijing?”
Tsang Siu-Chung, 20, programme organiser for social welfare, protesting since last Monday
1.35pm: Two parents, who don't want be named, distribute leaflets in the occupied area near the Sogo department store in Causeway Bay.
The message, written in Chinese, says that there are some 60,259 children living in Central, Western District and Wan Chai. The protesters are blocking some of them from going to school, and school buses are taking about an hour to do a trip that normally takes only 15 minutes, says the man handing out the leaflets.
"There's only a small crowd here, why can't they move to another public area, like Tamar Park?" he asks.
The message ends with a request: "Don't use our kids as bargaining chips!"
1.25pm: These photos just in from the main protest site near government headquarters in Admiralty ...
Pro-democracy messages stuck to a wall near government headquarters in Admiralty. Photo: David Wong
The Umbrella movement continues as protests stretch into an 11th day. Photo: David Wong
What appears to be a snorkel mask rests on a fence near government headquarters in Admiralty. Photo: David Wong
1.15pm: Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, former leader of the Hong Kong Catholic Church urges protesters to leave Occupy sit-ins. He says that the police’s use of tear gas has given protesters victory over the government and it is now time they left.
“The government admitted failure by using violence. Is it possible to hold sensible discussion with a government that is unreasonable?” Zen writes in his blog, posted on his Facebook page and on the website of the Hong Kong Diocesan’s audio-visual centre today.
“Yes, you can stand for now. But for how much longer are you prepared to stand? For an indefinite time?”
Zen says withdrawing from the protest sites now would help members of the Umbrella movement keep their strength and allow them to prepare their next moves in the long-term fight for democracy.
“The government wants things to drag on. We must not be trapped by its tricks. Public opinion remains on our side. We should not let the public pay too much,” he says.
“It is time to let students go back to school, let ordinary people go back to work.”
Zen says protesters are in an unfavourable position compared to their opponents.
“We are exposed in sunlight while the enemy is hidden in the dark. We are non-violent,” he says.
“The longer it drags on, the more unfavourable to us it will be.”
The cardinal cites the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown as an example to warn that late withdrawal could lead to tragedy:
“Youngsters at Tiananmen had decided to retreat. But some newcomers from other provinces said: ‘We just arrived and you are saying it’s over?’ The outcome was the loss of many lives.”
1.05pm: Here's Harry's View on the protests from today's edition of the Post:
Harry's View. Photo: SCMP Pictures
1pm: German Consul-General Nikolaus Graf Lambsdorff praises the youth of Hong Kong for their enthusiasm, after an event held last night to celebrate the 24th anniversary of the reunification of Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall – attended by Chief Secretary Carrie Lam.
"For all of us the last few days were exciting and thrilling," Lambsdorff says, according to a copy of his speech, made in German, published on the consulate's website today.
"It is not for me to publicly judge political developments in Hong Kong. But especially in the light of our own recent German history, I believe that Hong Kong can be proud of its youth. I am sure that the efforts to make Hong Kong more democratic will be good for Hong Kong politically, but also economically."
A statement on the German consulate's website warns citizens in the city to "avoid the places of assembly and to closely follow the updated situation in the media" as it cannot "be ruled out that the protests escalate again."
The Post revealed last week how the Foreign Ministry pressured consuls general in the city to avoid the protests and encourage their citizens to do so as well.
12.45pm: The Chinese ambassador to Canada hits back against the Canadian government's support of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests, stressing that “stability is a must”.
Envoy Luo Zhaohui, speaking to businesspeople in Toronto, is quoted by The Globe and Mail today as saying stability is crucial for China’s “deepening economic reform”, adding “we have to abide by the law”.
Relations between Canada and China have been frayed by allegations of espionage, Beijing's human rights record and the Canadian government’s vow to press Beijing on allowing the Hong Kong civil disobedience movement to continue. Despite the tensions, Luo stresses both countries should strengthen trade.
“I’m quite optimistic the issue [of Occupy protests] will be resolved peacefully. Sometimes there are … some problems that block bilateral relations,” Luo said, according to the report.
12.30pm: Everybody is kung fu fighting in Causeway Bay. Well, not everybody, but a group of street performers are taking advantage of the empty space, drumming and performing a kung fu demonstration.
They've drawn scattered applause and a small crowd of around 50 onlookers.
After the performance, drummer Miu Kei-yuk of Oriental Martial Arts tells onlookers that he came to the site with friends last Thursday, when they attempted to pull down the barricades. He says a lot of his friends have developed anxiety disorders and depression because they've been worried about the affect of the protests on their lives.
Everybody was kung fu fighting ... Photo: Alan Yu
He says he's politically neutral, but Taoists and Confucians believe in yin and yang, so there are no absolute rights and wrongs. He says everyone should stand in the grey areas while assessing a situation.
Miu says he hopes people won't mind his intrusion. He claims his group has helped teenagers back onto the right path after the government deemed them hopeless and sent them to him. He says he hopes people will take down the barricades and reopen the streets, if they think there's even an ounce of sense in what he's saying.
He kneels down in front of the crowd and kowtows after this. He admits that as a kung fu practitioner, he was a little impulsive when he and his friends tried to take down the barricades.
... Those kicks were fast as lightning. Photo: Alan Yu
12.25pm: Occupy Mong Kok witnesses its first street dispute of the day, after several hours of peace and quiet.
What began as a relatively civil debate about the Communist Party’s creeping influence on Hong Kong ends with an elderly man being escorted away by police after he began hurling profanities at the protesters.
The man says he is "anti-Occupy Central" as he tells protesters to go to the city’s financial hub to make their views known.
One protester replies that they too, are against Occupy Central: "This is Occupy Mong Kok! Those against Occupy Central can leave! We have nothing to do with them."
As the elderly man becomes more aggressive, police pull him away as the protesters sing the now familiar refrain of the happy birthday song.
Peace is shattered once again in Mong Kok. Photo: Ernest Kao
11.39am: Police currently outnumber the protesters staying in front of CY Leung's office, on Tim Wa Avenue in Admiralty. Seven protesters huddle under umbrellas while 13 officers sit or stand behind the metal barricades.
But despite their diminished numbers, some demonstrators remain upbeat. George Wong, a Year Three university student, said: “I am not worried the small number of protesters here as they will rejoin in the evening."
Wong said many people left at about 7pm last night so they could go to work or school. He expects to see a larger turnout on Friday, when student representatives meet with government officials.
Another university student, Ming Chan, who arrived this morning, said many of his friends have left because they couldn't afford skipping class for so many days. “It is completely understandable," he said. “Also, the examination period [for university students] is coming."
Re: Anarchists & Opportunist Abound in HK Chaos
Live: Pan-democrats vow to impeach chief executive over alleged HK$50m payment
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 08 October, 2014, 8:34am
UPDATED : Thursday, 09 October, 2014, 12:03am
Staff reporters
Good evening and welcome to our continuing coverage of the Occupy movement.
An Australian newspaper has published a report questioning an alleged undisclosed payment of HK$49.9 million from an Australian firm that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying received but failed to disclose upon assuming office. The Age report said Leung's office responded by saying he did not have to disclose the payment.
Large crowds have gathered at the main protest site in Admiralty after a quiet day as Friday's talks between Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and students approach.
Stay tuned for all the breaking news.
11.30pm: This concludes the SCMP's live coverage of the Occupy protests for tonight, unless there is specific breaking news. Join us again at 8am tomorrow to pick up on the day's developments.
11.00pm Mong Kok: Crowd numbers swell at Mong Kok protest site
10.30pm Admiralty: On Harcourt Road, hundreds of residents gather - either sitting on the ground or standing near the stage - to listen to a speech by Ed Chin, a core member of Occupy Central's finance group. Chin thanks foreign journalists for covering the sit-ins. He says his group of bankers and stockbrokers worry about "unjust" capital flowing from the mainland into Hong Kong, and that civil liberties in the city are diminishing.
10.15pm Admiralty: Pan-democratic lawmakers vow to impeach Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying over the HK$50 million he received from a Australian firm that he failed to declare prior to becoming chief executive. Labour Party councillor Cyd Ho said: "Apart from his duties as chief executive, Leung was also serving the needs of another company. This is a serious of conflict of interest." She says she hoped that pro-government lawmakers would not protect Leung.
10.00pm Admiralty: Hong Kong's first "Legislative Council meeting-in-residence" takes place with 12 pan-democratic lawmakers - who were blocked by 41 pro-establishment lawmakers from having a normal Legco meeting today - taking to the stage at the Occupy rally in Admiralty to express their discontent with the government.
Civic Party's Alan Leong Kah-kit says he plans to ask the government who gave the order to fire tear gas at peaceful protesters on the night of September 28. Leong says he will also find out how pro-establishment lawmakers managed to suspend today's Legco session. Leong says he suspect they did this because they had "received messages that Beijing wants to fire" Leung Chun-ying, citing the curiously-timed breaking news today about Leung's HK$50 million "secret deal" with an Australian company.
Another Civic Party legislator Claudia Mo Man-ching says the police's arrest of student leader Joshua Wong Chi-fung, the use of tear gas and "collusion with triads" had pushed the Occupy movement to its current scale. She adds that when Legco resumed, pro-democratic legislators would start the impeachment process against Leung.
The Labour Party's Fernando Cheung says the Occupy protesters had been very civilised. "The SAR government did not solve the air pollution problem in over a decade, but [Occupy protesters] solved it in just two days," said Cheung. "Hong Kong people's level of civilisation deserves a better government."
9.45pm: The Hong Kong Bar Association, which last week criticised the police firing tear gas on protesters on September 28 as being “excessive”, said in a statement that civil disobedience did not constitute any defence to a criminal charge. “Even on a sympathetic view of civil disobedience, it is essential for participants to respect the rights and freedoms of other people who do not necessarily agree with their views and not to cause excessive damage or inconvenience,” the statement said.
9.30pm Mong Kok: The crowd size is now about 600 in Mong Kok. Protesters have set up a "Woman's support area" where different speakers share stories and offer words of encouragement to female protesters on the front line.
"Many people perceive women in Hong Kong as only knowing how to go to work, go shopping or complaining about their boyfriends not making enough money," said one speaker. "This movement has shown everyone that women are attentive to politics and contribute to the fight."
One man, who claimed to be a martial arts practitioner, taught a group of women self-defence tactics to counter an attack or sexual assault. He taught them to pull their arm away from a wrist grab and how to "punch the target in the nose". "I saw the situation getting very dangerous and I felt I had to teach them some easy and practical self defence tactics," the man, who declined to be named, said.
9.00pm Causeway Bay: An English class being held at the Yee Wo Street finishes for the day. Popsy Gu, 22, a private English tutor and year four finance student at the University of Hong Kong, volunteered to teach English classes for free.
"People in Hong Kong learn English in such an inefficient manner ... The syllabuses are bad and we start learning grammar without knowing how to use English. We mostly learn it from school textbooks," she says.
Gu spent about an hour, with an engaged crowd of some 50 people, pointing out common mistakes and explaining the meaning of words and expressions used by the English-language media covering the protests, like "umbrella revolution yet to unfold", "insurgency" and "legitimacy."
Gu's motivation is simple: "I wanted to help with something I know." She has also been running a blog about the Occupy movement in Mong Kok.
Meanwhile, public forums continue at Hennessy Road, on the problems of the private housing market in Hong Kong and the relationship between public spaces and the democracy movement.
8.30pm Mong Kok: A large sign reading "against Occupy Central" and "against blocking of traffic" is hung over an arch right beside the main Occupy Mong Kok protest ground drawing curious glances from passers-by and demonstrators.
Protesters cheekily taped a mock FAQ on it teaching people how to respond to criticisms from Occupy opponents using famous gaffes and non-statements from government officials.
Photo: Ernest Kao
"You're blocking roads and causing long queues for public transport," one query read. The answer read "You can wait for another train" - a reference to commerce chief Greg So Kam-leung's advice to Hongkongers in response to concerns over the flood of mainland tourists on the city's transport infrastructure.
"I saw on TV news reports that a protester had been swearing at police officers, I thought this was a peaceful protest?" one question read.
The answer: "I have no comment on individual cases," the answer read, a snub at Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's June 2013 interview with Bloomberg in which he gave the exact same answer seven times when asked about the extent of US cyber hacking activity in Hong Kong, exposed in light of the Edward Snowden saga.
8.15pm: Kindergarten classes in Wan Chai and Central and Western districts will resume tomorrow, the Education Bureau announces. Principal Assistant Secretary for Education Sophia Wong says during a press conference that, as primary and secondary school classes have resumed with fewer late-for-school cases, the bureau decided to allow kindergarten classes to resume, also.
7.50pm: Occupy Central organisers say they have no immediate plans to form an alliance with the Federation of Students, dropping a strong hint that Friday's dialogue with the government would likely involve students only, not Occupy campaigners.
The students are preparing for the dialogue while Occupy provides them with opinion and lines up social groups in managing the occupied sites, says Dr Chan Kin-man, an Occupy organiser. "As of now, such a mode of cooperation is mutually acceptable to both sides," Chan says.
"The students have considerable capability to handle the dialogue," Chan says. "The HKFS is also willing to listen to Occupy's views. The cooperation between [us] is very close."
He also rebuffs Cardinal Joseph Zen's call against a continued occupation, saying there should be no retreat "before the dialogue yields any result".
The Federation of Students’ Lester Shum says the group is yet to agree whether the five representatives at the dialogue would include any non-members of the federation. Chan only says that the Occupy side is "very happy to provide assistance" given the scholarly background of its main organisers.
(Front left) Lester Shum, Founders of Occupy Central movement Chan Kin-man and Eason Chung meet the media at protest site in Admiralty. Photo: David Wong
7.40pm: Guitar teacher Bernard Yim, 34, is jamming with other musicians at the protest site in Yee Wo Street, Causeway Bay.
"I've been coming to here, Admiralty and Mong Kok every day, and today, because of the autumn weather, instead of practicing guitar at home, I decided to practice outside," he says.
Yim says he has few expectations of the negotiations between government officials and students.
"Those who have been coming out hold a strong belief that we should remain here," he says.
Guitar teacher Bernard Yim plays at the protest site in Causeway Bay. Photo: Raquel Carvalho
7.25pm: Photos just in of the crowd near government headquarters at Admiralty tonight ...
Protesters gather near government headquarters in Admiralty on Wednesday evening. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Protesters gather on Harcourt Road on Wednesday evening. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Crowds build at the main protest site in Admiralty. Photo: David Wong
7.15pm: Scholarism convenor Joshua Wong is distributing leaflets with other members of the student activist group outside Wan Chai MTR station to explain why roads have to be blocked to fight for genuine universal suffrage.
"Sorry about the [disturbances] in recent days," says Wong as he hands outs leaflets to pedestrians.
Some reply saying "We support you" or "Keep it going" when they receive the leaflets.
But there are also passersby who refuse to take them.
The leaflets seek to answer 16 questions that the public might have about the civil disobedience action.
7pm: Kindergartens in Wan Chai and Central and Western districts will resume classes tomorrow, says Principal Assistant Secretary of the Education Bureau Sophia Wong.
She says the bureau made the decision because kindergartens had made preparations such as diverting road traffic for picking up students and making arrangements with parents and "nanny buses".
Assistant Commissioner for Transport Albert Su says he expects traffic congestion to be more serious tomorrow because all the nanny buses and other vehicles for kindergarten children would return to the roads.
"We are very, very concerned about the traffic condition tomorrow," says Su. "It's possible that a very serious situation will occur."
Su again appealed for the protesters to remove barriers blocking the city's major roads. He adds that he respects the police's decision to handle the situation through dialogue.
