CY Leung issues stark warning government offices and schools must open Monday
PUBLISHED : Saturday, 04 October, 2014, 4:55pm
UPDATED : Saturday, 04 October, 2014, 6:59pm
Staff Reporters
Police hold back the anti-Occupy Central camp in Causeway Bay. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying is adamant that government operations and schools affected by Occupy Central must resume on Monday.
"At the moment, the most urgent thing is that all entrances and exits of the SAR government's headquarters must be kept clear on Monday, so all 3,000 government staff can work normally and serve citizens," Leung said in a televised speech.
"And roads in Central and Western and Wan Chai districts will no longer be blocked so all schools can resume classes on Monday."
Leung issued a stark warning that if the conflict between pro- and anti- Occupy Central groups continued, it would be "very likely to keep going out of hand".
Meanwhile, a former Democratic Party lawmaker warned that Occupy is in a "very dangerous situation" that has to be resolved "in a very short period of time".
Cheung Man-Kwong has urged student protesters to launch dialogue with the government as soon as possible in order to find a way out of the current political deadlock.
"The dialogue is not about the political reform anymore. It is about finding a solution to ease the political tensions we are facing," Cheung said.
"I hope they can at least sit down and talk, in order to avoid tragedy."
The warnings that the civil disobedience campaign is running out of time came after pan-democrat lawmakers accused the government of colluding with triad gangs to orchestrate attacks on demonstrators in Mong Kok last night amid more violent scenes in the area this afternoon.
In a joint press conference, pan-democrat legislators criticised the lack of police presence in Mong Kok amid rising tensions.
“Over the past few hours police did not deploy manpower to ensure safety in Hong Kong, which is highly suspicious,” said Democrat lawmaker James To Kun-sun, who is also the deputy chairman of the Legislative Council’s security panel.
“I cannot believe that the experienced Mong Kok police could not identify triad gangsters. The government has used organised, orchestrated forces and even triad gangs in attempt to disperse citizens.”
Six days since Occupy Central began and just hours after bloody clashes between pro- and anti-Occupy Central groups yesterday, tempers flared again this morning in Mong Kok with bottles thrown at demonstrators and scuffles between the two groups throughout the day.
Some anti-Occupy groups tried to dismantle tents and barricades set up by pro-democracy protesters this afternoon.
While there have been fewer violent incidents than last night, there have been reports of frequent verbal confrontations in Mong Kok and Causeway Bay.
Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok denied accusations the police colluded with triad gangs during scuffles in Mong Kok yesterday.
Occupy and anti-occupy groups scuffle in Mong Kok on Saturday. Photo: Sam Tsang
Pan-democrats have called for a meeting with Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and Lai to discuss the situation.
Civic Party leader Alan Leong Kah-kit said they did not request to meet Chief Executive Leung Chin-ying because they did not trust him and condemned those behind the attacks on Occupy supporters.
“We strongly condemn the mobs. They vandalised and attacked peaceful occupiers who were demonstrating for their basic rights.”
Civic Party lawmaker Claudia Mo Man-ching said she was perplexed by the lack of police presence in Mong Kok during the protests until the massive violence yesterday.
“I was there for four days and saw only one police officer passing by ... there was almost zero police presence, as the media witnessed.”
Unionist Leung Yiu-chung questioned the actions of police in Mong Kok last night.
“Some people who attacked others boarded taxis under police escort and were not arrested. But Occupy Central supporters were immediately handcuffed.”
This afternoon, Democratic Party chairwoman Emily Lau Wai-hing said she received an email from Executive Councillor Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun, who suggested that pan-democrats and pro-government lawmakers should issue a joint statement to call for peace.
“We welcome dialogue. However, it appears that people with [triad gang] ‘backgrounds’ are behind the incident,” Lau said.
Occupy and anti-occupy groups scuffle in Mong Kok on Saturday. Photo: Sam Tsang
Independent pan-democrat Joseph Lee Kok-long said the city “has been taken over by triad gangs ... it is anarchy” while Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung from the Labour Party said “our society has reached a point where violence may erupt any time.”
Earlier this morning, scores of anti-Occupy protesters wearing blue ribbons gathered in Admiralty before marching to police headquarters, chanting “Support police”.
As they left the MTR station in Admiralty, the “blue-ribbon” marchers shouted at the Occupy protestors wearing yellow ribbons.
The group plan to rally in Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok later today.
In Causeway Bay, the number of demonstrators has swelled this afternoon after dwindling overnight.
Police patrolling the area outside the Sogo department store on Hennessy Road have reportedly asked anti-Occupy protesters to leave if they shout or try to start a fight.
The Foreign Correspondents Club in Hong Kong released a statement this afternoon condemning the violence against the media after reports of journalists being assaulted or threatened while covering the protests.
One foreign reporter was hit in the face with a full water bottle and an RTHK reporter was reportedly beaten by police, the statement said.
Student protests leaders said the government had to provide further explanation for the violence in Mong Kok before they could hold further talks with the administration after plans were shelved to meet Chief Secretary Lam.
Meanwhile, Alex Chow Yong-kang, Secretary General of the Federation of Students said protest organisers would continue to help supporters to occupy streets in different areas, including Mong Kok and Causeway Bay. This is in contrast with the calls last night by Occupy co-founder Benny Tai Yiu-ting, who asked supporters leaving Mong Kok.
Student leaders also accused the police of colluding with triads and vowed to continue their fight for true universal suffrage.
Fanny Fung, Kathy Gao, Danny Mok, Ernest Kao, Bryan Harris