Central and Western District Officer Cheryl Chow says residents in Western District had to endure more difficulties to commute because there is no MTR connection in the area.
6.50pm: A group of some 20 North District residents has gathered outside Next Media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s home in Kowloon, a few kilometres from the Mong Kok protest site.
The anti-Occupy protesters hold banners accusing Lai of colluding with foreign governments. "When good old America comes up with a plan, the fat guy pays for it," one sign reads, referring to Lai.
Deng Ren-ming, 65, says that although pro-democracy protests were taking place far from where he and fellow protesters live, those who work in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island still feel the impact.
"The thing is we don't know when it will end," he says. "We also want to support those, for example, who live in Mong Kok and are affected."
Asked why the group chose Lai's house to stage the protest, he says: "It's all written on the banners."
"Whether it is as what the banners suggest, Lai should come out and explain," he says.
The group leaves after half an hour when police arrive at the scene.
Anti-Occupy protesters target Jimmy Lai's house. Photo: Chris Lau
The group accused Lai of colluding with foreign governments. Photo: Chris Lau
Live: Pan-democrats vow to impeach chief executive over alleged HK$50m payment
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 08 October, 2014, 8:34am
UPDATED : Thursday, 09 October, 2014, 12:03am
Staff reporters
Good evening and welcome to our continuing coverage of the Occupy movement.
An Australian newspaper has published a report questioning an alleged undisclosed payment of HK$49.9 million from an Australian firm that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying received but failed to disclose upon assuming office. The Age report said Leung's office responded by saying he did not have to disclose the payment.
Large crowds have gathered at the main protest site in Admiralty after a quiet day as Friday's talks between Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and students approach.
Stay tuned for all the breaking news.
11.30pm: This concludes the SCMP's live coverage of the Occupy protests for tonight, unless there is specific breaking news. Join us again at 8am tomorrow to pick up on the day's developments.
11.00pm Mong Kok: Crowd numbers swell at Mong Kok protest site
10.30pm Admiralty: On Harcourt Road, hundreds of residents gather - either sitting on the ground or standing near the stage - to listen to a speech by Ed Chin, a core member of Occupy Central's finance group. Chin thanks foreign journalists for covering the sit-ins. He says his group of bankers and stockbrokers worry about "unjust" capital flowing from the mainland into Hong Kong, and that civil liberties in the city are diminishing.
10.15pm Admiralty: Pan-democratic lawmakers vow to impeach Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying over the HK$50 million he received from a Australian firm that he failed to declare prior to becoming chief executive. Labour Party councillor Cyd Ho said: "Apart from his duties as chief executive, Leung was also serving the needs of another company. This is a serious of conflict of interest." She says she hoped that pro-government lawmakers would not protect Leung.
10.00pm Admiralty: Hong Kong's first "Legislative Council meeting-in-residence" takes place with 12 pan-democratic lawmakers - who were blocked by 41 pro-establishment lawmakers from having a normal Legco meeting today - taking to the stage at the Occupy rally in Admiralty to express their discontent with the government.
Civic Party's Alan Leong Kah-kit says he plans to ask the government who gave the order to fire tear gas at peaceful protesters on the night of September 28. Leong says he will also find out how pro-establishment lawmakers managed to suspend today's Legco session. Leong says he suspect they did this because they had "received messages that Beijing wants to fire" Leung Chun-ying, citing the curiously-timed breaking news today about Leung's HK$50 million "secret deal" with an Australian company.
Another Civic Party legislator Claudia Mo Man-ching says the police's arrest of student leader Joshua Wong Chi-fung, the use of tear gas and "collusion with triads" had pushed the Occupy movement to its current scale. She adds that when Legco resumed, pro-democratic legislators would start the impeachment process against Leung.
The Labour Party's Fernando Cheung says the Occupy protesters had been very civilised. "The SAR government did not solve the air pollution problem in over a decade, but [Occupy protesters] solved it in just two days," said Cheung. "Hong Kong people's level of civilisation deserves a better government."
9.45pm: The Hong Kong Bar Association, which last week criticised the police firing tear gas on protesters on September 28 as being “excessive”, said in a statement that civil disobedience did not constitute any defence to a criminal charge. “Even on a sympathetic view of civil disobedience, it is essential for participants to respect the rights and freedoms of other people who do not necessarily agree with their views and not to cause excessive damage or inconvenience,” the statement said.
9.30pm Mong Kok: The crowd size is now about 600 in Mong Kok. Protesters have set up a "Woman's support area" where different speakers share stories and offer words of encouragement to female protesters on the front line.
"Many people perceive women in Hong Kong as only knowing how to go to work, go shopping or complaining about their boyfriends not making enough money," said one speaker. "This movement has shown everyone that women are attentive to politics and contribute to the fight."
One man, who claimed to be a martial arts practitioner, taught a group of women self-defence tactics to counter an attack or sexual assault. He taught them to pull their arm away from a wrist grab and how to "punch the target in the nose". "I saw the situation getting very dangerous and I felt I had to teach them some easy and practical self defence tactics," the man, who declined to be named, said.
9.00pm Causeway Bay: An English class being held at the Yee Wo Street finishes for the day. Popsy Gu, 22, a private English tutor and year four finance student at the University of Hong Kong, volunteered to teach English classes for free.
"People in Hong Kong learn English in such an inefficient manner ... The syllabuses are bad and we start learning grammar without knowing how to use English. We mostly learn it from school textbooks," she says.
Gu spent about an hour, with an engaged crowd of some 50 people, pointing out common mistakes and explaining the meaning of words and expressions used by the English-language media covering the protests, like "umbrella revolution yet to unfold", "insurgency" and "legitimacy."
Gu's motivation is simple: "I wanted to help with something I know." She has also been running a blog about the Occupy movement in Mong Kok.
Meanwhile, public forums continue at Hennessy Road, on the problems of the private housing market in Hong Kong and the relationship between public spaces and the democracy movement.
8.30pm Mong Kok: A large sign reading "against Occupy Central" and "against blocking of traffic" is hung over an arch right beside the main Occupy Mong Kok protest ground drawing curious glances from passers-by and demonstrators.
Protesters cheekily taped a mock FAQ on it teaching people how to respond to criticisms from Occupy opponents using famous gaffes and non-statements from government officials.
Photo: Ernest Kao
"You're blocking roads and causing long queues for public transport," one query read. The answer read "You can wait for another train" - a reference to commerce chief Greg So Kam-leung's advice to Hongkongers in response to concerns over the flood of mainland tourists on the city's transport infrastructure.
"I saw on TV news reports that a protester had been swearing at police officers, I thought this was a peaceful protest?" one question read.
The answer: "I have no comment on individual cases," the answer read, a snub at Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's June 2013 interview with Bloomberg in which he gave the exact same answer seven times when asked about the extent of US cyber hacking activity in Hong Kong, exposed in light of the Edward Snowden saga.
8.15pm: Kindergarten classes in Wan Chai and Central and Western districts will resume tomorrow, the Education Bureau announces. Principal Assistant Secretary for Education Sophia Wong says during a press conference that, as primary and secondary school classes have resumed with fewer late-for-school cases, the bureau decided to allow kindergarten classes to resume, also.
7.50pm: Occupy Central organisers say they have no immediate plans to form an alliance with the Federation of Students, dropping a strong hint that Friday's dialogue with the government would likely involve students only, not Occupy campaigners.
The students are preparing for the dialogue while Occupy provides them with opinion and lines up social groups in managing the occupied sites, says Dr Chan Kin-man, an Occupy organiser. "As of now, such a mode of cooperation is mutually acceptable to both sides," Chan says.
"The students have considerable capability to handle the dialogue," Chan says. "The HKFS is also willing to listen to Occupy's views. The cooperation between [us] is very close."
He also rebuffs Cardinal Joseph Zen's call against a continued occupation, saying there should be no retreat "before the dialogue yields any result".
The Federation of Students’ Lester Shum says the group is yet to agree whether the five representatives at the dialogue would include any non-members of the federation. Chan only says that the Occupy side is "very happy to provide assistance" given the scholarly background of its main organisers.
(Front left) Lester Shum, Founders of Occupy Central movement Chan Kin-man and Eason Chung meet the media at protest site in Admiralty. Photo: David Wong
7.40pm: Guitar teacher Bernard Yim, 34, is jamming with other musicians at the protest site in Yee Wo Street, Causeway Bay.
"I've been coming to here, Admiralty and Mong Kok every day, and today, because of the autumn weather, instead of practicing guitar at home, I decided to practice outside," he says.
Yim says he has few expectations of the negotiations between government officials and students.
"Those who have been coming out hold a strong belief that we should remain here," he says.
Guitar teacher Bernard Yim plays at the protest site in Causeway Bay. Photo: Raquel Carvalho
7.25pm: Photos just in of the crowd near government headquarters at Admiralty tonight ...
Protesters gather near government headquarters in Admiralty on Wednesday evening. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Protesters gather on Harcourt Road on Wednesday evening. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Crowds build at the main protest site in Admiralty. Photo: David Wong
7.15pm: Scholarism convenor Joshua Wong is distributing leaflets with other members of the student activist group outside Wan Chai MTR station to explain why roads have to be blocked to fight for genuine universal suffrage.
"Sorry about the [disturbances] in recent days," says Wong as he hands outs leaflets to pedestrians.
Some reply saying "We support you" or "Keep it going" when they receive the leaflets.
But there are also passersby who refuse to take them.
The leaflets seek to answer 16 questions that the public might have about the civil disobedience action.
7pm: Kindergartens in Wan Chai and Central and Western districts will resume classes tomorrow, says Principal Assistant Secretary of the Education Bureau Sophia Wong.
She says the bureau made the decision because kindergartens had made preparations such as diverting road traffic for picking up students and making arrangements with parents and "nanny buses".
Assistant Commissioner for Transport Albert Su says he expects traffic congestion to be more serious tomorrow because all the nanny buses and other vehicles for kindergarten children would return to the roads.
"We are very, very concerned about the traffic condition tomorrow," says Su. "It's possible that a very serious situation will occur."
Su again appealed for the protesters to remove barriers blocking the city's major roads. He adds that he respects the police's decision to handle the situation through dialogue.
Central and Western District Officer Cheryl Chow says residents in Western District had to endure more difficulties to commute because there is no MTR connection in the area.
6.50pm: A group of some 20 North District residents has gathered outside Next Media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s home in Kowloon, a few kilometres from the Mong Kok protest site.
The anti-Occupy protesters hold banners accusing Lai of colluding with foreign governments. "When good old America comes up with a plan, the fat guy pays for it," one sign reads, referring to Lai.
Deng Ren-ming, 65, says that although pro-democracy protests were taking place far from where he and fellow protesters live, those who work in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island still feel the impact.
"The thing is we don't know when it will end," he says. "We also want to support those, for example, who live in Mong Kok and are affected."
Asked why the group chose Lai's house to stage the protest, he says: "It's all written on the banners."
"Whether it is as what the banners suggest, Lai should come out and explain," he says.
The group leaves after half an hour when police arrive at the scene.
Anti-Occupy protesters target Jimmy Lai's house. Photo: Chris Lau
The group accused Lai of colluding with foreign governments. Photo: Chris Lau
Re: M Ravi: Law minister understanding of HK basic law is seriously flawed
LIVE: Australian firm defends HK$50 million deal with Hong Kong leader CY Leung
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 09 October, 2014, 7:47am
UPDATED : Thursday, 09 October, 2014, 12:43pm
Staff reporters
A pro-democracy protester eats his meal in front of a barricade blocking a main road in Mongkok. Photo: Reuters
Good morning and welcome to our continuing coverage of the Occupy movement.
An Australian newspaper has questioned an alleged undisclosed payment of HK$49.9 million from an Australian firm that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying received but failed to disclose upon assuming office. The Age report said Leung's office responded by saying he did not have to disclose the payment.
Small groups of protesters remain at the main protest sites in Admiralty and Mong Kok after a quiet night as Friday's talks between Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and students approach.
Stay tuned for all the breaking news.
12.30pm: Red minibus drivers hold a press conference in front of Sogo in Causeway Bay. They demand an end to the barricades, which they call illegal.
"This road is a lifeline, an artery for minibuses in Causeway Bay," says Chan Fung-yuen, the public light bus branch director of the Motor Transport Workers General Union. "We drivers have elderly and young family members at home to feed. We hope the protesters will stop imposing their struggle on all Hongkongers."
Chan also says that the drivers have lost 75 per cent of their business, while still having to pay for petrol and the rent of their vehicles. He says their business is "on a saline drip."
At the end of the press conference, the drivers chant a slogan that called the protests "mob politics" and demand the police and government step in to "strike back against these protesters who knowingly defy the law." Chan gives a police representative a letter from the union.
Red minibus drivers demand the barricades come down in Causeway Bay. Photo: Alan Yu
12.15pm: There’s a greater police presence in Causeway Bay today, according to one of our reporters in the area.
“I must have passed at least 30 policemen [this morning],” says the Post’s Alan Yu. “I asked one officer and he said these are routine patrols. There definitely weren't that many here yesterday. One protester stopped me to ask what was going on.”
Police in Causeway Bay on Thursday morning. Photo: Alan Yu
Police officers gather outside Sogo in Causeway Bay. Photo: Alan YuP
olice patrol Causeway Bay. Photo: Alan Yu
12.05pm: Two men show up at the protest site in Mong Kok, screaming that the protesters should go to occupy a landfill or the home of the owner of the companies which publish Next Magazine and Apple Daily.
“If you want to occupy, go to Tseung Kwan O landfill. Go to Jimmy Lai's home," one of the men shouts.
“Some small shops in Mong Kok are losing HK$5,000 in revenue a day."
Another man asks the students to stay away from politicians because they will hijack the movement. Police officers finally interrupt and the two men leave with their supporters.
Occupy protests are costing small businesses in Mong Kok money, says this man. Photo: Thomas Chan
11.55am: The Australian firm at the centre of a storm over an multimillion-dollar payout to Leung Chun-ying has just released a statement. Leung, who worked with the firm before he became Hong Kong's chief executive, allegedly failed to disclose a HK$50 million payment in the past two years from engineering company UGL Limited. The leader is facing questions over possible misconduct in relation to the contract.
However, in an October 9 statement, UGL defended both the deal and the decision not to declare it. It said the contract was a normal business arrangement, made after it acquired in December 2011 the subsidiaries of Leung's former employer, DTZ Holdings.
UGL said the payment to Leung was made in relation to "non-compete, non-poach and DTZ senior management retention provisions" after it acquired subsidiaries of DTZ. Leung founded DTZ's North Asia business and used to serve as its CEO, before he resigned in November 2011, according to UGL.
"Such agreements are common confidential commercial arrangements when a business is being acquired. The only difference here being Mr Leung went on nearly six months later to become the Chief Executive of Hong Kong," the Australian firm said in the statement.
It insisted that the agreement with and payment to Leung were necessary for commercial reasons, and that it was under "no obligation, legal or otherwise, to disclose the agreement".
"It should be noted that at the time of entering in the agreement, Mr Leung was not an elected official of Hong Kong, and UGL had no reason to expect that his campaign for Chief Executive of Hong Kong would be successful," UGL said.
UGL also said that the deal with Leung covered only the two years after UGL's acquisition of DTZ subsidiaries.
In those two years and afterwards, "UGL did not request Mr Leung to undertake any task whatsoever on our behalf, nor did Mr Leung offer to perform any tasks. Our only concern was to see the non-poach and non-compete enforced and the value of the acquisition protected, which it was," it said.
11.25am: Students are reportedly considering reducing the number of blockades or at least open part of the road to ease the traffic situation, including opening Queensway so that trams can start operating in that area, according to a Ming Pao Daily report.
The Federation of Students, one of three main groups leading the protests aside from Scholarism and Occupy Central, was quoted as saying it would appoint representatives to negotiate whether to cut the number of barricades. The federation said it would strive to reach a consensus with protesters on the matter.
10.43am: There are about 60 to 70 protesters in Mong Kok, where it's calm. In one section of road, youths are seen relaxing in a makeshift encampent, with tarps overhead, a few tents on the ground and small stools that some use as tables. There are just eight police officers on duty.
In Causeway Bay, there were less people - at least 30, according to a reporter's estimate - almost as much as the 20 to 30 police officers standing guard. One office said these were routine patrols, but that there definitely weren't as many police there yesterday.
Mong Kok. Photo: Thomas Chan
A barricade in Causeway Bay. Photo: Silvio Carillo
10.25am: Here is today's cartoon by Harry Harrison on Occupy Central.
And don't miss Alex Lo's latest column, in which he argues that the pro-democracy protests have exposed to the world a gnawing problem in the city: extreme inequalities in education, job opportunities and social mobility. He argues that the city is confronting not merely a political crisis but a generational one, fuelled by social discontent that should spell trouble for the ruling elite.
9.50am: Cardinal Joseph Zen, former leader of the Hong Kong Catholic Church, told students today that it would be "stupid" to continue the sit-in protest when nothing could come of negotiations with a government that has "gone crazy", RTHK reported.
Zen, who sympathised with the movement and early in the protests called for CY Leung to step down, said the demonstrators needed to conserve their energy instead of exhausting themselves while "not hurting the administration", the report said.
9.33am: How do some parents feel about the continuing Occupy protests? The Post spoke to some at True Light Kindergarten in Central, where children arrived between 15 to 40 minutes late. Classes were supposed to start at 9am.
May Wong, mother of four-year-old: "It hasn't affected our child's education much. There's not much to do at school apart from play. She's just been playing at home. I supported Occupy Central at first, but now that it's been more than a week, I think it's dragged on for too long.
"I think they've achieved all they can, and they won't accomplish much more by staying, though they're certainly making life inconvenient for a lot of Hongkongers. They've sent a very clear message to the government and the rest of society that they want genuine universal suffrage."
Tsai Hong-Ming, 38, father of five-year-old: "The past two weeks have been a little inconvenient because we had to get someone to take care of our child at home. My wife usually works but she had to take two weeks off to stay home. I don't really approve of what Occupy Central protesters are doing. This relatively small group of people has disrupted most people's lives by protesting in a way that's irrational and illegal. No matter how noble their aspirations are, they have to choose their strategy carefully. They can't just do anything."
Wong Chui-ling, in her late 30s, mother to three-year-old: "I had to keep taking my child outside; it's harder on the parents. I happen to be pregnant right now, so it's been particularly hard to take my child out. I brought her to the park, to the library, but we spent quite a bit of time at home.
"The protesters are thinking too much about themselves. A lot of Hongkongers have had their work and school lives disrupted because of the movement. My husband usually takes a bus to work in Wan Chai. For the past two weeks, he's had to drive through the hills or walk down to Central to get public transport."
Preschoolers head to school, some 40 minutes late because of traffic disruptions. Photo: David Wong
9.17am: Director of Administration Kitty Choi Kit-yu said operations at the government headquarters (CGO) have not fully resumed as there are still roadblocks around the complex. Choi said visitors and officials from other government departments were finding it more difficult to enter the Tamar complex for meetings. "Our efficiency is still being hindered," Choi said.
Betty Fung Ching Suk-yee, the permanent secretary for home affairs, told reporters before walking into work at the headquarters that the biggest inconvenience now was going out for meetings during the day.
"Hope the road will be reopened again and the entire operation will be better," said Fung. She said some district councillors from Central met protesters and urged them to open the roads in Admiralty.
Dennis Yeung, a civil servant working in Tamar, said he had to spend an extra 30 minutes to reach Admiralty today by bus. But he was satisfied to see the blockade was moved to allow a two-metre-wide passage on the footbridge. "They [protesters] have their own needs, it is fine as long as they don't affect our lives," he said.
8.50am: There's a camping atmosphere in Admiralty, where people are starting to wake up from a night spent sleeping on yoga mats, blankets or even towels, with their rucksacks as pillows. In one corner, a man has started strumming his guitar and singing. People have also propped a cluster of umbrellas on the street, forming a buffer around a group of protesters who are eating and chatting to each other.
In Causeway Bay, the scene was more placid, with just around 15 to 20 people camped out there.
Protesters sleep on blankets on the road in Admiralty. Photo: Dickson Lee
A man with a guitar sings in Admiralty. A Lufsig toy, used to mock CY Leung, hangs from his guitar case. Photo: Dickson Lee
Students eat and chat surrounded by umbrellas. Photo: Dickson Lee
8.37am: Traffic disruptions continue today, with the Transport Department urging commuters to plan for longer travel times, especially as kindergartens in Wan Chai, Central and Western districts resume classes today.
Lam Lai-fan, the principal of True Light Kindergarten on Caine Road in Central, said around half their students come from other areas, including in Wan Chai and the Eastern district.
The kindergarten is prepared to see latecomers as the students need school buses, which also have to drop off primary and secondary school students - whose classes resumed earlier in the week.
Twenty-five bus routes remained suspended while 140 remain diverted on Hong Kong Island as some routes in Admiralty are still blocked. Some 70 bus routes in Kowloon and the New Territories are temporarily diverted, and another 74 cross-harbour routes are also diverted.
Meanwhile, MTR authorities noted service disruptions on the Kwun Tong and Island lines due to overcrowding at Kowloon Tong and Sheung Wan, respectively.
8.27am: Kindergartens in Wan Chai, Central and Western districts reopen on Thursday. One of the parents taking their children back to kindergartens is Michael Wegener, 39, who says the protests had been more important than his son missing kindergarten for several days.
"At this age, I think he's fine," Wegener says, referring to his four year-old son. "But of course, the parents had to pay the school fees, the bus fees and the canteen fees. We continued to work, we had a nanny at home."
"I thought it was good, very healthy to show unhappiness about China not sticking to its promises," he says.
8am: Protesters wake up for another night on the streets of Admiralty as barricades are left unguarded.
Around 100 protesters are staying put along Harcourt Road. Barricades on the bridge connecting Admiralty Centre with the Tamar government offices have been almost completely removed, while the section between Citic Bridge and the government offices remains blocked by barricades.
Demonstrators have not tried to block people working at the government offices from going to work. A two-metre wide passage between Admiralty Centre bridge and the government offices allows staffers to pass unimpeded.
Admiralty on Thursday morning. Photo: Elizabeth Cheung
Admiralty on Thursday morning. Photo: Elizabeth Cheung
7.35am: Dozens of bus routes have been suspended as pro-democracy protesters continue to block major roads in Admiralty and Mong Kok.
7.30am: Here's a look at the Post's front-page on Thursday:
7.15am: Excerpts from the Post's coverage of the Occupy movement in our print edition on Thursday:
Jimmy Lai Chee-ying says he 'hasn't given one cent' to Occupy Central organisers
The media mogul spoke after a new batch of his confidential documents were leaked to the media on Monday - the third such disclosure since July. The documents suggested that Lai had sponsored Occupy.
Officer quitting to join Occupy rallies 'boosts auxiliary police morale'
Auxiliary forces were being called up more frequently, with an extra 60 to 80 officers stationed in Wan Chai, Central and Mong Kok each day.
Travel firm sues Occupy co-founder Benny Tai Yiu-ting over lost business
The managing director of the LifeABC tour company filed the case at the Small Claims Tribunal at the Wan Chai Law Courts yesterday, seeking HK$450 in compensation from Tai.
Amateur songwriters give Occupy movement a soundtrack on YouTube
You told me shop owners and commuters suffered… | But when I asked if you have ever gone on the street | You said it's enough to watch TVB news from dawn to dusk.
Organisers keep on top of supplies for Hong Kong Occupy Central protesters
While tents and loudspeakers came from various non-governmental groups, other items - including goggles, masks, water and food - came from a number of secret donors.
Supporters urge Occupy protesters to unite amid mixed messages over talks
Hunger striker Benny Mok Siu-man urged the organisers to form a committee to set priorities.
Editorial: Protesters who blocked roads also cleared Hong Kong's polluted air
Without a government policy shift, after the demonstrations have ended, we will have to rely on our memories of the protest days for what clean vehicles on our roads mean for air quality.
A main road remains blocked-off with tents of pro-democracy advocates in the night to Thursday. Photo: EPA
7am: The front-page headlines of major local newspapers on Thursday:
Apple Daily: C Y Leung secretly pockets HK$50 million, fails to declare payout, also suspected of breaching bribery laws
Oriental Daily News: Animal feed oil passed off as edible lard
Ming Pao: Leung fails to declare deal in which he received HK$50 million from Australian company
Sing Tao Daily: Massive traffic jams across Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. Voices of discontent heard everywhere
6.45am: Here's a summary of what happened overnight:
* Preparations for the dialogue between Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and student representatives appeared to take a step backwards as the two sides squabbled over the agenda.
* Hundreds of people converged at the protest sites in Mong Kok and Admiralty in the night to Thursday, debating the future of the pro-democracy movement and its impact on the territory's economy. Many just enjoyed walking on the usually congested roads.
* No major confrontations between critics and supporters of the Occupy movement occurred. Police did not attempt to clear protest sites.
Protesters walk along an occupied road outside Hong Kong's Central Government Office in Hong Kong in the night to Thursday. Photo: EPA
LIVE: Australian firm defends HK$50 million deal with Hong Kong leader CY Leung
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 09 October, 2014, 7:47am
UPDATED : Thursday, 09 October, 2014, 12:43pm
Staff reporters
A pro-democracy protester eats his meal in front of a barricade blocking a main road in Mongkok. Photo: Reuters
Good morning and welcome to our continuing coverage of the Occupy movement.
An Australian newspaper has questioned an alleged undisclosed payment of HK$49.9 million from an Australian firm that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying received but failed to disclose upon assuming office. The Age report said Leung's office responded by saying he did not have to disclose the payment.
Small groups of protesters remain at the main protest sites in Admiralty and Mong Kok after a quiet night as Friday's talks between Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and students approach.
Stay tuned for all the breaking news.
12.30pm: Red minibus drivers hold a press conference in front of Sogo in Causeway Bay. They demand an end to the barricades, which they call illegal.
"This road is a lifeline, an artery for minibuses in Causeway Bay," says Chan Fung-yuen, the public light bus branch director of the Motor Transport Workers General Union. "We drivers have elderly and young family members at home to feed. We hope the protesters will stop imposing their struggle on all Hongkongers."
Chan also says that the drivers have lost 75 per cent of their business, while still having to pay for petrol and the rent of their vehicles. He says their business is "on a saline drip."
At the end of the press conference, the drivers chant a slogan that called the protests "mob politics" and demand the police and government step in to "strike back against these protesters who knowingly defy the law." Chan gives a police representative a letter from the union.
Red minibus drivers demand the barricades come down in Causeway Bay. Photo: Alan Yu
12.15pm: There’s a greater police presence in Causeway Bay today, according to one of our reporters in the area.
“I must have passed at least 30 policemen [this morning],” says the Post’s Alan Yu. “I asked one officer and he said these are routine patrols. There definitely weren't that many here yesterday. One protester stopped me to ask what was going on.”
Police in Causeway Bay on Thursday morning. Photo: Alan Yu
Police officers gather outside Sogo in Causeway Bay. Photo: Alan YuP
olice patrol Causeway Bay. Photo: Alan Yu
12.05pm: Two men show up at the protest site in Mong Kok, screaming that the protesters should go to occupy a landfill or the home of the owner of the companies which publish Next Magazine and Apple Daily.
“If you want to occupy, go to Tseung Kwan O landfill. Go to Jimmy Lai's home," one of the men shouts.
“Some small shops in Mong Kok are losing HK$5,000 in revenue a day."
Another man asks the students to stay away from politicians because they will hijack the movement. Police officers finally interrupt and the two men leave with their supporters.
Occupy protests are costing small businesses in Mong Kok money, says this man. Photo: Thomas Chan
11.55am: The Australian firm at the centre of a storm over an multimillion-dollar payout to Leung Chun-ying has just released a statement. Leung, who worked with the firm before he became Hong Kong's chief executive, allegedly failed to disclose a HK$50 million payment in the past two years from engineering company UGL Limited. The leader is facing questions over possible misconduct in relation to the contract.
However, in an October 9 statement, UGL defended both the deal and the decision not to declare it. It said the contract was a normal business arrangement, made after it acquired in December 2011 the subsidiaries of Leung's former employer, DTZ Holdings.
UGL said the payment to Leung was made in relation to "non-compete, non-poach and DTZ senior management retention provisions" after it acquired subsidiaries of DTZ. Leung founded DTZ's North Asia business and used to serve as its CEO, before he resigned in November 2011, according to UGL.
"Such agreements are common confidential commercial arrangements when a business is being acquired. The only difference here being Mr Leung went on nearly six months later to become the Chief Executive of Hong Kong," the Australian firm said in the statement.
It insisted that the agreement with and payment to Leung were necessary for commercial reasons, and that it was under "no obligation, legal or otherwise, to disclose the agreement".
"It should be noted that at the time of entering in the agreement, Mr Leung was not an elected official of Hong Kong, and UGL had no reason to expect that his campaign for Chief Executive of Hong Kong would be successful," UGL said.
UGL also said that the deal with Leung covered only the two years after UGL's acquisition of DTZ subsidiaries.
In those two years and afterwards, "UGL did not request Mr Leung to undertake any task whatsoever on our behalf, nor did Mr Leung offer to perform any tasks. Our only concern was to see the non-poach and non-compete enforced and the value of the acquisition protected, which it was," it said.
11.25am: Students are reportedly considering reducing the number of blockades or at least open part of the road to ease the traffic situation, including opening Queensway so that trams can start operating in that area, according to a Ming Pao Daily report.
The Federation of Students, one of three main groups leading the protests aside from Scholarism and Occupy Central, was quoted as saying it would appoint representatives to negotiate whether to cut the number of barricades. The federation said it would strive to reach a consensus with protesters on the matter.
10.43am: There are about 60 to 70 protesters in Mong Kok, where it's calm. In one section of road, youths are seen relaxing in a makeshift encampent, with tarps overhead, a few tents on the ground and small stools that some use as tables. There are just eight police officers on duty.
In Causeway Bay, there were less people - at least 30, according to a reporter's estimate - almost as much as the 20 to 30 police officers standing guard. One office said these were routine patrols, but that there definitely weren't as many police there yesterday.
Mong Kok. Photo: Thomas Chan
A barricade in Causeway Bay. Photo: Silvio Carillo
10.25am: Here is today's cartoon by Harry Harrison on Occupy Central.
And don't miss Alex Lo's latest column, in which he argues that the pro-democracy protests have exposed to the world a gnawing problem in the city: extreme inequalities in education, job opportunities and social mobility. He argues that the city is confronting not merely a political crisis but a generational one, fuelled by social discontent that should spell trouble for the ruling elite.
9.50am: Cardinal Joseph Zen, former leader of the Hong Kong Catholic Church, told students today that it would be "stupid" to continue the sit-in protest when nothing could come of negotiations with a government that has "gone crazy", RTHK reported.
Zen, who sympathised with the movement and early in the protests called for CY Leung to step down, said the demonstrators needed to conserve their energy instead of exhausting themselves while "not hurting the administration", the report said.
9.33am: How do some parents feel about the continuing Occupy protests? The Post spoke to some at True Light Kindergarten in Central, where children arrived between 15 to 40 minutes late. Classes were supposed to start at 9am.
May Wong, mother of four-year-old: "It hasn't affected our child's education much. There's not much to do at school apart from play. She's just been playing at home. I supported Occupy Central at first, but now that it's been more than a week, I think it's dragged on for too long.
"I think they've achieved all they can, and they won't accomplish much more by staying, though they're certainly making life inconvenient for a lot of Hongkongers. They've sent a very clear message to the government and the rest of society that they want genuine universal suffrage."
Tsai Hong-Ming, 38, father of five-year-old: "The past two weeks have been a little inconvenient because we had to get someone to take care of our child at home. My wife usually works but she had to take two weeks off to stay home. I don't really approve of what Occupy Central protesters are doing. This relatively small group of people has disrupted most people's lives by protesting in a way that's irrational and illegal. No matter how noble their aspirations are, they have to choose their strategy carefully. They can't just do anything."
Wong Chui-ling, in her late 30s, mother to three-year-old: "I had to keep taking my child outside; it's harder on the parents. I happen to be pregnant right now, so it's been particularly hard to take my child out. I brought her to the park, to the library, but we spent quite a bit of time at home.
"The protesters are thinking too much about themselves. A lot of Hongkongers have had their work and school lives disrupted because of the movement. My husband usually takes a bus to work in Wan Chai. For the past two weeks, he's had to drive through the hills or walk down to Central to get public transport."
Preschoolers head to school, some 40 minutes late because of traffic disruptions. Photo: David Wong
9.17am: Director of Administration Kitty Choi Kit-yu said operations at the government headquarters (CGO) have not fully resumed as there are still roadblocks around the complex. Choi said visitors and officials from other government departments were finding it more difficult to enter the Tamar complex for meetings. "Our efficiency is still being hindered," Choi said.
Betty Fung Ching Suk-yee, the permanent secretary for home affairs, told reporters before walking into work at the headquarters that the biggest inconvenience now was going out for meetings during the day.
"Hope the road will be reopened again and the entire operation will be better," said Fung. She said some district councillors from Central met protesters and urged them to open the roads in Admiralty.
Dennis Yeung, a civil servant working in Tamar, said he had to spend an extra 30 minutes to reach Admiralty today by bus. But he was satisfied to see the blockade was moved to allow a two-metre-wide passage on the footbridge. "They [protesters] have their own needs, it is fine as long as they don't affect our lives," he said.
8.50am: There's a camping atmosphere in Admiralty, where people are starting to wake up from a night spent sleeping on yoga mats, blankets or even towels, with their rucksacks as pillows. In one corner, a man has started strumming his guitar and singing. People have also propped a cluster of umbrellas on the street, forming a buffer around a group of protesters who are eating and chatting to each other.
In Causeway Bay, the scene was more placid, with just around 15 to 20 people camped out there.
Protesters sleep on blankets on the road in Admiralty. Photo: Dickson Lee
A man with a guitar sings in Admiralty. A Lufsig toy, used to mock CY Leung, hangs from his guitar case. Photo: Dickson Lee
Students eat and chat surrounded by umbrellas. Photo: Dickson Lee
8.37am: Traffic disruptions continue today, with the Transport Department urging commuters to plan for longer travel times, especially as kindergartens in Wan Chai, Central and Western districts resume classes today.
Lam Lai-fan, the principal of True Light Kindergarten on Caine Road in Central, said around half their students come from other areas, including in Wan Chai and the Eastern district.
The kindergarten is prepared to see latecomers as the students need school buses, which also have to drop off primary and secondary school students - whose classes resumed earlier in the week.
Twenty-five bus routes remained suspended while 140 remain diverted on Hong Kong Island as some routes in Admiralty are still blocked. Some 70 bus routes in Kowloon and the New Territories are temporarily diverted, and another 74 cross-harbour routes are also diverted.
Meanwhile, MTR authorities noted service disruptions on the Kwun Tong and Island lines due to overcrowding at Kowloon Tong and Sheung Wan, respectively.
8.27am: Kindergartens in Wan Chai, Central and Western districts reopen on Thursday. One of the parents taking their children back to kindergartens is Michael Wegener, 39, who says the protests had been more important than his son missing kindergarten for several days.
"At this age, I think he's fine," Wegener says, referring to his four year-old son. "But of course, the parents had to pay the school fees, the bus fees and the canteen fees. We continued to work, we had a nanny at home."
"I thought it was good, very healthy to show unhappiness about China not sticking to its promises," he says.
8am: Protesters wake up for another night on the streets of Admiralty as barricades are left unguarded.
Around 100 protesters are staying put along Harcourt Road. Barricades on the bridge connecting Admiralty Centre with the Tamar government offices have been almost completely removed, while the section between Citic Bridge and the government offices remains blocked by barricades.
Demonstrators have not tried to block people working at the government offices from going to work. A two-metre wide passage between Admiralty Centre bridge and the government offices allows staffers to pass unimpeded.
Admiralty on Thursday morning. Photo: Elizabeth Cheung
Admiralty on Thursday morning. Photo: Elizabeth Cheung
7.35am: Dozens of bus routes have been suspended as pro-democracy protesters continue to block major roads in Admiralty and Mong Kok.
7.30am: Here's a look at the Post's front-page on Thursday:
7.15am: Excerpts from the Post's coverage of the Occupy movement in our print edition on Thursday:
Jimmy Lai Chee-ying says he 'hasn't given one cent' to Occupy Central organisers
The media mogul spoke after a new batch of his confidential documents were leaked to the media on Monday - the third such disclosure since July. The documents suggested that Lai had sponsored Occupy.
Officer quitting to join Occupy rallies 'boosts auxiliary police morale'
Auxiliary forces were being called up more frequently, with an extra 60 to 80 officers stationed in Wan Chai, Central and Mong Kok each day.
Travel firm sues Occupy co-founder Benny Tai Yiu-ting over lost business
The managing director of the LifeABC tour company filed the case at the Small Claims Tribunal at the Wan Chai Law Courts yesterday, seeking HK$450 in compensation from Tai.
Amateur songwriters give Occupy movement a soundtrack on YouTube
You told me shop owners and commuters suffered… | But when I asked if you have ever gone on the street | You said it's enough to watch TVB news from dawn to dusk.
Organisers keep on top of supplies for Hong Kong Occupy Central protesters
While tents and loudspeakers came from various non-governmental groups, other items - including goggles, masks, water and food - came from a number of secret donors.
Supporters urge Occupy protesters to unite amid mixed messages over talks
Hunger striker Benny Mok Siu-man urged the organisers to form a committee to set priorities.
Editorial: Protesters who blocked roads also cleared Hong Kong's polluted air
Without a government policy shift, after the demonstrations have ended, we will have to rely on our memories of the protest days for what clean vehicles on our roads mean for air quality.
A main road remains blocked-off with tents of pro-democracy advocates in the night to Thursday. Photo: EPA
7am: The front-page headlines of major local newspapers on Thursday:
Apple Daily: C Y Leung secretly pockets HK$50 million, fails to declare payout, also suspected of breaching bribery laws
Oriental Daily News: Animal feed oil passed off as edible lard
Ming Pao: Leung fails to declare deal in which he received HK$50 million from Australian company
Sing Tao Daily: Massive traffic jams across Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. Voices of discontent heard everywhere
6.45am: Here's a summary of what happened overnight:
* Preparations for the dialogue between Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and student representatives appeared to take a step backwards as the two sides squabbled over the agenda.
* Hundreds of people converged at the protest sites in Mong Kok and Admiralty in the night to Thursday, debating the future of the pro-democracy movement and its impact on the territory's economy. Many just enjoyed walking on the usually congested roads.
* No major confrontations between critics and supporters of the Occupy movement occurred. Police did not attempt to clear protest sites.
Protesters walk along an occupied road outside Hong Kong's Central Government Office in Hong Kong in the night to Thursday. Photo: EPA
Re: Give me Liberty or Give me Death! Giordano Tycoon joins Occupy Central!
LIVE: Student leaders call for mass rally in Admiralty after government calls off talks
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 09 October, 2014, 7:47am
UPDATED : Thursday, 09 October, 2014, 11:30pm
Staff reporters
Good evening and welcome to our continuing coverage of the Occupy movement.
Federation of Students leader Lester Shum called on protesters to take to streets on Friday at 7.30pm for mass rally in Harcourt Road after Chief Secretary Carrie Lam called off talks on electoral reform.
Meanwhile, a formal complaint has been lodged with Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency regarding chief executive Leung Chun-ying’s secret £4 million (HK$50m) deal with a listed Australian engineering firm.
Follow all the breaking news here.
11.30pm Causeway Bay: While talks about the future of the Occupy movement continue there's also art in progress in Hennessy Road.
Italian architect and painter, Francesco Lietti, brought a blank canvas yesterday to the streets that is rapidly being filled with the hands and ideas of people on the streets. After an enthusiastic response yesterday, he decided to come back today. Dozens of people have joined him to paint over the past few hours.
Lietti says he felt "moved" by the Occupy movement that has spread across Hong Kong, and he aims to create piece that can symbolise events here.
11.15pm Admiralty: Speeches by protest leaders come to an end. However, it is estimated that at least 5,000 people are still gathering in Harcourt Road.
More protesters showed up in Admiralty on Thursday night after the government suspended talks with the Hong Kong Federation of Students, but the situation remains peaceful.
Winsome Ng, a third-year student from Baptist University says it was predictable for the government to cancel the talks originally scheduled for tomorrow.
“From the very beginning the government has made their bottom line very clear - that Beijing would not retreat from their decision regarding the nominating committee, which left little room for a constructive talks with the protesters,” Ng says.
Ng adds that it is the government, not the protesters, who have taken the occupation of Admiralty as a bargaining point in the dialogue. “The reason why we have taken to the streets was to call for dialogue.”
Her remarks were in response to Carrie Lam’s announcement earlier that the federation has hindered the basis of the dialogue by taking the “public interest” of other commuters as a bargaining chip.
Ng says she did not expect tensions to escalate again in Admiralty, where the police used tear gas on the crowd a week ago. “That strategy has been proven ineffective, and thus I don’t think the government will adopt the same approach again. But we will stay alert.”
10.45pm Admiralty: After the student leaders' speeches, Father Franco Mella comes on stage to show his support for the students. He says many people in the church still support the Occupy movement. His remarks came as Cardinal Joseph Zen plea a day earlier for students to retreat from the Mong Kok and Causeway Bay protest sites, and comments casting doubts on the effectiveness of the prolonged sit-in.
10.40pm Admiralty: Speaking to supporters on stage in Harcourt Road, Lester Shum refutes Carrie Lam's claims that the number of protesters have been dwindling in recent days. Shum calls on the tens of thousands of Hongkongers who had participated in the Occupy movement to take to streets again on Friday at 7.30pm for an assembly in Harcourt Road - now renamed by protest leaders as "Umbrella Square". He also vows that the fight for democracy would last for a very long period of time.
Alex Chow, speaking on verge of tears, says Carrie Lam had created the political crisis by compiling a report to the central government that failed to reflect Hongkongers desire for genuine democracy. He also says the government has lost the legitimacy to govern after it used tear gas to suppress unarmed citizens.
"When the government lost the legitimacy to govern, how can the government accuse us undermining the basis of dialogue when we are only peacefully appealing for the rights for true democracy?" Chow says. He also promises that students would explore ways to escalate their disobedience campaign, without giving further details.
10.30pm Causeway Bay: Ian Chan Kok-hin, external vice-president of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, describes the governments' decision as "insincere". "The government is forcing the students and citizens to continue the occupation." He stresses that "occupying the roads is just one means of civil disobedience, but there are others."
Chan says that the Occupy movement, the Federation of Students, the Scholarism movement and other NGO's will launch another round of civil disobedience. "Boycotting the payment of government taxes" is one of the actions being considered, he says. "The government will have to listen the public."
10.10pm: More quotes from the Federation of Students press conference:
Federation of Students secretary general Alex Chow Yong-Kang said student leaders were disappointed that Carrie Lam used the students' remarks as "an excuse" to call off dialogue.
"Lam said we were making use of the dialogue to call for more people to take to the streets, when the number of protesters is diminishing ... But in fact it was a large crowd that could force the government to back down a bit. So, citizens should come back and take to the streets," Chow says.
He also dismissed suggestions that students' warning about a non-cooperative movement had ruined the chance for dialogue. "We were only saying that if the dialogue doesn't result in any progress, there will be such a movement, but officials said we had already started it," Chow said. "If the chief secretary was sincere, the dialogue would still be going on tomorrow."
Chow also emphasised that it was reasonable for the people to call for the national legislature to scrap its restrictive framework on political reform, and for public nomination. "The government has complete responsibility for this political crisis ... [Officials] should be working towards resolving this chaos and clear up this mess," he added.
9.50pm Causeway Bay: Protesters in Causeway Bay widely criticise the government's decision to cancelling talks between officials and students. Sunny Cheung Kwan-yang,18, university student, who has been one of the most outspoken voices in the Causeway Bay occupation, says that the government's withdrawal is "unreasonable" and "ridiculous". He believes the decision will bring more people to the streets tomorrow. "We must keep up the Occupy movement," Cheung said.
Stella Chan,18, a university student and a volunteer who has been joining protests for about two weeks, described the government's decision as "irresponsible".
English lecturer Horace Li, 36, couldn't find an explanation for the government's announcement. "They are getting so irrational about it. If they want to resolve the issue, they have to open a channel of communication. I don't think that closing the door is a good idea," he says. Li also says the government were fuelling people's dissatisfaction with their actions. "People in the street are loosing faith and hope in the government."
As a next step, Li suggests a new round of class boycotts by high school students could further put pressure on the government. "The people of Hong Kong are too gentle and polite in their striking".
9.35pm: Shum says that the student group offered to meet the government in July but government representatives declined. Chow says the first time the government agreed to talks, the federation called off talks, in the wake of violent attacks by suspected triads in Mong Kok.
On the second occasion, the government cancelled the talks, because the HKFS announced another round of civil disobedience action, despite there being no prerequisites for doing so, the vice-secretary says.
9.20pm: Hong Kong Federation of Students' Secretary-General Alex Chow Yong-kang says the government have not shown sincerity by cancelling tomorrow's proposed talks. The federation say they have always been sincere about starting a dialogue but the government has not been. Chow and Shum both accuse the SAR government of being responsible for the [Occupy] crisis.
The students representatives say Carrie Lam wrote a terrible report to the NPC that led to its decision on August 31, and the government employed tear gas to attack protesters, which led more people to the streets.
Now the government refuses to take responsibility for the crisis it created and it doesn't listen to its own people, they say.
HKFS Vice-secretary Lester Shum says the government had set no prerequisites for the talks, yet decided to cancel them anyway. Shum says the federation, however, only set one prerequisite for cancelling talks with the government. They said that if there were any violent attacks on protesters, they would cancel the talks - and he says they made this clear to government representatives at the time.
9.00pm Representatives of the Federation of Students begin a press conference to brief the media on their response to the government's decision to call off talks. More to follow...
8.45pm Mong Kok: Protesters rallying at the Mong Kok occupy site criticise the government's decision to call off talks with student leaders tomorrow. Polytechnic University student Patrick Lau accuses the administration of lacking sincerity for a dialogue. "I did not expect the talks to go smoothly... The government should not assume there would not be any [positive] results from the talks," he says.
Cherry Cheung, a researcher at a university, slams the government for delaying the talks and wait for protesters number to dwindle. "If [the government] says stepping up the civil disobedience campaign is not constructive, calling off the talks is even less constructive," Cheung says.
8.35pm: The government's decision to call off tomorrow's scheduled dialogue with the Hong Kong Federation of Students was in response to recent remarks made by student representatives which “undermined the basis for a constructive dialogue”, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor tells the media at a press briefing.
The decision comes just hours after the federation announced another round of non-cooperation movements, in which they called on more citizens to join the Occupy protests if dialogue with the government failed to offer substantial changes to the city’s political reform.
Chief Secretary Carrie Lam speaks on the latest situation on Occupy Central. Photo: Edward Wong
Lam said such remarks went against the principles behind the planned talks, adding that when and whether or not the “illegal occupation” would end should not be used as a bargaining chip in the dialogue. Any discussion on reform should be within the framework of the Basic Law, Lam added, citing the other “principle” behind the talks.
“We regret to make such announcement as we know the public’s expectations for dialogue remains high,” Lam said. She added the government had not, and would not, set prerequisites for future dialogue, which could be resumed when student representatives showed an "equal sense of sincerity" towards constructive talks.
8.15pm: Reacting to the governments' decision, Chinese University Students' Union president Tommy Cheung Sau-yin says: "The government taking the initiative to call off the dialogue makes people doubt officials' sincerity."
Cheung continued: "I think the key is not whether there is a series of non-cooperative movements ... people will join that movement if they support it. But more people are looking at whether any progress can be made at the talks. If no progress is made, a lot of people would be disappointed and rejoin the occupation."
7.55pm: Lam says students have not met the basic conditions for dialogue to go ahead as planned:
“The talk is based on two conditions: First the discussion must be within the framework of the decision made by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee. Second it must not be linked to the Occupy movement. Unfortunately, the protesters rejected the rational proposal and went back to their old position.
"They now insist on public nomination and to abolish the decision made by the NPCSC. They also link the dialogue with the Occupy movement and even said the movement would last until the talks produce a result [they want]. This is sacrificing public good for their political demands, and is against public interests and political ethics.”
7.35pm: Carrie Lam tells a press conference that talks with students scheduled for tomorrow are cancelled after protest leaders called on members of the public to gather at Harcourt Road before the dialogue to put pressure on the government.
7.30pm: Principal economist Andrew Au Sik-hung, of the Financial Services and Treasury Bureau, warns the city’s economic growth could slow as the retailing and catering markets shrink amid the protests.
“Theoretically, if the revenue of tourism, retailing and catering industries drops 5 per cent, the city’s weekly GDP will lose HK$300 million,” he says.
7.25pm: Up to 12.5km of road was congested on Hong Kong Island during peak hours this morning, with the longest traffic jam stretching 4.8km from Aberdeen Police Station to Queen’s Road East, transport officials say.
Some 40 per cent of bus routes were affected, with 22 routes suspended and another 227 changed. Twenty-seven minibus routes were also affected. The tram linking Western district to Eastern District remains paralysed.
As kindergartens reopened today, more than 70 per cent of school buses in Wan Chai were 30-50 minutes later than scheduled. In Central and Western district, more than 90 per cent of kindergartens saw pupils late for school.
7.20pm Causeway Bay: An elderly man who has been visiting the Causeway Bay since its first day of occupation, September 29, returns today holding the same banner. It reads "Occupy Central is a battle, and one should not fear those in power, because the brave ones will win."
Wong Pak-lam, 81, retired surgeon, says that his main motivation is to show support to students. "Real democracy is when the candidates are not pre-selected and local people can choose their leaders," Wong says. He says he will go to the Mong Kok protest site later tonight and then to Admiralty tomorrow.
Meanwhile, an English class finishes and another volunteer is now running a class about economics on Yee Wo Street.
7.15pm: Representatives of the police, district councils and the transportation industry say negotiations with protesters to remove barricades from roads are yet to yield a positive outcome.
Protesters have refused to retreat from Admiralty, which they say is their major negotiation chip, says home affairs department director Pamela Tan Kam Mi-wah, who took part in negotiations earlier today.
Police say they have tried to explain to protesters that their occupation is having an extensive impact on the daily life of members of the public, says Steve Hui Chun-tak, chief superintendent of the police public relations branch. “Unfortunately they turned down our proposal … It is extremely irresponsible for them to do so,” he says.
Hui says that police will keep negotiating but will not rule out taking "appropriate actions” when necessary.
Hui adds that police fear tensions could escalate in Mong Kok as protesters prepared for a prolonged demonstration. “We noticed some beds had been set up in the area,” Hui says, adding that the site remains a “high-risk area” [of conflicts between protesters and the anti-occupation rally].
7.10pm: A spokesman for the Department of Justice says it has authorised Director of Public Prosecutions Keith Yeung Ka-hung to handle the complaint to the ICAC about CY Leung’s secret £4 million (HK$50m) deal with a listed Australian engineering firm.
Yeung has been given the authority to decide whether a prosecution is warranted.
6.52pm: Meanwhile, in Mong Kok, protesters are playing table tennis on Nathan Road.
You’d have to see it to believe it, so here’s photographic evidence …
Protesters enjoy a game of table tennis in Mong Kok. Photo: Thomas Chan
6.45pm: Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor will hold a press conference at 7.30pm.
She'll be joined by Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam Chi-yuen.
6.35pm: Protest leaders meet protesters in Harcourt Road – the so-called “Umbrella Square” – after the press conference.
The group includes Occupy’s Benny Tai Yiu-ting, representatives of the Federation of Students, Scholarism and pan-democrats. Some 200 protesters come forward to show their support.
6.30pm: Alan Leong also says the pan-democrats will call for CY Leung’s impeachment.
"We are gathering the evidence and working on the draft. We will move the motion in the Legco when the draft is ready," he says.
6.25pm: Pan-democrats says they will frustrate the government in Legco ...
Civic Party leader Alan Leong Kah-kit says pan-democratic lawmakers will block financial applications from the government in the two subcommittees under the Finance Committee, except urgent and non-controversial items related to livelihood issues.
Pan-democrats have grabbed control in the public work subcommittee and establishment subcommittee under the powerful Finance Committee in the Legislative Council.
Protest leaders called on members of the public to meet at Admiralty at 3.30pm on Friday to put pressure on the government. Photo: Dickson Lee
6.15pm: More from the protest leaders’ press conference …
Pan-democrats and protest leaders call on members of the public to gather at Harcourt Road – which they have renamed “Umbrella Square” – on Friday afternoon when dialogue between students and government officials takes place at 4pm.
Alex Chow Yong-kang, secretary-general of the Federation of Students, says students are sincere in having dialogue with Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, but they have yet to hear a response from the government about the venue and related arrangements.
He warns that protests will continue until the government has responded to their demands and provides substantial solutions to ease political tensions. They say they will consult the public before deciding whether to retreat in future.
Joshua Wong Chi-fung, convenor of student activist group Scholarism, says they might mobilise another class boycott in secondary schools if the government fails to respond to their core demands – including the retraction of Beijing’s restrictive framework on universal suffrage and the resignation of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.
The groups say they will coordinate their efforts in escalating the disobedience and non-cooperation movement. However, they say they have no plans to formalise their alliance.
5.45pm: A new generation of journalists is covering the protests …
5.35pm: A coalition of groups representing truck drivers sets the protesters a Wednesday deadline (October 15) to take down the barricades.
"We can send trucks to clear the barricades," says Stanley Chiang Chi-wai, chairman of the Lok Ma Chau China-Hong Kong Freight Association. "We would do this first, but we don't want to. We want the protesters to think about the greater good of Hong Kong."
The representatives stress that the roadblocks are taking a toll on the livelihoods of truck drivers all over Hong Kong.
Tse Long, chairman of the Hong Kong Guangdong Transport Association, estimates drivers have had to work an extra two hours each day and spend an extra HK$1,000 on petrol over the past two weeks because of the road blockades.
Tse and Chiang stress they want the protesters to leave peacefully by October 15 to avoid any clashes, but won't rule out their plan of informing police of their plans before clearing the barricades themselves.
"We have a lot of gear," Tse says. "When I drive my truck in the street and I push away the barricades, do you dare destroy my truck? Are you trying to pick a fight?"
Tse says they have access to trucks with portable cranes, for one. Chiang insists they are politically neutral and no strangers to protests themselves.
"We want to talk, before we take action," Chiang says. "We protested with roadblocks ourselves back in 2007 but we were only there for two hours."
Truck drivers will remove the barriers themselves if they are not down by October 15. Photo: Alan Yu
5.25pm: Protest leaders from the Federation of Students, Occupy Central and pan-democrat lawmakers are speaking at a press conference now.
They have called on members of the public to meet at Admiralty at 3.30pm tomorrow to put pressure on the government ahead of negotiations with Carrie Lam scheduled for 4pm.
Student leaders also threatened to organise more secondary school strikes if the government does not meet their demands
More to follow …
5.15pm: How did Occupy Central’s pro-democracy push begin?
4.45pm Some100 people are occupying the protest area in Causeway Bay near Sogo department store. An ad-hoc library made of recycled materials has been set up on Hennessy Road.
People can borrow books and DVDs or leave another in exchange. Volunteers have also drawn a map titled "Support Democracy, Support Causeway Bay", marking the location of local restaurants in the area.
A makeshift library in Causeway Bay. Photo: Raquel Carvalho
4.30pm: Admiralty: With fewer protesters gathering in Admiralty, there has been fierce debate on whether to remove some barricades to improve access to the area. Josephine Yan, 40, says she would agree to this if the government responds to protesters' demands, but acknowledged that the situation was currently in stalemate. "It really depends on the conditions. The government has not reopened the Civic Square for us. I think now it is really about making exchanges," she says.
Wong Kwan-ho, 22, says that he couldn't see how reducing the size of the protest area would help. "I think other people have already got used to the transport arrangements now, and there are fewer private vehicles on the roads," the IVE graduate says.
However, other protesters' attitudes have softened. Connie Ho, a university student, says it is would be no problem to reduce the size of the area, so long as the barricades remain, "If we remove the barricades, then it is no longer a non-cooperative movement. What we have now is a bargaining tool with the government," Ho says, "If we step back, the government will be more aggressive."
4.00pm: Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah says police and students have been “highly restrained” over the past couple of weeks during the protests, displaying “common core values that all Hong Kong people subscribe to”.
“The government will do our best to bridge the divided community at this difficult time and build consensus that would enable us to take a giant step forward towards the achievement of universal suffrage in 2017 for the election of our next chief executive,” Tsang said in a speech to the Boston Economic Club in Boston on Wednesday night.
“The government will do our best to bridge the divided community at this difficult time and build consensus that would enable us to take a giant step forward towards the achievement of universal suffrage in 2017 for the election of our next chief executive.
“We do not underestimate the difficulty in this immense task. We have not seen such serious confrontations for half a century. A few people were injured but luckily nobody suffered serious harm. No broken windows, no scratches on vehicles, no arson, no looting – quite typical of such actions in Hong Kong. Both the police and protesters have been highly restrained, displaying the common core values that all Hong Kong people subscribe to.”
3.10pm: Time for a siesta? Protesters in Mong Kok have set up beds on Nathan Road for passersby to take a rest.
People are seen sitting on the beds reading, chatting and using laptops.
Protesters take a rest. Photo: Thomas Chan
Protesters set up a bunk bed in Mong Kok. Photo: Thomas Chan
3pm: More on CY and the NeoDemocrats:
A formal complaint has been lodged with Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency regarding the chief executive’s secret £4 million (HK$50m) deal with a listed Australian engineering firm.
The complaint, lodged by representatives of the pro-democracy NeoDemocrat party, could lead to an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) investigation of the deal, revealed by an Australian newspaper on Wednesday.
2.45pm: Opinion is divided among the remaining few protesters in Admiralty about whether to remove some barricades in the area.
Josephine Yan, 40, says she would only agree if the government responds to the protesters’ demands. "It really depends on the conditions. The government has not reopened Civic Square for us ... I think now it is really about the exchangeable conditions," she says.
Wong Kwan-ho, 22, says he is against removing barriers. "I think other people have already got used to the transport arrangement now ... and there are fewer private vehicles," the IVE graduate says.
However, some protesters' attitudes have softened. Connie Ho, a university student, says it is alright to taken down some barricades to reduce the size of the blocked area. "If we remove the barricades, then it is no longer a non-cooperative movement. What we have now is a bargaining tool with the government," Ho says, "If we step back, the communist government will be more aggressive."
2.30pm: Members of the NeoDemocrats protest at the Independent Commission Against Corruption headquarters in Quarry Bay. They are demanding an investigation into the alleged undisclosed payment of HK$49.9 million from an Australian firm that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying received but failed to disclose upon assuming office.
The NeoDemocrats are a group of current and former members of the Democratic Party, seen as more radical than the party itself following its compromise with the government on electoral reforms for 2012.
NeoDemocrats wave placards outside ICAC headquarters. Photo: David Wong
NeoDemocrats demand an investigation into CY Leung. Photo: David Wong
2.10pm: A small group of dissenters stops by the Causeway Bay barricades to tell protesters they should take their demonstration 2,000km north.
"It's no use protesting here; do it in Beijing," says a man in a white shirt and black trousers. "You need to put pressure on the central government."
Some passersby mumble their approval and tell the students to clear out. After a while, the protesters decide not to debate the issue any longer.
Most of the policemen who were here this morning have left.
"Go and protest in Beijing," says this passerby in Causeway Bay. Photo: Alan Yu
2pm: Protest leaders announce they will hold a press conference at 5pm to outline a “new wave” of the Occupy civil disobedience movement.
The press release does not say if talks scheduled for tomorrow between the students and Carrie Lam have broken down. More details as soon as we get them.
1.45pm: Some photos just in from the main protest site near government headquarters in Admiralty …
Office workers eat lunch at the protest site near government headquarters in Admiralty. Photo: Dickson Lee
The main protest site in Admiralty. Photo: Dickson Lee
Pro-democracy messages adorn a wall in Admiralty. Photo: Dickson Lee
1.15pm: Federation of Students member Lai Choi-yin, 22, has been at the Causeway Bay protest site every day since last Wednesday. Although she spent last night here, she usually goes to the Admiralty site at midnight to help with supplies.
“We're not hoping that the talks tomorrow can resolve everything. We know it's a long process and may take several negotiations,” she says.
“If the government doesn't talk to us about discussing civic nomination in detail in a report to the National People's Congress, I think we have to talk to all the protesters before we consider reducing the barricaded areas.
“Look at how long protesters occupied Wall Street. I'm prepared to be here for a while, but I think the government is counting on people's enthusiasm waning or playing a war of attrition. It may have worked on some people, but that just goes to show that we have to make sure everyone understands why we're doing this.”
'Class' schedule in Causeway Bay. Photo: Alan Yu
1pm: Wong Ka-fai, 21, vice chairman of the Chinese University of Hong Kong Student Union, has stopped by the Causeway Bay protest site every day since last Wednesday and spent last night here.
He says he has tried to explain to local residents the protesters’ reasons for staying.
“Not having a lot of people doesn't mean this site isn't important. That actually means we can take the time to talk to local residents and explain why we're doing this,” he says.
“I'm talking about the people who don't get why students and workers ignore their classes and jobs just to get in the way of traffic and local businesses. I tell them that ‘yes’, we have an affect on business, but the repression from the current regime has a far greater affect on our lives.
“I don't know if I've managed to convince anyone, but at least I imagine they feel a little better knowing that we're not just causing trouble for no reason.
“Whether or not we reduce the size of the protest area lies with every protester, but more importantly, it hangs on how the government responds to our demands. That's what matters. We don't want to be here, but if the government doesn't take us seriously and jerks us around, then they're practically encouraging us to stay here.”
LIVE: Student leaders call for mass rally in Admiralty after government calls off talks
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 09 October, 2014, 7:47am
UPDATED : Thursday, 09 October, 2014, 11:30pm
Staff reporters
Good evening and welcome to our continuing coverage of the Occupy movement.
Federation of Students leader Lester Shum called on protesters to take to streets on Friday at 7.30pm for mass rally in Harcourt Road after Chief Secretary Carrie Lam called off talks on electoral reform.
Meanwhile, a formal complaint has been lodged with Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency regarding chief executive Leung Chun-ying’s secret £4 million (HK$50m) deal with a listed Australian engineering firm.
Follow all the breaking news here.
11.30pm Causeway Bay: While talks about the future of the Occupy movement continue there's also art in progress in Hennessy Road.
Italian architect and painter, Francesco Lietti, brought a blank canvas yesterday to the streets that is rapidly being filled with the hands and ideas of people on the streets. After an enthusiastic response yesterday, he decided to come back today. Dozens of people have joined him to paint over the past few hours.
Lietti says he felt "moved" by the Occupy movement that has spread across Hong Kong, and he aims to create piece that can symbolise events here.
11.15pm Admiralty: Speeches by protest leaders come to an end. However, it is estimated that at least 5,000 people are still gathering in Harcourt Road.
More protesters showed up in Admiralty on Thursday night after the government suspended talks with the Hong Kong Federation of Students, but the situation remains peaceful.
Winsome Ng, a third-year student from Baptist University says it was predictable for the government to cancel the talks originally scheduled for tomorrow.
“From the very beginning the government has made their bottom line very clear - that Beijing would not retreat from their decision regarding the nominating committee, which left little room for a constructive talks with the protesters,” Ng says.
Ng adds that it is the government, not the protesters, who have taken the occupation of Admiralty as a bargaining point in the dialogue. “The reason why we have taken to the streets was to call for dialogue.”
Her remarks were in response to Carrie Lam’s announcement earlier that the federation has hindered the basis of the dialogue by taking the “public interest” of other commuters as a bargaining chip.
Ng says she did not expect tensions to escalate again in Admiralty, where the police used tear gas on the crowd a week ago. “That strategy has been proven ineffective, and thus I don’t think the government will adopt the same approach again. But we will stay alert.”
10.45pm Admiralty: After the student leaders' speeches, Father Franco Mella comes on stage to show his support for the students. He says many people in the church still support the Occupy movement. His remarks came as Cardinal Joseph Zen plea a day earlier for students to retreat from the Mong Kok and Causeway Bay protest sites, and comments casting doubts on the effectiveness of the prolonged sit-in.
10.40pm Admiralty: Speaking to supporters on stage in Harcourt Road, Lester Shum refutes Carrie Lam's claims that the number of protesters have been dwindling in recent days. Shum calls on the tens of thousands of Hongkongers who had participated in the Occupy movement to take to streets again on Friday at 7.30pm for an assembly in Harcourt Road - now renamed by protest leaders as "Umbrella Square". He also vows that the fight for democracy would last for a very long period of time.
Alex Chow, speaking on verge of tears, says Carrie Lam had created the political crisis by compiling a report to the central government that failed to reflect Hongkongers desire for genuine democracy. He also says the government has lost the legitimacy to govern after it used tear gas to suppress unarmed citizens.
"When the government lost the legitimacy to govern, how can the government accuse us undermining the basis of dialogue when we are only peacefully appealing for the rights for true democracy?" Chow says. He also promises that students would explore ways to escalate their disobedience campaign, without giving further details.
10.30pm Causeway Bay: Ian Chan Kok-hin, external vice-president of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, describes the governments' decision as "insincere". "The government is forcing the students and citizens to continue the occupation." He stresses that "occupying the roads is just one means of civil disobedience, but there are others."
Chan says that the Occupy movement, the Federation of Students, the Scholarism movement and other NGO's will launch another round of civil disobedience. "Boycotting the payment of government taxes" is one of the actions being considered, he says. "The government will have to listen the public."
10.10pm: More quotes from the Federation of Students press conference:
Federation of Students secretary general Alex Chow Yong-Kang said student leaders were disappointed that Carrie Lam used the students' remarks as "an excuse" to call off dialogue.
"Lam said we were making use of the dialogue to call for more people to take to the streets, when the number of protesters is diminishing ... But in fact it was a large crowd that could force the government to back down a bit. So, citizens should come back and take to the streets," Chow says.
He also dismissed suggestions that students' warning about a non-cooperative movement had ruined the chance for dialogue. "We were only saying that if the dialogue doesn't result in any progress, there will be such a movement, but officials said we had already started it," Chow said. "If the chief secretary was sincere, the dialogue would still be going on tomorrow."
Chow also emphasised that it was reasonable for the people to call for the national legislature to scrap its restrictive framework on political reform, and for public nomination. "The government has complete responsibility for this political crisis ... [Officials] should be working towards resolving this chaos and clear up this mess," he added.
9.50pm Causeway Bay: Protesters in Causeway Bay widely criticise the government's decision to cancelling talks between officials and students. Sunny Cheung Kwan-yang,18, university student, who has been one of the most outspoken voices in the Causeway Bay occupation, says that the government's withdrawal is "unreasonable" and "ridiculous". He believes the decision will bring more people to the streets tomorrow. "We must keep up the Occupy movement," Cheung said.
Stella Chan,18, a university student and a volunteer who has been joining protests for about two weeks, described the government's decision as "irresponsible".
English lecturer Horace Li, 36, couldn't find an explanation for the government's announcement. "They are getting so irrational about it. If they want to resolve the issue, they have to open a channel of communication. I don't think that closing the door is a good idea," he says. Li also says the government were fuelling people's dissatisfaction with their actions. "People in the street are loosing faith and hope in the government."
As a next step, Li suggests a new round of class boycotts by high school students could further put pressure on the government. "The people of Hong Kong are too gentle and polite in their striking".
9.35pm: Shum says that the student group offered to meet the government in July but government representatives declined. Chow says the first time the government agreed to talks, the federation called off talks, in the wake of violent attacks by suspected triads in Mong Kok.
On the second occasion, the government cancelled the talks, because the HKFS announced another round of civil disobedience action, despite there being no prerequisites for doing so, the vice-secretary says.
9.20pm: Hong Kong Federation of Students' Secretary-General Alex Chow Yong-kang says the government have not shown sincerity by cancelling tomorrow's proposed talks. The federation say they have always been sincere about starting a dialogue but the government has not been. Chow and Shum both accuse the SAR government of being responsible for the [Occupy] crisis.
The students representatives say Carrie Lam wrote a terrible report to the NPC that led to its decision on August 31, and the government employed tear gas to attack protesters, which led more people to the streets.
Now the government refuses to take responsibility for the crisis it created and it doesn't listen to its own people, they say.
HKFS Vice-secretary Lester Shum says the government had set no prerequisites for the talks, yet decided to cancel them anyway. Shum says the federation, however, only set one prerequisite for cancelling talks with the government. They said that if there were any violent attacks on protesters, they would cancel the talks - and he says they made this clear to government representatives at the time.
9.00pm Representatives of the Federation of Students begin a press conference to brief the media on their response to the government's decision to call off talks. More to follow...
8.45pm Mong Kok: Protesters rallying at the Mong Kok occupy site criticise the government's decision to call off talks with student leaders tomorrow. Polytechnic University student Patrick Lau accuses the administration of lacking sincerity for a dialogue. "I did not expect the talks to go smoothly... The government should not assume there would not be any [positive] results from the talks," he says.
Cherry Cheung, a researcher at a university, slams the government for delaying the talks and wait for protesters number to dwindle. "If [the government] says stepping up the civil disobedience campaign is not constructive, calling off the talks is even less constructive," Cheung says.
8.35pm: The government's decision to call off tomorrow's scheduled dialogue with the Hong Kong Federation of Students was in response to recent remarks made by student representatives which “undermined the basis for a constructive dialogue”, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor tells the media at a press briefing.
The decision comes just hours after the federation announced another round of non-cooperation movements, in which they called on more citizens to join the Occupy protests if dialogue with the government failed to offer substantial changes to the city’s political reform.
Chief Secretary Carrie Lam speaks on the latest situation on Occupy Central. Photo: Edward Wong
Lam said such remarks went against the principles behind the planned talks, adding that when and whether or not the “illegal occupation” would end should not be used as a bargaining chip in the dialogue. Any discussion on reform should be within the framework of the Basic Law, Lam added, citing the other “principle” behind the talks.
“We regret to make such announcement as we know the public’s expectations for dialogue remains high,” Lam said. She added the government had not, and would not, set prerequisites for future dialogue, which could be resumed when student representatives showed an "equal sense of sincerity" towards constructive talks.
8.15pm: Reacting to the governments' decision, Chinese University Students' Union president Tommy Cheung Sau-yin says: "The government taking the initiative to call off the dialogue makes people doubt officials' sincerity."
Cheung continued: "I think the key is not whether there is a series of non-cooperative movements ... people will join that movement if they support it. But more people are looking at whether any progress can be made at the talks. If no progress is made, a lot of people would be disappointed and rejoin the occupation."
7.55pm: Lam says students have not met the basic conditions for dialogue to go ahead as planned:
“The talk is based on two conditions: First the discussion must be within the framework of the decision made by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee. Second it must not be linked to the Occupy movement. Unfortunately, the protesters rejected the rational proposal and went back to their old position.
"They now insist on public nomination and to abolish the decision made by the NPCSC. They also link the dialogue with the Occupy movement and even said the movement would last until the talks produce a result [they want]. This is sacrificing public good for their political demands, and is against public interests and political ethics.”
7.35pm: Carrie Lam tells a press conference that talks with students scheduled for tomorrow are cancelled after protest leaders called on members of the public to gather at Harcourt Road before the dialogue to put pressure on the government.
7.30pm: Principal economist Andrew Au Sik-hung, of the Financial Services and Treasury Bureau, warns the city’s economic growth could slow as the retailing and catering markets shrink amid the protests.
“Theoretically, if the revenue of tourism, retailing and catering industries drops 5 per cent, the city’s weekly GDP will lose HK$300 million,” he says.
7.25pm: Up to 12.5km of road was congested on Hong Kong Island during peak hours this morning, with the longest traffic jam stretching 4.8km from Aberdeen Police Station to Queen’s Road East, transport officials say.
Some 40 per cent of bus routes were affected, with 22 routes suspended and another 227 changed. Twenty-seven minibus routes were also affected. The tram linking Western district to Eastern District remains paralysed.
As kindergartens reopened today, more than 70 per cent of school buses in Wan Chai were 30-50 minutes later than scheduled. In Central and Western district, more than 90 per cent of kindergartens saw pupils late for school.
7.20pm Causeway Bay: An elderly man who has been visiting the Causeway Bay since its first day of occupation, September 29, returns today holding the same banner. It reads "Occupy Central is a battle, and one should not fear those in power, because the brave ones will win."
Wong Pak-lam, 81, retired surgeon, says that his main motivation is to show support to students. "Real democracy is when the candidates are not pre-selected and local people can choose their leaders," Wong says. He says he will go to the Mong Kok protest site later tonight and then to Admiralty tomorrow.
Meanwhile, an English class finishes and another volunteer is now running a class about economics on Yee Wo Street.
7.15pm: Representatives of the police, district councils and the transportation industry say negotiations with protesters to remove barricades from roads are yet to yield a positive outcome.
Protesters have refused to retreat from Admiralty, which they say is their major negotiation chip, says home affairs department director Pamela Tan Kam Mi-wah, who took part in negotiations earlier today.
Police say they have tried to explain to protesters that their occupation is having an extensive impact on the daily life of members of the public, says Steve Hui Chun-tak, chief superintendent of the police public relations branch. “Unfortunately they turned down our proposal … It is extremely irresponsible for them to do so,” he says.
Hui says that police will keep negotiating but will not rule out taking "appropriate actions” when necessary.
Hui adds that police fear tensions could escalate in Mong Kok as protesters prepared for a prolonged demonstration. “We noticed some beds had been set up in the area,” Hui says, adding that the site remains a “high-risk area” [of conflicts between protesters and the anti-occupation rally].
7.10pm: A spokesman for the Department of Justice says it has authorised Director of Public Prosecutions Keith Yeung Ka-hung to handle the complaint to the ICAC about CY Leung’s secret £4 million (HK$50m) deal with a listed Australian engineering firm.
Yeung has been given the authority to decide whether a prosecution is warranted.
6.52pm: Meanwhile, in Mong Kok, protesters are playing table tennis on Nathan Road.
You’d have to see it to believe it, so here’s photographic evidence …
Protesters enjoy a game of table tennis in Mong Kok. Photo: Thomas Chan
6.45pm: Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor will hold a press conference at 7.30pm.
She'll be joined by Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam Chi-yuen.
6.35pm: Protest leaders meet protesters in Harcourt Road – the so-called “Umbrella Square” – after the press conference.
The group includes Occupy’s Benny Tai Yiu-ting, representatives of the Federation of Students, Scholarism and pan-democrats. Some 200 protesters come forward to show their support.
6.30pm: Alan Leong also says the pan-democrats will call for CY Leung’s impeachment.
"We are gathering the evidence and working on the draft. We will move the motion in the Legco when the draft is ready," he says.
6.25pm: Pan-democrats says they will frustrate the government in Legco ...
Civic Party leader Alan Leong Kah-kit says pan-democratic lawmakers will block financial applications from the government in the two subcommittees under the Finance Committee, except urgent and non-controversial items related to livelihood issues.
Pan-democrats have grabbed control in the public work subcommittee and establishment subcommittee under the powerful Finance Committee in the Legislative Council.
Protest leaders called on members of the public to meet at Admiralty at 3.30pm on Friday to put pressure on the government. Photo: Dickson Lee
6.15pm: More from the protest leaders’ press conference …
Pan-democrats and protest leaders call on members of the public to gather at Harcourt Road – which they have renamed “Umbrella Square” – on Friday afternoon when dialogue between students and government officials takes place at 4pm.
Alex Chow Yong-kang, secretary-general of the Federation of Students, says students are sincere in having dialogue with Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, but they have yet to hear a response from the government about the venue and related arrangements.
He warns that protests will continue until the government has responded to their demands and provides substantial solutions to ease political tensions. They say they will consult the public before deciding whether to retreat in future.
Joshua Wong Chi-fung, convenor of student activist group Scholarism, says they might mobilise another class boycott in secondary schools if the government fails to respond to their core demands – including the retraction of Beijing’s restrictive framework on universal suffrage and the resignation of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.
The groups say they will coordinate their efforts in escalating the disobedience and non-cooperation movement. However, they say they have no plans to formalise their alliance.
5.45pm: A new generation of journalists is covering the protests …
5.35pm: A coalition of groups representing truck drivers sets the protesters a Wednesday deadline (October 15) to take down the barricades.
"We can send trucks to clear the barricades," says Stanley Chiang Chi-wai, chairman of the Lok Ma Chau China-Hong Kong Freight Association. "We would do this first, but we don't want to. We want the protesters to think about the greater good of Hong Kong."
The representatives stress that the roadblocks are taking a toll on the livelihoods of truck drivers all over Hong Kong.
Tse Long, chairman of the Hong Kong Guangdong Transport Association, estimates drivers have had to work an extra two hours each day and spend an extra HK$1,000 on petrol over the past two weeks because of the road blockades.
Tse and Chiang stress they want the protesters to leave peacefully by October 15 to avoid any clashes, but won't rule out their plan of informing police of their plans before clearing the barricades themselves.
"We have a lot of gear," Tse says. "When I drive my truck in the street and I push away the barricades, do you dare destroy my truck? Are you trying to pick a fight?"
Tse says they have access to trucks with portable cranes, for one. Chiang insists they are politically neutral and no strangers to protests themselves.
"We want to talk, before we take action," Chiang says. "We protested with roadblocks ourselves back in 2007 but we were only there for two hours."
Truck drivers will remove the barriers themselves if they are not down by October 15. Photo: Alan Yu
5.25pm: Protest leaders from the Federation of Students, Occupy Central and pan-democrat lawmakers are speaking at a press conference now.
They have called on members of the public to meet at Admiralty at 3.30pm tomorrow to put pressure on the government ahead of negotiations with Carrie Lam scheduled for 4pm.
Student leaders also threatened to organise more secondary school strikes if the government does not meet their demands
More to follow …
5.15pm: How did Occupy Central’s pro-democracy push begin?
4.45pm Some100 people are occupying the protest area in Causeway Bay near Sogo department store. An ad-hoc library made of recycled materials has been set up on Hennessy Road.
People can borrow books and DVDs or leave another in exchange. Volunteers have also drawn a map titled "Support Democracy, Support Causeway Bay", marking the location of local restaurants in the area.
A makeshift library in Causeway Bay. Photo: Raquel Carvalho
4.30pm: Admiralty: With fewer protesters gathering in Admiralty, there has been fierce debate on whether to remove some barricades to improve access to the area. Josephine Yan, 40, says she would agree to this if the government responds to protesters' demands, but acknowledged that the situation was currently in stalemate. "It really depends on the conditions. The government has not reopened the Civic Square for us. I think now it is really about making exchanges," she says.
Wong Kwan-ho, 22, says that he couldn't see how reducing the size of the protest area would help. "I think other people have already got used to the transport arrangements now, and there are fewer private vehicles on the roads," the IVE graduate says.
However, other protesters' attitudes have softened. Connie Ho, a university student, says it is would be no problem to reduce the size of the area, so long as the barricades remain, "If we remove the barricades, then it is no longer a non-cooperative movement. What we have now is a bargaining tool with the government," Ho says, "If we step back, the government will be more aggressive."
4.00pm: Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah says police and students have been “highly restrained” over the past couple of weeks during the protests, displaying “common core values that all Hong Kong people subscribe to”.
“The government will do our best to bridge the divided community at this difficult time and build consensus that would enable us to take a giant step forward towards the achievement of universal suffrage in 2017 for the election of our next chief executive,” Tsang said in a speech to the Boston Economic Club in Boston on Wednesday night.
“The government will do our best to bridge the divided community at this difficult time and build consensus that would enable us to take a giant step forward towards the achievement of universal suffrage in 2017 for the election of our next chief executive.
“We do not underestimate the difficulty in this immense task. We have not seen such serious confrontations for half a century. A few people were injured but luckily nobody suffered serious harm. No broken windows, no scratches on vehicles, no arson, no looting – quite typical of such actions in Hong Kong. Both the police and protesters have been highly restrained, displaying the common core values that all Hong Kong people subscribe to.”
3.10pm: Time for a siesta? Protesters in Mong Kok have set up beds on Nathan Road for passersby to take a rest.
People are seen sitting on the beds reading, chatting and using laptops.
Protesters take a rest. Photo: Thomas Chan
Protesters set up a bunk bed in Mong Kok. Photo: Thomas Chan
3pm: More on CY and the NeoDemocrats:
A formal complaint has been lodged with Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency regarding the chief executive’s secret £4 million (HK$50m) deal with a listed Australian engineering firm.
The complaint, lodged by representatives of the pro-democracy NeoDemocrat party, could lead to an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) investigation of the deal, revealed by an Australian newspaper on Wednesday.
2.45pm: Opinion is divided among the remaining few protesters in Admiralty about whether to remove some barricades in the area.
Josephine Yan, 40, says she would only agree if the government responds to the protesters’ demands. "It really depends on the conditions. The government has not reopened Civic Square for us ... I think now it is really about the exchangeable conditions," she says.
Wong Kwan-ho, 22, says he is against removing barriers. "I think other people have already got used to the transport arrangement now ... and there are fewer private vehicles," the IVE graduate says.
However, some protesters' attitudes have softened. Connie Ho, a university student, says it is alright to taken down some barricades to reduce the size of the blocked area. "If we remove the barricades, then it is no longer a non-cooperative movement. What we have now is a bargaining tool with the government," Ho says, "If we step back, the communist government will be more aggressive."
2.30pm: Members of the NeoDemocrats protest at the Independent Commission Against Corruption headquarters in Quarry Bay. They are demanding an investigation into the alleged undisclosed payment of HK$49.9 million from an Australian firm that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying received but failed to disclose upon assuming office.
The NeoDemocrats are a group of current and former members of the Democratic Party, seen as more radical than the party itself following its compromise with the government on electoral reforms for 2012.
NeoDemocrats wave placards outside ICAC headquarters. Photo: David Wong
NeoDemocrats demand an investigation into CY Leung. Photo: David Wong
2.10pm: A small group of dissenters stops by the Causeway Bay barricades to tell protesters they should take their demonstration 2,000km north.
"It's no use protesting here; do it in Beijing," says a man in a white shirt and black trousers. "You need to put pressure on the central government."
Some passersby mumble their approval and tell the students to clear out. After a while, the protesters decide not to debate the issue any longer.
Most of the policemen who were here this morning have left.
"Go and protest in Beijing," says this passerby in Causeway Bay. Photo: Alan Yu
2pm: Protest leaders announce they will hold a press conference at 5pm to outline a “new wave” of the Occupy civil disobedience movement.
The press release does not say if talks scheduled for tomorrow between the students and Carrie Lam have broken down. More details as soon as we get them.
1.45pm: Some photos just in from the main protest site near government headquarters in Admiralty …
Office workers eat lunch at the protest site near government headquarters in Admiralty. Photo: Dickson Lee
The main protest site in Admiralty. Photo: Dickson Lee
Pro-democracy messages adorn a wall in Admiralty. Photo: Dickson Lee
1.15pm: Federation of Students member Lai Choi-yin, 22, has been at the Causeway Bay protest site every day since last Wednesday. Although she spent last night here, she usually goes to the Admiralty site at midnight to help with supplies.
“We're not hoping that the talks tomorrow can resolve everything. We know it's a long process and may take several negotiations,” she says.
“If the government doesn't talk to us about discussing civic nomination in detail in a report to the National People's Congress, I think we have to talk to all the protesters before we consider reducing the barricaded areas.
“Look at how long protesters occupied Wall Street. I'm prepared to be here for a while, but I think the government is counting on people's enthusiasm waning or playing a war of attrition. It may have worked on some people, but that just goes to show that we have to make sure everyone understands why we're doing this.”
'Class' schedule in Causeway Bay. Photo: Alan Yu
1pm: Wong Ka-fai, 21, vice chairman of the Chinese University of Hong Kong Student Union, has stopped by the Causeway Bay protest site every day since last Wednesday and spent last night here.
He says he has tried to explain to local residents the protesters’ reasons for staying.
“Not having a lot of people doesn't mean this site isn't important. That actually means we can take the time to talk to local residents and explain why we're doing this,” he says.
“I'm talking about the people who don't get why students and workers ignore their classes and jobs just to get in the way of traffic and local businesses. I tell them that ‘yes’, we have an affect on business, but the repression from the current regime has a far greater affect on our lives.
“I don't know if I've managed to convince anyone, but at least I imagine they feel a little better knowing that we're not just causing trouble for no reason.
“Whether or not we reduce the size of the protest area lies with every protester, but more importantly, it hangs on how the government responds to our demands. That's what matters. We don't want to be here, but if the government doesn't take us seriously and jerks us around, then they're practically encouraging us to stay here.”
Re: Give me Liberty or Give me Death! Giordano Tycoon joins Occupy Central!
LIVE: Students urge Hongkongers to occupy 'every inch of the streets' in renewed call for democracy
PUBLISHED : Friday, 10 October, 2014, 7:53am
UPDATED : Friday, 10 October, 2014, 12:22pm
Staff reporters
A man takes a photo of the protest site in Admiralty on Friday, where around 100 people were camped out. Photo: Dickson Lee
Good afternoon and welcome to our continuing coverage of the Occupy movement.
The Hong Kong government has cancelled talks with student leaders set for today, where they were supposed to discuss election reform issues as a step towards easing the current political stalemate. Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, appointed the government's representative, said the talks would not be held because the government felt they would not lead to a constructive outcome.
Student leaders have called for a mass rally in Admiralty at 7.30pm on Friday in response to Lam's annoucement. Adding to government headaches, the Liaison Office in Hong Kong said its website had been targeted by hackers.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong's ICAC and police in Australia said they would launch separate investigations into a HK$50 million deal between Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and an Australian firm.
Follow all the breaking news here.
11.35am: The daughter of Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying has threatened to take legal action against several media for reporting on her questionable Facebook comments, in which she claimed that her designer clothes and accessories were "funded by all you HK taxpayers".
"To NextShark.com, The Business Insider, The Daily Mail, The National Post, Coconuts Hong Kong, Huffington Post UK etc, unless you remove your defamatory articles and issue public apologies, I shall have no option left other than to take legal action and sue you for libel. I have warned you," Leung Chai-yan, who is studying law in Britain, said.
Leung, 23, apparently responding to critcisms on her Facebook profile, said: "This is actually a beautiful necklace bought at Lane Crawford (yes - funded by all you HK taxpayers!! So are all my beautiful shoes and dresses and clutches!! Thank you so much!!!!) Actually maybe I shouldn't say 'all you'- since most of you here are probably unemployed hence have all this time obsessed with bombarding me with messages."
NextShark.com, an online magazine, had published two articles with the words "spoiled daughter" in the headline.
A Facebook photo of Leung Chai-yan.
10.50am: In a sign it's gearing up for the long haul, Scholarism called on protesters today to occupy "every inch of the streets" with tents and blankets, and create one big "Umbrella Square".
"This is the best way to fight back against police violence and the NPC Standing Committee shutting the door on political reform," student-led activist group Scholarism said in a statement.
"Students' and citizens' calls after Carrie Lam cancelled talks with [the Federation of Students] have shown that popular discontent is on the rise. Therefore, we need to give the government a clear response by expanding the scale of the Occupy action," it said.
The statement even gave a helpful list of how much protesters could expect to spend (from HK$300 on tents to HK$30 for blow-up cushions) and what essentials to bring (toothbrushes, towels and slippers).
They also listed free shower facilities at a building on Stanley Street in Central, a squash club in Admiralty and the Harbour Road Sports Centre in Wan Chai for protesters to use.
The scene at the main protest camp in Mong Kok. Photo: Thomas Chan
Pedestrians walk around the protest camp in Mong Kok, which is clearly demarcated with blankets and tarps for flooring, a canopy, and even small furniture. Photo: Thomas Chan
10.36am: Two Executive Councillors shed more light on why plans for an election reform dialogue today between the government and protesters broke down.
Starry Lee Wai-king, who is also a lawmaker under the pro-Beijing DAB party, said the pan-democrats' "non-cooperation campaign" in the legislature was a key factor in the cancellation.
The campaign of the pan-democrats, who support the Occupy Central movement, involves obstructing pro-administration parties' bills and proposals, and attempting to take the majority of seats in two sub-groups of the Legislative Council's powerful finance committee. "It is shocking that pan-democrats and protest organisers threatened to halt government operations," Lee said on a Commercial Radio programme.
Protesters' demand for the National People's Congress - China's legislature - to retract its restrictive framework on universal suffrage "is beyond the SAR government's power. There will be no way talks can be held if students insist on this", Lee said.
She added that the government had shown "tolerance and restraint" and had really hoped to hold a dialogue with student protesters.
Fellow Executive Councillor Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung said he hoped pan-democrats would stop doing anything to "fan the flames" in the stand-off. The council is a body of advisers to the chief executive of Hong Kong.
Federation of Students deputy secretary-general Lester Shum also told Commercial Radio that prospects for the dialogue looked dire late on Wednesday to yesterday morning. During this period, Shum said he couldn't reach political assistant for constitutional affairs Ronald Chan Ngok-pang to discuss arrangements for the meeting.
9.45am: If student protesters and Chief Secretary Carrie Lam had gone ahead with a dialogue today, what would have been the outcome? Here is SCMP cartoonist Harry Harrison's take:
9.25am: US lawmakers are pushing to revive a practice of holding congressional briefings on human rights in Hong Kong - something that hasn't been done since March 2000, under the Clinton administration.
The US Congress' executive commission on China, composed of 17 members from the Republican and Democrat parties, said in an annual report released today that the briefings should "pay particular attention to the development of democratic institutions in Hong Kong and China’s obligations under international treaties and agreements".
Under a 1992 act, the US Secretary of State is tasked with providing briefings on Hong Kong's democratic development to both the US Senate and House.
The congressional commission called on China to institute universal suffrage in line with the Basic Law and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - a treaty that China signed but has not ratified.
8.45am: Germany's president praised Hong Kong's pro-democracy protesters for overcoming "their fear of their oppressors because their longing for freedom was greater", RTHK news reported today.
President Joachim Gauck, speaking at an event commemorating an October 9, 1989, freedom and democracy rally in Leipzig, compared the Hong Kong protesters to the peaceful demonstrators who stood up to communist East Germany's authoritarian rule. This helped usher the fall of the Berlin Wall just a month later.
Gauck stressed the importance of defending democracy today. "The young protesters in Hong Kong have understood this very well,'' he said.
Gauck's remarks came just a day before he is set to meet Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and other officials at a Sino-German summit in Berlin, the report said.
A protester reads a paper while catching some sun on a concrete island along Connaught Road in Admiralty. Photo: Dickson Lee
The scene in Admiralty this morning. Photo: Dickson Lee
8.30am: There are still around 100 people camped out in Admiralty, according to an SCMP reporter's estimate. This will be the site to watch today, after protest leaders urged more members of the public to mass in the streets tonight in a show of anger at the government's unwillingness to listen to the demonstrators' demands.
Organisers want to concentrate the protests on Harcourt Road, which they have renamed "Umbrella Square".
7.45am: Dozens of bus routes have been suspended as pro-democracy protesters continue to block major roads in Admiralty and Mong Kok. Bus operators said routes plying through Admiralty, Wan Chai and Central would be delayed.
The MTR, meanwhile, urged commuters to allow for a longer commute as they expect networks to be "busier than usual".
7.30am: Here's a look at the Post's front-page on Friday:
7.15am: Excerpts from the Post's coverage of the Occupy movement in our print edition on Friday:
Protesters call new rally as Hong Kong government cancels talks
"With much regret, [after] the remarks made by student representatives in the past two days, especially this afternoon, I realise that the basis for a constructive dialogue has been seriously undermined," said Lam.
Punish Occupy Central organisers, forgive the rest, says state media
Most of the people taking part in the protests were students who had hopes for a better future for the mainland and Hong Kong, but they were "used, bewitched, and deceived" by the tiny group of organisers, party papers suggested.
Emotional toll on police handling Occupy protests, psychologists say
They also got into arguments with relatives - some of whom were involved in the protests - who blamed them for suppressing the pro-democracy activists.
Protesters practise ‘Love and Peace’ in different ways
Kwan Tai's supporters, meanwhile, offer a grim warning: don't remove the shrine or you will be condemned by the almighty god.
Editorial: Disruption must not spread to Legco
It is in the city's interest for the government and Legco to get back to normal business as soon as possible.
7am: The front-page headlines of major local newspapers on Friday:
- Apple Daily: Carrie Lam calls off meeting. Students: We will hold fast to street protests
- Oriental Daily News: Talks cancelled. Government and Federation of Students trade accusations of insincerity
- Ming Pao: Government calls off dialogue. Federation of Students may surround government offices again
- Sing Tao Daily: Carrie Lam calls off dialogue with Federation of Students
6.45am: Here's a summary of what happened overnight:
* The Liaison Office said its website had been targed by hackers.
Beijing's representative office in Hong Kong said hackers had attacked its website at least twice, once on October 8 and and once on October 9, and the incident was reported to the police.
* Hundreds of people converged at the protest sites in Mong Kok and Admiralty, debating the future of the pro-democracy movement and its impact on the territory's economy. Many just enjoyed walking on the usually congested roads.
* No major confrontations between critics and supporters of the Occupy movement occurred. Police did not attempt to clear protest sites.
Protester Daniel Cheng, 20, in front of a barricade that he helps to maintain on an occupied road in the Admiralty district. Photo: AFP
LIVE: Students urge Hongkongers to occupy 'every inch of the streets' in renewed call for democracy
PUBLISHED : Friday, 10 October, 2014, 7:53am
UPDATED : Friday, 10 October, 2014, 12:22pm
Staff reporters
A man takes a photo of the protest site in Admiralty on Friday, where around 100 people were camped out. Photo: Dickson Lee
Good afternoon and welcome to our continuing coverage of the Occupy movement.
The Hong Kong government has cancelled talks with student leaders set for today, where they were supposed to discuss election reform issues as a step towards easing the current political stalemate. Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, appointed the government's representative, said the talks would not be held because the government felt they would not lead to a constructive outcome.
Student leaders have called for a mass rally in Admiralty at 7.30pm on Friday in response to Lam's annoucement. Adding to government headaches, the Liaison Office in Hong Kong said its website had been targeted by hackers.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong's ICAC and police in Australia said they would launch separate investigations into a HK$50 million deal between Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and an Australian firm.
Follow all the breaking news here.
11.35am: The daughter of Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying has threatened to take legal action against several media for reporting on her questionable Facebook comments, in which she claimed that her designer clothes and accessories were "funded by all you HK taxpayers".
"To NextShark.com, The Business Insider, The Daily Mail, The National Post, Coconuts Hong Kong, Huffington Post UK etc, unless you remove your defamatory articles and issue public apologies, I shall have no option left other than to take legal action and sue you for libel. I have warned you," Leung Chai-yan, who is studying law in Britain, said.
Leung, 23, apparently responding to critcisms on her Facebook profile, said: "This is actually a beautiful necklace bought at Lane Crawford (yes - funded by all you HK taxpayers!! So are all my beautiful shoes and dresses and clutches!! Thank you so much!!!!) Actually maybe I shouldn't say 'all you'- since most of you here are probably unemployed hence have all this time obsessed with bombarding me with messages."
NextShark.com, an online magazine, had published two articles with the words "spoiled daughter" in the headline.
A Facebook photo of Leung Chai-yan.
10.50am: In a sign it's gearing up for the long haul, Scholarism called on protesters today to occupy "every inch of the streets" with tents and blankets, and create one big "Umbrella Square".
"This is the best way to fight back against police violence and the NPC Standing Committee shutting the door on political reform," student-led activist group Scholarism said in a statement.
"Students' and citizens' calls after Carrie Lam cancelled talks with [the Federation of Students] have shown that popular discontent is on the rise. Therefore, we need to give the government a clear response by expanding the scale of the Occupy action," it said.
The statement even gave a helpful list of how much protesters could expect to spend (from HK$300 on tents to HK$30 for blow-up cushions) and what essentials to bring (toothbrushes, towels and slippers).
They also listed free shower facilities at a building on Stanley Street in Central, a squash club in Admiralty and the Harbour Road Sports Centre in Wan Chai for protesters to use.
The scene at the main protest camp in Mong Kok. Photo: Thomas Chan
Pedestrians walk around the protest camp in Mong Kok, which is clearly demarcated with blankets and tarps for flooring, a canopy, and even small furniture. Photo: Thomas Chan
10.36am: Two Executive Councillors shed more light on why plans for an election reform dialogue today between the government and protesters broke down.
Starry Lee Wai-king, who is also a lawmaker under the pro-Beijing DAB party, said the pan-democrats' "non-cooperation campaign" in the legislature was a key factor in the cancellation.
The campaign of the pan-democrats, who support the Occupy Central movement, involves obstructing pro-administration parties' bills and proposals, and attempting to take the majority of seats in two sub-groups of the Legislative Council's powerful finance committee. "It is shocking that pan-democrats and protest organisers threatened to halt government operations," Lee said on a Commercial Radio programme.
Protesters' demand for the National People's Congress - China's legislature - to retract its restrictive framework on universal suffrage "is beyond the SAR government's power. There will be no way talks can be held if students insist on this", Lee said.
She added that the government had shown "tolerance and restraint" and had really hoped to hold a dialogue with student protesters.
Fellow Executive Councillor Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung said he hoped pan-democrats would stop doing anything to "fan the flames" in the stand-off. The council is a body of advisers to the chief executive of Hong Kong.
Federation of Students deputy secretary-general Lester Shum also told Commercial Radio that prospects for the dialogue looked dire late on Wednesday to yesterday morning. During this period, Shum said he couldn't reach political assistant for constitutional affairs Ronald Chan Ngok-pang to discuss arrangements for the meeting.
9.45am: If student protesters and Chief Secretary Carrie Lam had gone ahead with a dialogue today, what would have been the outcome? Here is SCMP cartoonist Harry Harrison's take:
9.25am: US lawmakers are pushing to revive a practice of holding congressional briefings on human rights in Hong Kong - something that hasn't been done since March 2000, under the Clinton administration.
The US Congress' executive commission on China, composed of 17 members from the Republican and Democrat parties, said in an annual report released today that the briefings should "pay particular attention to the development of democratic institutions in Hong Kong and China’s obligations under international treaties and agreements".
Under a 1992 act, the US Secretary of State is tasked with providing briefings on Hong Kong's democratic development to both the US Senate and House.
The congressional commission called on China to institute universal suffrage in line with the Basic Law and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - a treaty that China signed but has not ratified.
8.45am: Germany's president praised Hong Kong's pro-democracy protesters for overcoming "their fear of their oppressors because their longing for freedom was greater", RTHK news reported today.
President Joachim Gauck, speaking at an event commemorating an October 9, 1989, freedom and democracy rally in Leipzig, compared the Hong Kong protesters to the peaceful demonstrators who stood up to communist East Germany's authoritarian rule. This helped usher the fall of the Berlin Wall just a month later.
Gauck stressed the importance of defending democracy today. "The young protesters in Hong Kong have understood this very well,'' he said.
Gauck's remarks came just a day before he is set to meet Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and other officials at a Sino-German summit in Berlin, the report said.
A protester reads a paper while catching some sun on a concrete island along Connaught Road in Admiralty. Photo: Dickson Lee
The scene in Admiralty this morning. Photo: Dickson Lee
8.30am: There are still around 100 people camped out in Admiralty, according to an SCMP reporter's estimate. This will be the site to watch today, after protest leaders urged more members of the public to mass in the streets tonight in a show of anger at the government's unwillingness to listen to the demonstrators' demands.
Organisers want to concentrate the protests on Harcourt Road, which they have renamed "Umbrella Square".
7.45am: Dozens of bus routes have been suspended as pro-democracy protesters continue to block major roads in Admiralty and Mong Kok. Bus operators said routes plying through Admiralty, Wan Chai and Central would be delayed.
The MTR, meanwhile, urged commuters to allow for a longer commute as they expect networks to be "busier than usual".
7.30am: Here's a look at the Post's front-page on Friday:
7.15am: Excerpts from the Post's coverage of the Occupy movement in our print edition on Friday:
Protesters call new rally as Hong Kong government cancels talks
"With much regret, [after] the remarks made by student representatives in the past two days, especially this afternoon, I realise that the basis for a constructive dialogue has been seriously undermined," said Lam.
Punish Occupy Central organisers, forgive the rest, says state media
Most of the people taking part in the protests were students who had hopes for a better future for the mainland and Hong Kong, but they were "used, bewitched, and deceived" by the tiny group of organisers, party papers suggested.
Emotional toll on police handling Occupy protests, psychologists say
They also got into arguments with relatives - some of whom were involved in the protests - who blamed them for suppressing the pro-democracy activists.
Protesters practise ‘Love and Peace’ in different ways
Kwan Tai's supporters, meanwhile, offer a grim warning: don't remove the shrine or you will be condemned by the almighty god.
Editorial: Disruption must not spread to Legco
It is in the city's interest for the government and Legco to get back to normal business as soon as possible.
7am: The front-page headlines of major local newspapers on Friday:
- Apple Daily: Carrie Lam calls off meeting. Students: We will hold fast to street protests
- Oriental Daily News: Talks cancelled. Government and Federation of Students trade accusations of insincerity
- Ming Pao: Government calls off dialogue. Federation of Students may surround government offices again
- Sing Tao Daily: Carrie Lam calls off dialogue with Federation of Students
6.45am: Here's a summary of what happened overnight:
* The Liaison Office said its website had been targed by hackers.
Beijing's representative office in Hong Kong said hackers had attacked its website at least twice, once on October 8 and and once on October 9, and the incident was reported to the police.
* Hundreds of people converged at the protest sites in Mong Kok and Admiralty, debating the future of the pro-democracy movement and its impact on the territory's economy. Many just enjoyed walking on the usually congested roads.
* No major confrontations between critics and supporters of the Occupy movement occurred. Police did not attempt to clear protest sites.
Protester Daniel Cheng, 20, in front of a barricade that he helps to maintain on an occupied road in the Admiralty district. Photo: AFP
Re: M Ravi: Law minister understanding of HK basic law is seriously flawed
Protesters call new rally as Hong Kong government cancels talks
Students announce rally in ‘Umbrella Square’ after Carrie Lam says their remarks had undermined chance for ‘constructive’ dialogue
PUBLISHED : Friday, 10 October, 2014, 5:15am
UPDATED : Friday, 10 October, 2014, 8:11am
Peter So and Tony Cheung
Lawmakers Leung Kwok-hung, Gary Fan, Albert Ho, Fernando Cheung, Lee Cheuk-yan and Alan Leong join Lester Shum, Benny Tai, Joshua Wong and Chan Kin-man in Admiralty. Photo: Dickson Lee
The government called off a meeting with student protest leaders yesterday on the eve of a scheduled dialogue to discuss election reform, saying it was unacceptable that protesters were using the occasion to incite more people to join the mass sit-in.
Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the talks would not be held because the government felt they would not lead to a constructive outcome.
Lester Shum, vice-secretary-general of the Federation of Students, responded by calling on the tens of thousands of Hongkongers who had taken part in the Occupy movement to take to the streets tonight at 7.30 for an assembly in Harcourt Road, now renamed by protest leaders as "The Umbrella Square".
About two hours before the chief secretary's announcement, pan-democratic lawmakers and protest leaders - including the Federation of Students, Occupy Central co-founders and the student activist group Scholarism - had vowed to escalate their disobedience and non-cooperation movement if the government failed to make "substantial responses" to their demands. These included the retraction of Beijing's restrictive framework for universal suffrage and the resignation of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.
"With much regret, [after] the remarks made by student representatives in the past two days, especially this afternoon, I realise that the basis for a constructive dialogue has been seriously undermined," said Lam.
She added that the government remained open to dialogue, but stressed that it would not accept protest leaders using the public interest as a bargaining chip by linking the dialogue results to their decision on retreating from protest sites.
"Their unlawful actions must end as soon as possible," she said. However, she did not answer directly whether, or when, the police force would disperse protesters with force.
Federation of Students secretary general Alex Chow Yong-kang said that Lam had used the students' remarks as "excuses" to call off the dialogue.
"We were only saying that if the dialogue doesn't result in any progress, there will be such a movement, but officials said we had already started it.
"If the chief secretary is sincere, the dialogue would still go on tomorrow."
Joshua Wong Chi-fung, convenor of Scholarism, said they might mobilise another class boycott in secondary schools.
Pan-democratic lawmakers suggested invoking the Legislative Council's Power and Privileges Ordinance to probe the police's handling of protests - such as the use of tear gas on demonstrators. But pro-government lawmaker Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung suggested launching a separate inquiry to counter the pan-democrats' move.
And Tam Yiu-chung, chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, filed a petition to Legco president Jasper Tsang Yok-sing on Wednesday, calling for another probe into the organisation and financial sources of the protests.
Meanwhile, a signature campaign has been launched to urge the government and student representatives to start talking as soon as possible.
Signatories include former civil service secretary Joseph Wong Wing-ping and barrister Edward Chan King-sang.
In a message to Hongkongers they said the current movement was not a revolution but a democracy movement initiated by students whose aim was not to overthrow the government.
Harry's view
Protesters call new rally as Hong Kong government cancels talks
Students announce rally in ‘Umbrella Square’ after Carrie Lam says their remarks had undermined chance for ‘constructive’ dialogue
PUBLISHED : Friday, 10 October, 2014, 5:15am
UPDATED : Friday, 10 October, 2014, 8:11am
Peter So and Tony Cheung
Lawmakers Leung Kwok-hung, Gary Fan, Albert Ho, Fernando Cheung, Lee Cheuk-yan and Alan Leong join Lester Shum, Benny Tai, Joshua Wong and Chan Kin-man in Admiralty. Photo: Dickson Lee
The government called off a meeting with student protest leaders yesterday on the eve of a scheduled dialogue to discuss election reform, saying it was unacceptable that protesters were using the occasion to incite more people to join the mass sit-in.
Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the talks would not be held because the government felt they would not lead to a constructive outcome.
Lester Shum, vice-secretary-general of the Federation of Students, responded by calling on the tens of thousands of Hongkongers who had taken part in the Occupy movement to take to the streets tonight at 7.30 for an assembly in Harcourt Road, now renamed by protest leaders as "The Umbrella Square".
About two hours before the chief secretary's announcement, pan-democratic lawmakers and protest leaders - including the Federation of Students, Occupy Central co-founders and the student activist group Scholarism - had vowed to escalate their disobedience and non-cooperation movement if the government failed to make "substantial responses" to their demands. These included the retraction of Beijing's restrictive framework for universal suffrage and the resignation of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.
"With much regret, [after] the remarks made by student representatives in the past two days, especially this afternoon, I realise that the basis for a constructive dialogue has been seriously undermined," said Lam.
She added that the government remained open to dialogue, but stressed that it would not accept protest leaders using the public interest as a bargaining chip by linking the dialogue results to their decision on retreating from protest sites.
"Their unlawful actions must end as soon as possible," she said. However, she did not answer directly whether, or when, the police force would disperse protesters with force.
Federation of Students secretary general Alex Chow Yong-kang said that Lam had used the students' remarks as "excuses" to call off the dialogue.
"We were only saying that if the dialogue doesn't result in any progress, there will be such a movement, but officials said we had already started it.
"If the chief secretary is sincere, the dialogue would still go on tomorrow."
Joshua Wong Chi-fung, convenor of Scholarism, said they might mobilise another class boycott in secondary schools.
Pan-democratic lawmakers suggested invoking the Legislative Council's Power and Privileges Ordinance to probe the police's handling of protests - such as the use of tear gas on demonstrators. But pro-government lawmaker Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung suggested launching a separate inquiry to counter the pan-democrats' move.
And Tam Yiu-chung, chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, filed a petition to Legco president Jasper Tsang Yok-sing on Wednesday, calling for another probe into the organisation and financial sources of the protests.
Meanwhile, a signature campaign has been launched to urge the government and student representatives to start talking as soon as possible.
Signatories include former civil service secretary Joseph Wong Wing-ping and barrister Edward Chan King-sang.
In a message to Hongkongers they said the current movement was not a revolution but a democracy movement initiated by students whose aim was not to overthrow the government.
Harry's view
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